I use an FT-950 and don't remember much about the 450 I looked at in the HRO
store a year and a half ago.  I was interested in a fixed station and not
mobile, and feel that the 950 is a lot more flexible and closer to what I
wanted.

There is a review of the 450 in the December, 2007 issue of QST.  There
would certainly be positive and negative comments on E-ham.  An
accessibility plus for the 450, compared to the 950, is that frequency, mode
and S-meter can be read out by a voice guidance chip.  There is not a keypad
for direct frequency entry, however.  For any given mode, you have 3 receive
bandwidth selections; I would have chosen narrower settings for CW than they
did.  Many of the default settings are probably good, especially for SSB
operation.  There aren't very many knobs, and I don't know how you reassign
the Custom Switch button to make one or more of them easier to adjust.  I'm
sure you could assign the CS button to setting power, but you might then
wish you had the knob to adjust something else.  Don't count on Ham Radio
Deluxe or other software to help you adjust menu settings; I have done a lot
of this on my 950 by ear and not by any software read-out.  

For the general ragchew/mobile operator, this may be a reasonable rig.  The
antenna tuner, which you can order built-in, is likely limited to a 3:1 SWR.
If you get any kind of new rig, let us know how it goes.
73,
Lloyd Rasmussen, W3IUU, Kensington, Maryland
Home:  http://lras.home.sprynet.com
Work:  http://www.loc.gov/nls
 

> -----Original Message-----
> From: For blind ham radio operators [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
> On Behalf Of Michael Ryan
> Sent: Wednesday, August 19, 2009 12:37 PM
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Yaesu FT-450
> 
> Hi all:
> 
> I'm looking at an HF replacement, as my TS-940SAT is getting close to
> retirement.
> I'm interested in the Yaesu FT-450 due to its compact size and it will
> allow me to go mobile occasionally.
> Has anyone played with this little rig? I'd like to get a blind ham's
> perspective.
> What about changing the power settings for hf amplifier uses. Can you
> assign the CS function to adjust the power settings menu?
> 
> TNX all and 73:
> 
> Michael De VO1RYN