Hi Lloyd;


I also had a chance to put my hands on a 950 at my friend Tony's QTH.

It is quite a radio.

Their are enough switches.  That makes me believe that their may be very 
little action with the menus.

73 De Anthony W2AJV
[log in to unmask]
ECHOLINK NODE NUMBER: 74389

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Lloyd Rasmussen" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Monday, February 18, 2008 9:50 PM
Subject: Re: Yaesu FT950


> This is a follow-up to my messages several weeks ago.  While visiting my
> brother, W6PR, in San Diego, we went to HRO and looked at the 480 and the
> FT950.  I had about made up my mind already to buy the 950.  I did.  It
> should arrive here in a few more days.
>
> Without a computer connected at times, it is going to be slow going.  But
> Paul and I did a recorded front panel description (sort of) and we then
> tried some things.
>
> One important point:  the radio produces a beep whenever a button is 
> pushed,
> but only if the command can be accepted in the current state.  There are 
> two
> different Clear buttons, which clear different parts of the interface.  We
> really messed up SSB reception on 20 meters and had it in a mode where it
> would squelch itself off two seconds after switching the receiver to AM
> mode.  There are enough buttons and controls to keep me going for a long
> time.  Hopefully, when I have it figured out, the rig will do what I want.
> Ham Radio Deluxe has a demonstration mode for the FT2000, and although the
> screen is very crowded with information, Window-'Eyes can read the 
> displays.
> There is a review of the FT950 in the March QST, but it should be 
> consulted
> in light of their previous reviews of the 9000, 2000, 2000D and 450.  At
> least I'm moving my ham station into the 21st century!
>
> 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 Steve Forst
>> Sent: Monday, December 31, 2007 7:46 AM
>> To: [log in to unmask]
>> Subject: Re: Yaesu FT950
>>
>> Lloyd,
>>
>> Go for it.  If you can tinker with one at HRO, feel good about it and
>> have
>> the computer skills to  play around with the commands, it should be a
>> blast.
>> Yaesu makes some nice stuff and I think David in the UK  is running a 
>> 1000
>> of some sort that he  seems to like a lot.   While I own and like 
>> Kenwood,
>> I
>> don't want to be married to them  for the rest of my life just because
>> they are at the head of the class when it comes to voice synths.  There
>> should be more than 1 way to skin a cat and I wish you good luck if you 
>> go
>> this route.
>>
>> 73, Steve KW3A
>>
>>
>> ----- Original Message -----
>> From: "Lloyd Rasmussen" <[log in to unmask]>
>> To: <[log in to unmask]>
>> Sent: Sunday, December 30, 2007 8:47 PM
>> Subject: Yaesu FT950
>>
>>
>> >I have been thinking about the TS480 for the last 3.5 years, since it
>> came
>> > out.  But now that I'm beginning to consider going to HRO to look at
>> one,
>> > I'm thinking the unthinkable.  The FT950 looks to be a much more
>> complete
>> > and flexible rig.  Have any of you had your hands on one of these
>> > transceivers?  The FT450 is a lower-end model which includes a voice
>> > synthesizer option.  The 950 appears to be a FT2000 with only one
>> > receiver.
>> >
>> > I have downloaded and read parts of the manual as well as the computer
>> > control manual, which is going to be a necessity, at least for setup. 
>> > I
>> > realize that there are very few beeps to confirm operations, and no
>> > synthesizer is available.  There is an audio unit, but I think it's 
>> > only
>> > for
>> > message playback/recording.  There is also a keypad available.According
>> to
>> > the computer control book, the rig can report back all the functions I
>> can
>> > think of, upon command.  I could probably write a PowerBasic program
>> that
>> > would send out the commands that dump status information back to a PC.
>> > And
>> > Ham Radio Deluxe should be able to control and interrogate it, although
>> > the
>> > latest build of HRD is a few months old.
>> >
>> > I don't want to hear about "Yaesu equipment isn't accessible and they
>> > don't
>> > care about blind hams."  It seems to me that this would be a fun rig to
>> > work
>> > with.  And before you suggest the TS2000, that's becoming an old rig by
>> > now.
>> >
>> > Am I crazy for wanting to learn some new things and perhaps invent
>> > something
>> > as part of my 52-year hobby?
>
>