Yes - I owned an FTDX-5000D for a very short time and now own a
competitor's rig. Feel free to email me for lots of details, but here
is some advice:
1. If you plan to use the 5000 for CW work, ask the dealer if he can
guarantee that the "short dits" problem is fixed on the unit he wants to
sell you. Make sure he'll take the rig back and pay the return shipping
if you find that the problem is still present. He may not be able to
make the guarantee. Do not assume that the fix has been factory
installed as alluded to in the ARRL review.
2. If you purchase the 5000 and plan to use if for CW, be sure to look
carefully at the CW waveforms in both QSK and semi-break-in modes. DO
NOT DEPEND ON WHAT YOU HEAR ON THE RIG'S MONITOR TO JUDGE THE CW
WAVEFORMS. The monitor signal appears to be almost unrelated to the
real signal being transmitted. Listen to the keyed CW signal on a
separate receiver while sending a string of dits. If it has the short
dits problem, it will be VERY apparent. If you don't have an
oscilloscope capable of looking at the transmitted RF waveform, another
approach is to listen to the signal on a separate receiver and feed the
audio to any audio editing program via your sound card. Then look
carefully at the dit and dah lengths compared to the spaces and examine
the waveforms in both QSK and semi-break-in modes. Look for things like
overshoot at the leading edges or distortions in the leading edge of the
waveform. If you see those things, you WILL have key clicks. If you
see problems in the waveforms, return the rig and get a refund. Or, you
can wait until Yaesu has a complete fix, and pay the round-trip shipping
to California to have the fix installed.
The SM-5000 is interesting in its shortcomings. The speakers are
excellent as everyone has reported. The scope takes last place behind
every other I've seen, including that in the Orion II. The contrast and
brightness is exceptionally poor, and the designer's idea of "averaging"
differs from every other. Otherwise, the transceiver is a joy to use
and the receiver behaves as advertised.
73, K8AC
> Message: 2
> Date: Thu, 21 Apr 2011 06:06:38 -0400
> From: K8RI<k8ri@rogerhalstead.com>
> Subject: [Yaesu] FTDX5000MP
> To: yaesu@contesting.com
> Message-ID:<4DB001AE.8020901@rogerhalstead.com>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed
>
> Anyone have experience with the FTDX5000 series yet?
> I'm looking for information to help me make up my mind between the
> FTDX5000MP and a competitors rig.
>
> Both run about the same price. I'd like a real time band scope, but they
> seem sorta scarse.
> I like the features of the 5000MP and think it'd work with second source
> software and my computer to provide a good real time band scope. Remote
> operation and operation on my network is desirable as well, without
> having to purchase extra hardware.
>
> I run SO2R with one station in the den here in the house and one out in
> my shop with a 6-pack at the base of the big tower. Wiring in the second
> tower gets a bit more complicated. Hence another reason for the desire
> to operate off the network.
>
> 73
>
> Roger (K8RI)
>
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