[Yaesu] Yaesu FT450/FT857D and contesting

Mon Feb 23 11:47:55 EST 2009

I had a chance to compare the Yaesu FT450 and the Yaesu FT857D in this past weekend's ARRL DX contest. Let me start by saying that they both did fine on 20 and 40 meters, and handled the loud contest conditions very well, given their size and price. Yes, the FTDX9000 would have done better but look at the price difference. Also, I am limited right now to a G5RV type dipole so I wasn't running large gain antennas, but still, there were signals from Europe and Japan hitting S9 or better at times, with lots of loud US signals in the mix.
The FT857D has an INRAD 300hz CW filter installed, and I noticed the better selectivity in that rig. With the narrow filter and the audio peak filter I could isolate signals better than on the FT450. That is my biggest complaint of the FT450 (and I don't have many)-I wish the CW filter would narrow down to 250 or 300hz. Still, the narrow filter position did ok in the FT450 and with that and the filter between my ears I could copy almost any CW signal thrown at me. I still think the peaking filter in the FT857D/FT100D/FT897D works better on CW signals than the contour filter does on the FT450. It brings up signals more without also boosting the noise.
However, I noticed that the FT450 seems to have a quiet receiver overall. I could run it with the preamp on all of the time on 20 and above, whereas I had to turn off the preamp (turn the IPO on) on the FT857D or the band noise just overwhelms you. The front end of the FT450 seems a little better also under strong signal conditions. The FT450 was sure a lot easier to use in a contest given that you can control everything from the front panel. I did use the programmable row of menu items for A/B, A=B, and the peak filter in the FT857D, but it was still a far ways from the ease of control with the FT450.
One interesting finding between the 2 rigs was when I set up the SEL knob to change keyer speed when pushed in. The FT450 will bring up the menu showing you the actual speed. The FT857D will bring up some sort of icom showing that you are controlling the keyer but the WPM readout never came up. You are just left to guess how fast you are sending. Thus, the FT450 does this function much better.
The tuning knob is larger on the FT857D but I can't say that it is any easier to tune with it than the smaller knob on the FT450. They both need a way to change the drag on the knob. That never seems to be too high on Yaesu's list of things to add.
The display and meter is much larger on the FT450, as is obvious in the pictures and ads for the rigs. Also the meter on the FT450 is much better as it actually has markings for the different S levels or power out. The FT857D meter leaves you guessing. My MFJ 949D has a power and SWR meter in it so that portion isn't a big deal in either rig. I know many people complain about the size of the display in the FT857D, but it doesn't bother me. I am 42 years old but guess the close in vision problems that happen after age 40 haven't hit me yet.
Overall, I knew that the FT450 would do fine in a contest, as I have run it in several contests before, but the performance of the FT857D was a pleasant surprise. It definitely needs the optional CW filter as operation would have been next to impossible without it. Either rig is a good performer for its size and price, and either would be a fine choice. My recommendations for either would depend on your type of operating, but would probably break down to:
1. If you do only SSB contesting, get the FT450. It has a narrower SSB filter than is available for the FT857D, it has more DSP equalization features for the mic, and the voice keyer (which is not available for the FT857D) would prove invaluable. ALso, the manual IF notch blows away the AF auto notch in the FT857D.
2. If you do only RTTY contesting, it is a no brainer. Get the FT857D. The inability to use a filter narrower that 1.8khz really hurts the FT450 in RTTY.
3. If you do only CW contesting (fairly casually) and run computer control or don't change the settings much, the FT857D would probably be a little better due to the narrower CW filter options and peak filter. If you like to change settings a lot, the FT450 is then better.
4. If you do a lot of mixed mode contesting and other operating, I would recommend the FT450 just because it has a quieter receiver, more standard features, a much better notch filter and is easier to control. 
5. If you really want to get into VHF contesting, then go with the FT857D due to the other bands it has.
One interesting thing I noticed was on 6m. The FT857D was showing a noise level of S5 to S6 where the FT450 wasn't even moving the meter. Not sure why the FT450 is so much quieter there.
When you go back and look at rig prices in the past either one of these is an incredible bargain. Who would have thought that you could get an all mode rig that did 100 watts on 6m, 50 watts on 2 meters and 20 watts on 70cm, with HF thrown in, for less than 700ドル. Those type of rigs used to run 2000ドル or so. 
73s John AA5JG