[Elecraft] FT-5000

[Bob Locher]

It surely looks like it will be a nice radio some day if you like a big 
bruiser with loads of knobs. I don't. Yaesu has a design philosophy of 
"when in doubt, add a knob". But that's OK. I don't plan to buy one.

I would cheerfully bet a significant sum of money that the radio will 
not be available at the very earliest before July of next year, and more 
likely 2011. So why is it being advertised now? It is an attempt to stop 
the K3 parade - to freeze sales. The term in the software industry is 
"Vaporware" and for our European brethren, "Vapourware". And it serves 
the same purpose.

Yaesu did the same for the FT-9000 - it was announced and advertised a 
year or more in advance of delivery in order to slow down the Icom 7800. 
(And I bet the FT-9000 will now quietly go away. The 7800 is eating the 
9000's lunch, and dealers hate the 9000 order policies.)

On the other hand Yaesu was shipping FT-2000's very shortly after it was 
announced. Why the difference? The FT1000 was selling well and Yaesu did 
not want to cannibalize sales of the FT-1000 until stock was pretty well 
depleted and the FT2000 was ready. They pulled off the transition rather 
neatly.

I think it a very safe assumption to say that the photos of the FT5000 
are of one very expensively hand-built prototype that is an empty box 
inside the panels, that there are lab models of the radio that do pretty 
much meet specs, and a furious design effort going on to deliver the 
promises. I predict that the radio WILL be shown at Dayton - inside a 
screwed together acrylic box.

Actually it is a pretty simple choice - you can wait for a box of 
promises or buy a proven radio today.

73 de Bob Locher W9KNI