[Yaesu] Yaesu FT450, what a great value rig!

[John AA5JG]

I have been fortunate to own quite a few rigs in my 28 years of being licensed, including the following:

Kenwood TS950SDX/850/450/430/690/2000/130/570/599 twins
Yaesu FT1000MP/990/920/100D/847/857/897/101B
Icom 756PRO2/756PRO/756/746/740/730/720A

I now own only a Yaesu FT450.  Now it isn't a TS950SDX or an Icom 756PRO2, but for what you can get it for, it is an amazing rig!  The performance isn't much behind those higher end rigs, and I find it compares pretty equally with the FT920/IC746/TS570 and the like. However, it costs less than those and offers more features!  The receiver is very quiet, even on the low bands, and the Noise Blanker works pretty well without distorting loud signals 10khz or so away!  To think that you can get a rig that has a TCXO, a voice keyer, a CW memory keyer, and built in narrow filters for $750 is amazing!  

I really love my FT450 and in most cases do not feel like it is a step backwards compared with those other rigs, expect maybe compared to the TS950SDX for performance, the 756PRO2 for the bandscope and dual receive, and the TS2000 for overall features. I actually like the setup of it better than the FT1000MP.

73s John AA5JG 

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