Something Interesting From Yaesu

Everyone else is jumping on the prognostication bandwagon, so why not me?

Yesterday the word came out that Yaesu is releasing a new HF rig in August. Called the FT-710, it appears to be about the size of the Yaesu FT-991A, but it's HF only (no UHF/VHF capability). Now, the 991A is no diminutive little mobile rig, and the 710, based on the announced specs, is actually just a smidge bigger all around, so this isn't a SOTA rig by any measure. Some have observed that this is likely Yaesu's newest 'entry level' SDR rig, and is likely designed to go head to head with the Icom IC-7300. That sounds about right to me, because the radio incorporates Yaesu's newest SDR technology (which is getting great reviews). What little we know of the feature set so far looks good:

• High resolution touchscreen interface
• Build-in tuner
• A DVI port on the back (for out-boarding the digital interface)
• Two USB ports. 
• SD card slot 

What's NOT been released yet is any mention of a built-in soundcard interface. However, Yaesu makes mention of a 'Preset' mode for things like FT8, and since you need a soundcard to run FT8 I'm guessing the soundcard interface is there.

The things I don't see but would like, beyond the soundcard interface, are:

• Built-in GPS, and a GPS synched internal clock
• Some level of industry standard environmental protection such as IPX5
• A set of factory rack handles (a-la the IC-7200) would be nice, but if not I'm sure Portable Zero will be right along with a set
• Yaesu traditionally 'gets it' when it comes to back-lit buttons (Icom? Icom? Icom?). Let's see if they continue the tradition

So far no power consumption numbers. I don't expect this thing to sip juice like the FT-817. After all there's a (relatively) power hungry digital interface in the mix. But Icom has proven with the IC-705 that digital interfaces and low power consumption are not incompatible concepts. Maybe Yaesu has incorporated some clever power management protocols and options into the radio. We'll have to wait and see.

The last thing I would ask for would be for Yaesu to please, for the love of God, clean up your awful configuration and settings interface. And please, don't make the dumbass mistake you made with the FT-891, and not provide an easy way to quickly switch between LSB and USB.

W8BYH out