Do You Like FT 710 AESS Amateur Radio?

Do You Like FT 710 AESS Amateur Radio?

FT 710 AESS has been on my short list for an HF radio to buy in 2024, for quite some time. AESS stands for Acoustic Enhanced Speaker System with the supplied SP-40 speaker to create High-fidelity audio output. I have never used a commercial HF radio. My only HF radios were a VU2VWN solid state QRP of about 5 Watts and a hybrid 3 x 807 QRO with about 120 Watts DC input, which I had homebrewed in late 1980s. Receiving setup was a Philips broadcast receiver which utilized the VFO of the homebrew VU2VWN radio for making SSB and CW signals intelligible. My operations were only on AM and CW in those days. Online resources tell me that FT 710 AESS was launched in the last quarter of 2022. So it is relatively new, compared to IC 7300 which was launched in 2015.

FT 710 AESS is an HF plus 50 MHz radio providing 100 W output which is adjustable from 5 W upwards. When I checked just now, it is listed for $999.95 at one site, though there are other sites which are listing it for much higher prices as well. Of course, the landed cost in much region will be much higher after considering taxes and shipping. FT 710 AESS has a 4.3″ colour display and an option to connect mouse and keyboard. It has a built in antenna tuner, which of course will cater to only lesser mismatch unlike external antenna tuners which will have higher range. It can also be connected to an external antenna tuner if needed.

There are two USB ports, one each of type A and type B. USB type B is the type seen on the printer, while type A is the more familiar USB port. Type B USB port is for connection to the computer and type A USB port for connecting mouse or keyboard. An external monitor can be connected with the DVI-D port. SD card memory slot is also available, which can be used to record QSOs and firmware updates. There are sockets for external speaker, Morse key and RTTY/DATA on the lower part of the rear panel. Tuner or linear amplifier can be connected at the upper left corner of the rear panel. Antenna socket is SO 239 type on the rear panel. There is a ground port as well on the rear panel.

Modes available in FT 710 AESS are CW, AM, SSB and FM. Input voltage is 13.8 V ± 15%. That means you can run it either on an automotive battery or 12 Volt power supply. At 100 W output, it needs 21 A current. Overall weight is only 4.5 kg. On FM mode both standard ± 5 kHz maximum deviation and ± 2.5 kHz narrow band FM are available. 70 MHz UK Amateur band is available in UK versions, I presume. According to an ARRL product review, though it is Yaesu’s least expensive SDR, it offers features and performance rivalling more expensive radios. It has coverage from 160 m to 6 m. Shall post more first hand information if I am able to purchase it in 2024!