I recently bought a Yaesu FTM-100D (I’ve been wanting to buy a decent mobile set for some time, altough I primarily work via DMR Hotspot) and have been quite impressed by it’s feature set and work-flow.

The device includes GPS support, an APRS modem, Wires-X /Fusion digital mode and supports programming via a micro SD-card. 50W output power both on VHF and UHF. The head of the unit is removable. The mic has an abundance of buttons: 4 programmable, a numerical pad, 2 buttons on top for channel switching / scanning and is backlit (in red by the way – easy on the eyes)

It’s a dual-watch device by the way – not a true dual-receiver. Antenne is coupled via a SO-239 connector. At least in Europe. Maybe an N-connector would have been a better choice.

What I like about the fact that it comes with a removable head, is that it uses standard connector. Just your regular RJ-11 4p4c for the head; and a RJ-12 6p6c for the DTMF mic. None of this vendor-specific, overpriced cabling. Great! This allows for a nice concealed install in the trunk of my car.

I previously mentioned that I also run a hotspot when I’m mobile, and just recently, there have been made vast improvements on the MMDVMHost program, and also on the YSF2DMR client.

One the the nicest things, is that the developers have started to decipher the Wires-X commands (are you listening Yaesu? Proprietary signaling has no place in the ham radio world! Not even by law!). The cool thing about this, is that you get to use the e.g. Brandmeister DMR network, with a click of the “D-X”-button, accessed via your hotspot. The Wires-X menu allows you to select the talkgroup, and the hotspot does all the rest (like disconnecting from the current TG, linking to the new one, etc…).

Callsigns and Talkgroup names are all forwarded digitally to the FTM-100D. Awesome. You can even key up e.g. #02061# – this will bring up Belgium North. Try that with any DMR radio, and you’ll have to program TX contacts, zones, RX groups, upload the userDB,… With this YSF2DMR + Wires-X support; I just put in the frequency in the FTM-100D, and off we go.

Overall, I’m really digging this little radio, and I haven’t even figured it all out… 73 de ON8AD!