Best mobile rig ever YAESU FT 891

My first mobile rig was a Collins KWM-1 installed under the dash in my 56 Ford. Since then I have used IC-706's, TS-50, FT-707, FT-900, FT-857D, FT-817ND, small older Kenwood's and small Icom's, all with antennas ranging from the Webster Band Spanner, Hustler, Hi Serria, and Bug Catchers of all sizes. Of all of those the FT-900 and the Bug Catcher performed the best. Until the new FT-891 entered the market. I needed a rugged compact radio with a detachable display that I could easily see the controls and buttons and operate in the dark. The rig was to be install in a Jeep Wrangler. The FT-891 appeared the be the rig. For an antenna I chose the ATAS-120A. I mounted a steel light bracket from a Jeep parts house to the windshield hinge bolts. I carefully removed paint from the underside of the screw heads and paint from the mounting bracket to provide a solid ground connection for the antenna. Inadequate grounds seem to be an issue with the ATAS-120A. The FT-891 main unit was mounted in the storage tray in the rear of the Jeep. I used a heavy gauge 19 strand, silver plated Teflon coated ground strap from the rigs ground lug to the Jeep body. The positive power cable was connected directly to the battery and the negative power cable was shortened and connected to Jeep body near the main rig. These connections provided a solid ground for the antenna, power and radio cabinet ground. The control head was mounted to the console and mic cable routed through the console box. All of this was done before I ever applied power to the rig for the first time. I removed the ATAS-120A from the mount, terminated the connection, started the Jeep and powered the rig. It was amazing that I heard no auto noise, no alternator whine, no ignition noise, just quite white noise from the external speaker. The antenna was connected, programmed for the rig and then tuned on all bands without a problem. The next day I took a 250 mile trip and enjoyed the best mobile operating experience ever.

The display is large with variable brightness and contrast. A plus. The backlighted buttons are easily visible under all lighting conditions, day or night. Another plus. Audio output is great with plenty of power to drive a 4" speaker. Jeeps Wranglers are not known for a quite ride. Another plus. The menu is large and easily seen on the screen. A plus, but it is a lengthy menu. Band changing requires attention away from the roadway, a negative, but programming favorite frequencies into memories simplifies this and tuning from the mic up/down buttons makes it easier. A plus. The band scope is a great feature making it easy to find QSO's and net operations. A plus, but I would like for the band scope display to automatically change back to the normal display after a few seconds or a even a bump of the PTT button would be nice. But, if it did someone would complain. Trying to use all of the rigs features while mobile would be difficult but so it would be with all rigs.

Does this radio have flaws, yes, but for me it is a mobile rig, not a fixed station. Is it a perfect mobile rig, no, but it's the best I have ever used. It is far easier to use than the FT-857D and the Icom series and totally exceeds them in performance. Much lower noise and very sensitive. Yaesu did a good job.

I rated the rig a 5 because it is a solid mobile radio, easy to use and operate. If you want a fixed station rig, buy a fixed station rig. If you want to compare it to an FTdx-5000 - try to install an FTdx-5000 in a Jeep or any other automobile.