Specifications

From March 2008 QST © ARRL
Web, ideal for searching for specific items or
printing a few pages of menu commands to
keep at your operating position.
Sounds Great
The transmitted audio on the FT-950 is
beautiful right out of the box. For those who
like to customize things, the ’950 provides
a three band parametric equalizer that can
tailor just about any microphone to match
or modify any user’s voice characteristics.
The FT-950 is very capable of transmitting
a full-bodied, well articulated voice. With all
of the variables and possible combinations of
audio settings with the FT-950, you can also
make the audio sound bad. Familiarization
and practice with the audio equalization tools
is necessary to achieve a desired result.
The speech processor in the FT-950 is
tricky and requires gentle adjustments to find
the proper setting. It is better to rely on your
ear or to check with a friend on a quiet band
rather than depend on the front panel meter
alone to make this adjustment.
In addition to the CW memory keyer
mentioned previously, the FT-950 includes
menu selectable semi break-in and full break-
in (QSK) operation. As shown in Figures 1
and 2, keying characteristics are very similar
to the FT-2000, with no noticeable shortening
of the first character in QSK mode.
The menus offer several interesting op-
tions. You can enable CW keying while in
the SSB mode, either on all bands or just on
6 meters. Although they’re not that common
on HF, cross-mode contacts can be useful
on VHF. This feature makes it convenient to
call an SSB station on CW without changing
modes and retuning if your SSB signal isn’t
getting through. Another menu option allows
you to set the frequency display to show the
CW offset or not.
Connections for RF frequency shift (FSK)
RTTY or AF frequency shift (AFSK) RTTY
and sound card modes and packet operation
are handled though the rear panel RTTY/PKT
jack, a 6 pin mini-DIN connector. The manual
includes the pin-out diagram for this and the
transceiver’s other connectors all on one page.
RTTY parameters such as polarity, shift and
tone set are all adjustable via menus. If a PTT
connection isn’t available, you can use VOX
to key the transmitter in the AFSK modes.
FM operation on 6 meters and 10 meters
is included. Repeater offset and CTCSS tone
encode/decode are selectable via menus.
Fighting QRM
The FT-950 provides many of the same
receiver enrichment features that are found
in the FT-2000 and FTDX9000 series radios.
As with the larger radios, it takes some
practice to become proficient at using these
state-of-the-art digital processing features.
The operator who takes the time to read the
manual and become familiar with the FT-950
will surely appreciate all that this innovative
transceiver has to offer.
Filter selection is similar to the FT-2000.
Initial selectivity is provided by 15, 6 and
3 kHz wide roofing filters. Roofing filter
selection is handled by the R.FLT button,
and you can choose any filter manually or
let the radio make the selection automati-
cally. Automatic selections are 15 kHz for
AM and FM, 6 kHz for SSB and 3 kHz for
CW and RTTY. The 15 kHz roofing filter is
automatically selected regardless of mode
when preamplifier 2 is selected or when the
noise blanker is turned on.
DSP bandwidth filtering allows a wide
range of filter choices for the various modes.
Bandwidth is variable in 100 and 150 Hz steps
using the WIDTH control, or you can switch in
a preset narrower bandwidth by pressing the
NAR button. The default wide/narrow settings
will work for many operators but it’s easy
enough to fine-tune things to your liking.
In addition to the standard IF SHIFT
and WIDTH controls, the receiver includes
several receiver gain settings. Using the IPO
(intercept point optimization) switch, you
can select one of two preamplifiers or turn
the preamps off, whichever is most favor-
able to the current operating environment.
The AT T switch selects from 6, 12 or 18 dB
attenuators.
In my review of the FT-2000D radio, I
described the interference fighting features
as “signal enhancing features.” Improving
the desired signal and attenuating unwanted
signals and noise is the perfect combination
for great radio reception. Regardless of the
operating situation, familiarization with all
of the controls is vital to achieve maximum
performance from the FT-950.
The CONTOUR and the DNR are two
features that I used a lot on the FT-2000
and I have found them to do a tremendous
job at being able to isolate a desired sig-
nal. Experimenting with these digital pro-
cessors and getting to know the effect that
they can have on signals is essential to be
able to get the most out of the FT-950’s
performance.
The CONTOUR control allows the op-
erator to move a “low Q notch” across the
passband in order to boost or suppress certain
frequency components in the IF passband.
By altering the passband response, you can
improve the readability of a desired signal.
This feature is accessed with a push of a but-
ton and adjusted via the SELECT knob, and
easily accessible menu settings determine
the peak/null and width of the notch. In my
opinion the CONTOUR control is one of the
better tools for signal enhancement and one
that I rely on heavily in daily use. For this
reason I have chosen to make this the func-
tion of the C.S. (custom switch) that allows
me to access the CONTOUR menu with a
push of a single button rather than scroll
through the menus.
Noise Reduction System
The digital noise reduction system (DNR)
is a digital signal processing feature that uses
16 separate and unique processing algorithms
designed to attack different noise profiles.
The DNR can be quickly engaged with a
push of a button but unlike the larger rigs
the adjustments are made through the menu
system. This does not hinder operation very
much because the DNR is a feature that does
not require constant adjustment.
Like the FT-2000, the ’950 has two IF
notch filters. A manual notch filter is turned
on and off and adjusted with the SELECT
knob. As on the FT-2000, we measured a
notch depth of more than 60 dB, and the
manually operated notch filter is very good
for eliminating a single source of interference
within the passband.
There’s also a digital notch filter (DNF)
intended to automatically clean up several
tones at once. DNF is enabled by pressing
SELECT knob and dialing up a menu choice to
turn it off and on. Unfortunately, as we found
during the FT-2000 reviews, the DNF doesn’t
Figure 4 — The FT-950’s rear panel includes connections for two antennas,
a linear amplifier, and digital mode interface. Other jacks allow for plug-
and-play connection to Yaesu optional µ-Tune units, data management
unit, FC-40 external antenna tuner and VL-1000 power amplifier.
Figure 5 — As with other current Yaesu HF transceivers, the display
shows filter selection, DSP settings and other important operating
parameters at a glance.