Amateur FTM-400DR 144 Manuel utilisateur

Amateur Radio August 2016 23

The FTM-400DR 144/430 MHz

dual band mobile transceiver is

one of Yaesu’s latest in the System

Fusion range. Combined with the

HRI-200 WIRES-X internet linking

unit, this is a highly functional digital

communications system for the

modern amateur.

Features

• 144/430 MHz dual band

transceiver with automatic

detection of FM/C4FM digital

communication mode

• Wide band receiver in the 108

MHz to 999 MHz range

• Transmit power of 50/20/5 W

selectable with cooling fan

• LCD front panel complete

with 3 m separation cable and

mounting bracket

• Full colour 90 mm LCD high

luminance TFT touch panel

• 1000 memory channels split

between the A Band and B Band

• Supports micro-SD card for

programming, backup and

cloning to other transceivers

• VFO or memory scan functions

• Built in GPS receiver for display

of location and movement

information

• APRS function built in for

communication of location and

messages

• Group monitor function for

information exchange between

frequently communicating

groups

• Support for Yaesu’s WIRES-X

internet linking function

• Optional Bluetooth adaptor for

hands free operation

• Optional voice guidance unit

provides voice announcements

and recording of received audio

• Optional camera equipped

microphone

Product Review |FTM-400DR 144/430

MHz Dual Band Transceiver

Peter Hartﬁeld VK3PH

In the box

The main unit and detached control

head

• DTMF microphone (MH-48A6JA)

• Fused power cable with bare

ends for connection to the

mobile power supply (the

connector at the transceiver end

is a standard 2 pin auto plug and

two spare fuses are supplied)

• Mounting brackets and screws

for both the transceiver and the

remote head

• Manual (which is also available

to download from the Yaesu web

site in PDF format)

• Programming cable (SCU-20) –

this is a huge addition to the box

as the programming software is

also available free for download

from the Yaesu web site

• Stereo to mono plug for

connection to the external

speaker jack

• 3 m controller cable (for remote

head)

Photo 1: The FTM-400DR transceiver.

Photo 2: The HRI-200 Internet Linking Unit.

24 Amateur Radio August 2016

Installation

The mounting brackets for most

of the Yaesu mobiles are identical

in size and the screws are

interchangeable if you are replacing

an existing unit. In this case I had

already installed the FTM-100DR in

place of the FT-7900 in the car, so

this unit was installed and reviewed

on the bench.

The antenna connector is a

UHF type socket unlike the FT-7900

which has an N socket. I am not

sure why Yaesu have changed these

connectors, although it wasn’t a big

problem for me as I have a coax

feed into the shack with a PL259

connector at the radio end. The

power cables are standard 2-pin,

so no problems running a short

lead from the radio to the Anderson

PowerPole distribution box.

The remote head mounting

bracket comes with a double sided

adhesive sheet that is designed

to stick to a ﬂat panel on top of

the dash. In my case I used Velcro

strips to secure the remote head to

the top of the power supply unit.

This provided easy access to the

controls.

I plugged the control cable into

the back of the remote head and

the other end into the transceiver.

The microphone also plugs directly

into the transceiver. If you have the

transceiver mounted remotely, an

extension cable will be required.

Then I powered up the transceiver

and I am on air.

Operation

Programming software is not

required to conﬁgure the transceiver

although I would highly recommend

using it due to the many features

available and their complexity.

As already mentioned, the

programming cable is provided and

the software is downloadable for

free from the Yaesu web site. When

the transceiver is ﬁrst powered

on, you will be asked to enter

your callsign. The LCD screen will

basically guide you through this

process using the touch screen to

select the required letters. Up to

10 alphanumeric characters can be

entered including a hyphen.

To turn the transceiver on, press

the power button for two seconds

and the LCD screen comes to life.

To turn the transceiver off, press

the power button again for over

two seconds or you can conﬁgure

the auto power off feature to turn

the transceiver off after an interval

of inactivity. I am not using this

function in the shack although it is

very useful for a mobile situation to

avoid draining the car battery if the

transceiver is accidentally left on.

The power button also doubles

as a lock key to stop any accidental

operation of the transceiver. Press

the key momentarily to lock and

again to unlock. The FTM-400XDR

has a true dual band receiver and

can therefore receive signals on

two frequencies at the same time

(either on the same band or on

different bands). The screen is split

in two showing the details of each

frequency being received. The

active or the current transmitting

frequency is shown in bright colour,

the other is greyed out. Changing

between transmit frequencies is as

easy as touching the required active

frequency on the screen.

There are two volume knobs

on the front panel, one for band

A (upper) and one for band B

(lower). There are two dials on the

right hand side, one for band A

(upper) and one for band B (lower).

These are used for adjusting the

frequency, selecting a memory

channel or selecting an item when

programming etc. The touch screen

is used for most other functions.

The other buttons on the

front panel provide the following

functions (in each case, select the

ﬁrst function with a momentary

press and the second function

by pressing and hold for over 1

second):

• DX – switches the operating

band communication mode

(FM/C4FM etc.); activates the

WIRES-X function

• Power LOCK – locks/unlocks the

screen; switches the power on/

off

• DISP SETUP – switches the

information display between

your location, received station

location or GPS info screen;

enters the SETUP menu

• F MW – displays the function

menu; enters the memory writing

mode

• GM – activates the group

monitor function

In addition to the physical buttons,

there are four user programmable

soft function keys displayed on the

lower segment of the touch screen.

The supplied microphone

(MH-48A6JA) also supports most

of the above functions so that the

transceiver can be operated without

touching the front panel. In addition,

there are four function keys that can

be programed to perform your most

commonly used functions.

Built in GPS

The GPS reception antenna is

located in the detachable front

panel (top centre). For this reason,

it is recommended that the front

panel is mounted on the dash or at

the front side of the centre console

to gain a clear GPS signal. The icon

(looks like a satellite) in the top right

hand corner of the screen indicates

a GPS lock (ﬂashing means ﬁnding

the GPS signal and stable means

GPS locked).

Available screen displays

Dual Band screen – shows band

A at the top and band B below. At

the bottom of the screen are the

soft programmable function keys.

By default, these are V/M (switch

between VFO and memory mode);

SQL (touch this to use the knob to

adjust the squelch level); MUTE (to

mute the sound); and SCOPE (to

select the band scope function).

Band Scope screen – displays the

band scope below the operating

frequency. The width of the band

scope can be set to wide or narrow

as desired.

Amateur Radio August 2016 25

Function Menu screen – displays

the available functions under the

operating frequency. The options

can be scrolled through using

the forward and back functions.

Pressing one of the functions

displays the next level of detail or

guides you though the settings. Any

of the functions displayed at the top

menu level can be associated with

one of the four dedicated function

keys.

Compass screen – The direction

of travel of your own station

and direction coordinates of the

received station are displayed on

the compass screen.

Altitude Display screen – The

altitude of the current location is

shown in the bar graph display.

Timer / Clock screen – The current

time is shown in analogue and

digital formats along with the date.

Other available screens include

Lap Timer screen, Count down

Timer screen, GPS Detail screen,

Numbers and Symbols input screen,

and Alphabet input screen.

Programming the transceiver

There are a few options available

for programming the transceiver.

The most basic option is via the

front panel. You will probably want

to load it with a large list of local

repeaters therefore I would highly

recommend using programming

software. After all, the transceiver

comes with a programming cable

and the Yaesu software can be

downloaded from their web site for

free.

I use RT Systems software for

programming all of my transceivers;

therefore I downloaded a copy of

the FTM-400XDR radio programmer

which cost me $25 USD (~$35

AUD). The RT Systems software

will work with the Yaesu supplied

cable or a micro-SD card. The

FTM-400DR is not yet listed on

the CHIRP web site, although I’m

sure it will appear soon given the

popularity of this software.

The best place to get the latest

repeater ﬁles is from the WIA web

site. There is a CSV ﬁle available

that can be massaged and imported

directly into the programmer. When

you run the programmer, you will

notice that there are two bands

available (Band A and Band B).

Yaesu has decided to remove the

memory bank functionality from

this transceiver to help reduce

its complexity. I personally think

this was a wrong move because

organising memories into banks is

great for travelling and grouping

favourite channels together.

I conﬁgured all of the 2 m

repeaters for VIC (50 of) in Band

A and 70 cm repeaters (65 of) in

Band B. The 500+500 available

memory channels will be more

than adequate for most users in

Australia. This was a simple copy

and paste from the FTM-100DR

repeater conﬁguration ﬁle I setup

earlier in the year.

In addition to the Band A and

Band B memories, there are nine

pairs of limit memories that can be

programmed for each band; ﬁve

home channels and the initial VFO

frequencies can be set. All of the

other functions can be set via tabs

on the menu settings window. There

are too many functions to go through

here. Once you have saved the

transceiver conﬁguration, you have

the option of communicating with it

via the supplied cable or saving the

conﬁguration to a micro-SD card.

Micro-SD card

The micro-SD memory card slot

is located at the front of the main

body. The letters SD are displayed

on the front panel when a card is

detected in the transceiver. Note

that a micro-SD card is not supplied

with the transceiver. The micro-SD

card can be used for the following

functions:

• Backing up the information and

settings of the transceiver

• Saving GPS log data for use in a

personal computer

• Saving data downloaded using

the GM and WIRES-X functions

• Exchanging data with other

transceivers

The transceiver supports micro-

SD cards from 2 GB to 32 GB in

size. According to the manual, not

all commercial micro-SD cards

will work and the card must be

initialised in the transceiver to

ensure proper operation. I used

an 8 GB SanDisk Ultra without

a problem. The transceiver

supports the FAT32 ﬁle system.

Note that if you format the card in

the transceiver according to the

initialisation procedure, all data on

the card will be lost.

The micro-SD card is a very

convenient way to program or re-

program the transceiver after it has

been installed in a vehicle. It is a

much easier alternative to removing

the transceiver or having to take your

laptop and cable out to the vehicle.

Simply insert it in the transceiver,

select write to micro-SD card and

remove it. Insert the micro-SD

card into a personal computer. The

programming software allows you to

read from it, make whatever changes

you need and then write back to

it. Re-insert it into the transceiver,

perform a read from micro-SD card

and you are up and running with the

changes you just made.

C4FM digital mode

As you can see, this transceiver is

packed with features, but the main

attraction is the C4FM digital mode.

The FTM-400XDR transceiver

is equipped with an Automatic

Mode Select (AMS) function which

automatically selects one of four

transmission modes depending on

the signal received. If AMS is off,

the mode can be set manually.

• DN (voice / data simultaneous

transmission mode) – This is

the standard mode for C4FM

digital. Transmission is less

prone to interruptions due to

detection and correction of voice

signals. GPS data (if available)

is transmitted along with the

voice data and the transmitting

stations Callsign. The LCD

screen will display the Callsign

and distance to the received

station (if GPS data is available).

26 Amateur Radio August 2016

• VW (voice full rate mode) –

digital voice data is transmitted

using the full 12.5 kHz

bandwidth which enables high

quality voice communication.

• DW (high speed data

communication mode) – data is

transmitted using the full 12.5

kHz bandwidth for image and

message transmission.

• FM (analogue FM mode)

– standard FM mode of

transmission which supports

communications with stations

not able to transmit using a

digital mode.

Compared to other digital

modulations within FDMA, C4FM

has excellent communication

quality, Bit Error Rate (BER)

characteristics. Presently, C4FM

is the standard method for

professional communication devices

in FDMA, and is therefore expected

to continue to be the main stream

digital communication in the future.

On air, the number of repeaters

and users of C4FM devices is

starting to grow. I have had many

contacts while testing this transceiver

and I can say that the audio quality

certainly lives up to expectation

both through the local repeaters and

via simplex communications. The

ability of the transceiver to drop back

to conventional FM mode when it

hears one of these signals is simply

amazing.

Unfortunately, I can’t tell you

where to ﬁnd all the repeaters here,

although I know there are several in

VIC, NSW, QLD and WA. I hope to

have a full list available for the 2017

Callbook.

APRS feature

Setting up the APRS feature on this

radio was fairly straightforward after

having done it before for the FTM-

100DR using the right frequency

(145.175 MHz) and band rate (1200

baud). Turning on the APRS modem

suddenly brought the transceiver

to life displaying station information

as far away as VK5, VK7 and VK2.

Turing on the auto beacon feature

enabled me to contribute my

position.

The conﬁguration options for

APRS are quite extensive therefore I

won’t go through them here. Sufﬁce

to say Yaesu provides a separate

instruction manual for APRS that is

available for download from their

web site.

WIRES-X feature (HRI-200)

The WIRES-X feature is a

system that links to other users

via the internet which enables

communication world-wide

regardless of the distance between

Photo 3: The transceiver and associated equipment set up to operate as a WIRES-X radio node.

Amateur Radio August 2016 27

stations. To establish a WIRES-X

node, the WIRES-X connection kit

(HRI-200) and an internet connected

PC is required. Yaesu provide

separate instruction manuals

for WIRES-X setup (HRI-200)

and operation (for each model

transceiver).

To establish a node, you ﬁrst

need to register with Yaesu. You

will need to complete a web form

and have the serial number of your

HRI-200 internet linking unit handy.

The process was very easy and was

completed within 24 hours. You can

ﬁnd out more about WIRES-X and

where to ﬁnd nodes at the following

web site: https://www.yaesu.com/

jp/en/wires-x/index.php (click on the

WIRES-X ID list button). If you also

click on Asia, Oceania then sort by

country, all of the Australia nodes

will be at the head of the list. My

DTMF node ID is 14090. I count 39

nodes currently listed in Australia at

the time of writing.

If the node is active, you can

ﬁnd its frequency on the WIRES-X

Active ID List. When operational,

I put my node on 439.125 MHz

as this frequency shows up as an

internet linking frequency in the

current WIA band plan. With the

current location of the antenna, my

node can be heard throughout the

Eastern Suburbs of Melbourne.

There don’t appear to be any other

nodes on this frequency within

range.

The HRI-200 comes with a

standard USB cable for connection

to the PC. The unit is powered by

this connection. It also comes with

a 10 pin to 10 pin mini-DIN cable

for connection to a digital radio and

a 10 pin to 6 pin mini-DIN cable

for connection to an analogue

(FM) radio. The HRI-200 supports

connection to up to 2 radios. I’m

using the FTM-400XDR as the

digital radio and the FT-7900 as an

FM radio node (for those that don’t

have C4FM).

Connect the HRI-200 to the PC

using the standard USB cable and

then install the WIRES-X software.

The PC must have a connection

to the internet and the router must

be capable of port forwarding. My

router is connected via ADSL and

has the automatic UPnP setting

enabled. This is a much simpler way

of setting up the required ports to

forward as the software takes care

of that for you.

The next step is to run the

software and register your node.

Photo 4: A functional diagram of the WIRES-X communications system.

Photo 5: A screenshot of the WIRES-X Activation screen.

28 Amateur Radio August 2016

Photo 6: A screenshot of the WIRES-X Activation Software when connected to the America Link node.

Run the port check function to

ensure the server can be contacted

and if all ports show OK, you are

up and running. Active nodes will

display in the node window and

active rooms in the rooms window.

To connect to a node or a room

from the software, simply right click

on the room you want to connect to

and select the connect option.

From your handheld or other

transceiver, you can access the

local node by tuning to the node

frequency and pressing the X

button (or using DTMF for the FM

node). You can now have a normal

conversation with the remote station

or group of stations connected to

the room. There is a regular net

conducted in the Americas room at

around 10 am Sunday morning EST

if you would like to join in.

To start the FTM-400XDR

in WIRES-X mode – turn the

transceiver off. Press the DX and

GM buttons at the same time as the

power button to start the WIRES-X

mode.

Cross band repeater function

There is a nifty undocumented

feature of the FTM-400XDR: that

it will operate as a cross band

repeater. To start the FTM-400XDR

in cross band repeater mode, select

the receive and transmit frequencies

on the A band and B band and turn

the transceiver off. Press all three

buttons on the right hand side and

the power on button simultaneously

and the unit will start up in cross

band repeater mode. It works a

treat!

Conclusion

The FTM-400XDR 144/430 MHz

dual band transceiver is a compact

mobile device that manages to pack

a huge amount of functionality into

a very ﬂexible package. In addition

to the normal functions you would

expect from an amateur transceiver

of this nature, it supports digital

(C4FM) mode, APRS, GM (group

monitor), WIRES-X, Bluetooth

(option) and comes equipped with

built in GPS. In addition, it comes

with a programming cable, remote

head separation kit (3 m cable

and bracket) and a micro-SD card

slot for backup, programming and

storage of data.

Acknowledgements

I would like to thank Ross Keogh

from Strictly Ham in Bayswater

for the supply of all equipment for

the review. Next month, I will be

reviewing the FT2D dual band digital

handheld.

Help us

Contribute to the Weekly WIA News Broadcast. See our website for details.

www.wia.org.au/members/broadcast/contribute/

Amateur Radio August 2016 29

Speciﬁcations – General

Frequency range TX 144 – 148 MHz

430 – 450 MHz

RX 108 – 137 MHz (Air Band)

137 – 174 MHz (Incl. Ham)

174 – 400 MHz (GEN1)

400 – 480 MHz (Incl. Ham)

480 – 999 MHz (GEN2)

Channel steps 5/6.25/8.33/10/12.5/15/20/25/50/100 kHz

Emission type F1D, F2D, F3E, F7W

Frequency stability +2.5 ppm -20oC to +60oC

Antenna impedance 50

Supply voltage Nominal 13.8 VDC negative ground

Current consumption 0.5 A receive

12 A transmit (50 W TX)

Operating temperature -20oC to +60oC

Case size Radio unit: 140 x 40 x 125 mm w/o fan

Front panel: 140 x 72 x 20 mm

Mass 1.2 kg total

Speciﬁcations – Transmitter

RF power output 50/20/5 W

Modulation type F1D, F2D, F3E: variable reactance modulation,

F7W: 4FSK (C4FM)

Spurious emission At least 60 dB below

Microphone impedance About 2 k

Data terminal input impedance About 10 k

Speciﬁcations – Receiver

Circuit type Double conversion super-heterodyne

Intermediate frequencies A Band 1st 47.25 MHz, 2nd 450 kHz

B Band 1st 44.85 MHz, 2nd 450 kHz

Receiver sensitivity 108 – 137 MHz (AM) 0.8 µV typ. for 10 dB SN

137 – 140 MHz (FM) 0.2 µV for 12 dB SINAD

140 – 150 MHz (FM) 0.2 µV for 12 dB SINAD

150 – 174 MHz (FM) 0.25 µV for 12 dB SINAD

174 – 222 MHz (FM) 0.3 µV typ. for 12 dB SINAD

222 – 300 MHz (FM) 0.25 µV typ. for 12 dB SINAD

300 – 336 MHz (AM) 0.8 µV typ. for 10 dB SN

336 – 420 MHz (FM) 0.25 µV for 12 dB SINAD

420 – 470 MHz (FM) 0.2 µV typ. for 12 dB SINAD

470 – 520 MHz (FM) 0.2 µV for 12 dB SINAD

800 – 900 MHz (FM) 0.4 µV typ. for 12 dB SINAD

900 – 999 MHz (FM) 0.8 µV typ. for 10 dB SINAD

Digital mode

140 – 150 MHz (Digital) 0.19 µV typ. For BER 1%

420 – 470 MHz (Digital) 0.19 µV typ. For BER 1%

Squelch sensitivity 0.16 µV (144/430 MHz)

Selectivity FM, AM 12 kHz / 35 kHz (-6 dB / -60 dB)

AF output 3 W (8 , THD 10%, 13.8 V) internal speaker

8 W (4 , THD 10%, 13.8 V) optional MLS-200-M10

AF output impedance 4 – 16

Strength of secondary 4 nW and below

radio waves

Your Entry into Amateur Radio,

The Foundation Licence Manual

3rd Edition is now available for

purchase.

The Manual is attractively

presented and contains all the

information needed to qualify

for the Foundation licence in

Australia.

It includes the Foundation

licence syllabus and other

extracts reproduced with

permission of the Australian

Communications and Media

Authority.

To purchase the Manual, order

on-line at the WIA bookshop

or obtain a copy through the

learning facilitator at your local

radio club.

http://www.wia.org.au/

members/bookshop/page_data.

php?id=113

New

Foundation

Manual is

available now

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