=  NOW 40 WPM  =  
A BAND SCOPE.  IVE USUALLY BEEN UNDERWHELMED WITH BAND SCOPES ON
HANDHELD RIGS, BUT THE FT5DR IS AN EXCEPTION SEE FIGURE 1.  THANKS
TO THE SHARP, COLORFUL DISPLAY, THE SCOPE IS EASY TO SEE.  WITH THE
TOUCH SCREEN FUNCTION, THE BAND SCOPE IS EVEN EASIER TO USE.  IF YOU
SEE A SPIKE OF ACTIVITY, A QUICK TAP ON THE SCREEN WILL PUT YOU ON
FREQUENCY.  OF COURSE, THE FT5DR INCLUDES FLEXIBLE SCANNING
FUNCTIONS.  MY FAVORITE WAS THE MEMORY SCAN.  I COULD CHOOSE WHICH
MEMORY GROUP PRODUCT REVIEW YAESU FT5DR VHF/UHF ANALOG/DIGITAL
TRANSCEIVER ITS FAIR TO DESCRIBE YAESUS FT5DR AS THE SUCCESSOR TO
THEIR POPULAR FT3DR HANDHELD TRANSCEIVER.  LIKE THE FT3DR, THIS IS A
DUAL BAND VHF/UHF RADIO THAT OFFERS ANALOG FM VOICE AND DIGITAL
C4FM.  IT IS LIKE THE FT3DR IN MANY OTHER WAYS AS WELL, BUT IT ALSO
INCLUDES SEVERAL REFINEMENTS.  THE TRANSMIT RANGES ARE 144 TO 148
MHZ AND 430 TO 450 MHZ, WHICH IS TO BE EXPECTED.  WHATS UNEXPECTED
IS THE ASTONISHING RECEIVE COVERAGE AS CLOSE TO DC TO DAYLIGHT AS
YOURE LIKELY TO FIND IN A HANDHELD TRANSCEIVER.  RECEIVE COVERAGE IS
SPLIT BETWEEN TWO BANDS, WHICH YOU CAN SELECT WITH THE FRONT PANEL
A/B BUTTON.  SEE TABLE 2.  THE FT5DR FEATURES TWO INDEPENDENT
RECEIVERS.  THIS MEANS YOU CAN MONITOR ANY TWO A/B BAND FREQUENCIES
SIMULTANEOUSLY.  THE FT5DR OFFERS A HEFTY 5 W MAXIMUM RF OUTPUT, BUT
YOU CAN REDUCE THE OUTPUT LEVEL TO AS LITTLE AS 300 MW TO HELP
CONSERVE BATTERY POWER.  SPEAKING OF THE BATTERY, YAESU INCLUDES A
2200 MAH LITHIUM ION BATTERY WITH THE FT5DR.  I FOUND THE BATTERY
MORE THAN ADEQUATE FOR A FULL DAY OF FREQUENT USE, EVEN WHEN THE
OUTPUT WAS SET TO 5 W.  PHYSICAL ATTRIBUTES THE FT5DR IS COMPACT AT
APPROXIMATELY 2R5 X 4 X 1R5 INCHES, BUT ID STOP SHORT OF CALLING IT
TINY.  IT FIT COMFORTABLY WITHIN MY SHIRT POCKET, ALTHOUGH WITH A
WEIGHT OF ALMOST 10 OUNCES, I WAS ALWAYS AWARE OF ITS PRESENCE
THERE.  ONE OF THE MOST STRIKING VISUAL ASPECTS OF THE FT5DR IS ITS
LCD DISPLAY SCREEN.  THE DISPLAY IS BRIGHT AND CRISP, MAKING IT EASY
TO SEE IN ANY ENVIRONMENT.  THERE IS A POWER SAVING FUNCTION THAT
DIMS THE SCREEN AFTER A FEW SECONDS OF INACTIVITY, BUT OPERATING ANY
CONTROL RESTORES THE SCREEN TO FULL BRIGHTNESS.  SCREEN
FUNCTIONALITY ISNT LIMITED TO DISPLAYING INFORMATION.  THIS IS A
TOUCHSCREEN THAT YOU CAN USE TO QUICKLY ACCESS VARIOUS FUNCTIONS,
INCLUDING THE MENU SYSTEM.  THE SCREEN IS 1 1/2 X 1 1/4 INCHES BUT
EVEN MY VERSIZED FINGERS HAD NO DIFFICULTY WITH IT.  IN FACT, I SOON
FOUND THAT I USED THE TOUCHSCREEN MORE OFTEN THAN THE FRONT PANEL
BUTTONS.  AT THE TOP OF THE RADIO, YOULL FIND TWO CONCENTRIC KNOBS.
THE TALL KNOB IS PRIMARILY USED TO ADJUST THE FREQUENCY OF THE
ACTIVE BAND, AS WELL AS CERTAIN SELECTIONS WITHIN THE MENU SYSTEM.
YOU ALSO CAN ENTER FREQUENCIES DIRECTLY THROUGH A KEYPAD DISPLAY ON
THE TOUCHSCREEN.  THE BOTTOM KNOB A RING, ACTUALLY IS USED TO ADJUST
THE VOLUME LEVEL OF THE ACTIVE BAND.  IF YOU PRESS AND HOLD THE
SQUELCH BUTTON ON THE SIDE OF THE RADIO, THE VOLUME BAR ON THE
SCREEN SWITCHES TO A YELLOW SQUELCH BAR AND YOU CAN TWIST THE RING
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