Yaesu FT-891 Ownership Post-Mortem

Ugh, I hate to wade in on this, but perhaps it'll keep someone else from wasting their money, and more importantly, perhaps it'll spur Yaesu to fix the UI problems with their FT-891.  I had initially decided to keep it, despite some reservations, but after a year and a half of making excuses not to take it into the field, it had to go.  So, what are these problems?  Though there are many, here are the two big ones:

1. The digital signal processor resets with every band and mode change.
2. The digital mode option has a default offset that can be defeated through forcing an IF shift.  However, this cuts the top half off of the passband, and that cannot be defeated.  OK, so put the radio in SSB mode and pipe the data in and off you go, right?  Except that it's a deep-menu item to turn down the power to the 25w or so for these 100% duty cycle modes.  Either way, it's unacceptable.

There are plenty of other little quibbles about the UI, but those might be worked around.  These two however are complete deal-breakers.  OK, while I'm at it, here are a few more:

• The digital noise reduction is too heavy-handed, even on its lightest setting.  Can't use it at all when shortwave listening to music, and it's really even too heavy for most ham voice communications.
• The UI just stinks on ice, apart from the previously-mentioned dumping settings every time you blink.  Hey Yaesu, hire some ex-Apple people to help with a re-design, will you?
• Why even bother with the USB port on the back if it's only good for downloading half-baked firmware updates?  No way I'd risk bricking a radio for one of those.

Having said all that, what do I really, really like about this radio?

• The triple-conversion superhet analog receiver with its 3 KHz roofing filter is among the best out there.  It shrugs off lightning crashes and nearby transmissions like one of Yaesu's high-end FTdx line.  Five Stars!
• The construction and form factor are perfect for a field radio.  It could have been, should have been, the worthy heir to the venerable FT-857D.
• The big screen is most welcome – if Yaesu would put needed info like the operating voltage on it.
• The three user-programmable buttons are very useful.  Could you make the "CLAR" button a fourth?  Then people who need that function regularly could program it, and the rest of us have a fourth option here.
• The radio works great with an external tuner (in this case an MFJ-939Y), and it was very handy to have one of the afore-mentioned buttons programmed to activate the tuner.  Really nice!

But don't just take my word for all the problems with the FT-891, here's a recent review from over on eham:

KB3NWU	Rating:	2023-07-24
Could be SO much better with so little work!			Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Yes, a zero. No, I am not a fan boy of one of the other Big 3 who hates Yaesu but never owned one. Almost all of my radios have been Yaesu. I have owned the 817nd, 857D, 897D, & the FTDX-3000. I bought this radio because my FT-857D died. Sent it off to get fixed - still dead. I wanted a radio that worked with my ATAS 120A antenna for mobile use. It was bad enough loosing V/UHF going to the 891 but, hey, I get the awesome 32 bit IF DSP (which works great in my FTDX-3000!), right?. OMG what a step DOWN from the 857D! This radio is a perfect example of a product designed by people who never have to use it. The team who put this together knew about computers but were obviously not ham radio operators. As mentioned by other reviewers many times before, the menu is a bit convoluted - but it is not as bad as some say. The 32 bit IF DSP is awesome. It is rugged and compact. TX audio reports are good. So, why the big, fat zero? Simply because everything that makes a ham radio a QUALITY ham radio (DNR, DNF, CONTOUR, SHIFT, NOTCH, RX BW) ARE TURNED OFF & YOUR SETTING ERASED every time you change bands, hit A/B VFO, or go to a Memory or QMB channel; and, you have to go back into all the menus to reset your settings - all while trying to watch the road while driving! This is supposed to be a mobile radio. These settings should not only be saved but saved PER BAND! The 857 could save settings 20 years ago. It's as if the 891 wants to be a $50 CB radio static box. Many of these adjustments require looking at the screen to adjust as there is no audio or "click" feedback. With the 857D I could adjust the band, mode, and all 3 DSP without looking at the radio. Not so with this 891. It's hard to believe Yaesu discontinued the 857D because they had this. All they had to do was to put IF DSP in the 857D and it could have sold for another 30 years. The only thing this 891 does better than the 857D is that it has a temperature sensitive fan - it doesn't come on every time you touch the PTT. Also, the scope is a little better. No, it's not color. It has no waterfall. No averaging. Silent when active sweeping. But it is a little better. Some have recommended this 891 as a great starter HF radio for those entering the hobby. No, they will soon get frustrated and pick up golf or pickle ball or something. Perhaps these shortcomings could be fixed with a firmware update but this radio has been out for like what 7 years now? It either can't be done or Yaesu is too lazy. IMHO, the only thing this radio is good for is a cheap, portable, 100W POTA or SOTA radio where you can take 10 mins to set your menu options, pick a frequency, and stay on that frequency until you "activate" your location and go home. I can't wait to get my hands on a used 857D in good condition.

Harsh, even harsher than I'm putting it here, but well-deserved.  Zero out of five stars?  Eh, I'll give it two.  Not good enough to actually be worth buying, but I still have a lot of respect for that triple-conversion superhet and those other points I made above.

So, is there a way back for this beautiful trainwreck of a radio?  I think so.  Re-engineer the UI and related controls to fix those first two problems.  Back off on the DSP, in much the same way these were recently revised in firmware updates for the FT-710.  Then TEST TEST TEST the result.  Send prototypes out to some trustworthy beta testers.  Get feedback, revise.  Then and only then re-issue it as the "FT-891A" with a list price just under $1000, which would be a 50% increase but for that triple-conversion receiver it'd be worth it.  (NB: This is still about $100 less than a good used FT-857D is going for these days.)  Hell, burned as I am by all this, I'd buy.

But after a year and a half of trying to like it, I kicked my FT-891 to the curb for a reasonable trade-in at Main Trading Company towards an FT-710 (which is not perfect, but is perfectly good; review/comments here).

Gah.  Hurry up and get on this and take my money (again), Yaesu.  That decade-old FT-857d isn't going to last forever.