What Yaesu's Next QRP Radio Needs

The whole world of backcountry amateur radio seems ticked off at Yaesu for bumping up the model number on their flagship QRP radio to 818 instead of naming it say, "FT-817XL".  And they we have a legit point.  We all thought it was going to be a major upgrade rather than a mere component refresh.

Still, they can pull this one off in the next iteration.  Integrate the new WolfWave audio processor on the receive side and the SOTAbeams speech compressor on the transmit, and all will be forgiven and I will gladly fork over the retail price, selling my 817nd online at a deep discount.  Ditch the heavy steel covers for aluminum, do a weight audit on the rest, then add some rails and it could be a classic for the next decade.

Anyway, that new WolfWave unit looks mighty cool, but I'm not sure it it's worth the $258 price even without the UK VAT.  Hm, will have to think about this one.