{"id":43581,"date":"2020-05-27T17:51:15","date_gmt":"2020-05-27T21:51:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/?p=43581"},"modified":"2020-05-27T21:10:34","modified_gmt":"2020-05-28T01:10:34","slug":"the-yaesu-ft-70g-where-the-ft-line-met-milcom","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2020\/05\/the-yaesu-ft-70g-where-the-ft-line-met-milcom\/","title":{"rendered":"The Yaesu FT-70G: Where the FT line met Milcom"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Earlier today, I stumbled upon a very unique transceiver in Universal Radio archives<\/a>: the Yaesu FT-70G<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Here’s the description from Universal:<\/p>\n

The\u00a0Yaesu FT-70G<\/b> is a portable HF transceiver covering 2 to 30 MHz transmit. Receive is from 500 kHz to 30 MHz. Frequency selection is via BCD switches to 100 Hz. There is a clarifier for fine tuning. Optional FNB-70 NiCad Battery. Please note that the optional 10F-2.4DL filter is required for LSB opeation.<\/p>\n

The\u00a0Yaesu FT-70F<\/b><\/a> is similar, but is a channelized fixed version offering up to 11 frequencies.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Two hours ago, I was not aware that the FT-70G existed.\u00a0 Now? I want one!<\/strong><\/p>\n

I’m a real sucker for vintage rugged field radio gear, so I never discovered the FT-70G until today. Turns out, they’re relatively rare. A little light research reveals that it’s a highly-desired transceiver in the world of HF Packers–those radio enthusiast who like “manpack” commercial and military gear.<\/p>\n

The FT-70G has a distinct military look and feel with the BCD switches to change frequency, rugged toggle switches, chassis extensions to protect the front panel, and attached screw-on connector caps.<\/p>\n

What’s really surprising is that the FT-70G has a general coverage receiver (500 kHz to 30 MHz). Admittedly, it would not be fun band-scanning with those BCD switches…but still!<\/p>\n

This website<\/a> has a number of photos. They also have a product description likely from the original Yaesu\/Vertex Standard FT-70G description:<\/p>\n

“The FT-70 series HF field portable manpack transceivers are designed to provide reliable communications under rugged conditions in the military and commercial environment. The frequency synthesized, all solid-state circuitry and die-cast anodized aluminum enclosure and battery pack make a highly portable, weatherproof station. Flexible operation for optimum communications under a wide range of propagation conditions are assured by SSB (USB, LSB), semi break-in CW, AM, or audio interfaced Data modes. All controls, antenna, and interface ports are available and selectable via the front panel for maximum effectiveness and ergonomics in field, base, and manpack applications. The companion antenna tuner FC-70 is compatible with walking manpack, field portable, or base configurations. The highly effective vertical tripod mount antenna system YA-70 is deployed and stowed easily and quickly, pulling double duty by converting to manpack whip while on manuevers. High quality handset YH-70 provides communications privacy and clarity.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Again, check out the excellent photos<\/a> of the full manpack kit.<\/p>\n

As I researched pricing, I discovered this FT-70R with accompanying FC-70M antenna tuner on eBay right now<\/a> with only 6 hours left of bidding:<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a> \"\"<\/a> \"\"<\/a>At time of posting, the bids are at $520<\/a>. I fear this will soar well<\/em> above my comfort level before bidding ends. (Like I need another field radio anyway, right?)<\/p>\n

Post readers:<\/strong> Please comment if you’re familiar with the FT-70G and especially if you’ve ever owned one.\u00a0 I’d love to hear about your experience with this unique rig.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Earlier today, I stumbled upon a very unique transceiver in Universal Radio archives: the Yaesu FT-70G. Here’s the description from Universal: The\u00a0Yaesu FT-70G is a portable HF transceiver covering 2 to 30 MHz transmit. Receive is from 500 kHz to 30 MHz. Frequency selection is via BCD switches to 100 Hz. There is a clarifier […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[545,3,305,43,4796],"tags":[3276,4879,8542,1303,8541,8540],"class_list":["post-43581","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-ham-radio","category-news","category-nostalgia","category-shortwave-radio","category-vintage-radio","tag-general-coverage-transceivers","tag-manpack-radios","tag-milcom","tag-qrp","tag-yaesu-ft-70","tag-yaesu-ft-70g"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pn3uc-bkV","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":30955,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2018\/02\/details-emerge-about-the-yaesu-ft-818-and-beware-of-the-fake-leaked-photo\/","url_meta":{"origin":43581,"position":0},"title":"Yaesu FT-818 details emerge (and beware of the fake “leaked” photo!)","author":"Thomas","date":"February 24, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"I've been following news about the Yaesu FT-818: the next iteration of the venerable Yaesu FT-817ND QRP general coverage transceiver. The FT-817 series has been on the market for nearly two decades. I remember purchasing one of the first production models when I lived in the UK in 2001. It\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Ham Radio"","block_context":{"text":"Ham Radio","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/ham-radio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/ft-817_1.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/ft-817_1.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/ft-817_1.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/ft-817_1.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":9401,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2014\/04\/yaesu-ft-817-as-a-travel-receiver\/","url_meta":{"origin":43581,"position":1},"title":"Yaesu FT-817 as a travel receiver","author":"Thomas","date":"April 28, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"SWLing Post reader, Anil, comments on Traveling light, SWLing right: \"I would like to suggest another candidate that is really hard to beat and is fantastic value when you buy a used one - The Yaesu FT-817 Low Power Transceiver. It has outrageously good General Coverage performance and a massive\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Ham Radio"","block_context":{"text":"Ham Radio","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/ham-radio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Yaesu-FT-817","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/Yaesu-FT-817.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":53241,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2022\/07\/radio-waves-new-yaesu-ft-710-aess-ukraines-army-fm-foil-28-mhz-antenna-and-ats-25-4-1-firmware-review\/","url_meta":{"origin":43581,"position":2},"title":"Radio Waves: New Yaesu FT-710 AESS, Ukraine’s Army FM, Foil 28 MHz antenna, and ATS-25 4.1 Firmware Review,","author":"Thomas","date":"July 7, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Radio Waves:\u00a0 Stories Making Waves in the World of Radio Welcome to the\u00a0SWLing Post\u2019s Radio Waves, a collection of links to interesting stories making waves in the world of radio.\u00a0Enjoy! Many thanks to Eric Jon Magnuson for summarizing these news items for Radio Waves! Yaesu Introduces the FT-710 AESS 100\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Antennas"","block_context":{"text":"Antennas","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/antennas\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/Yaesu-FT-170-Cropped.webp?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/Yaesu-FT-170-Cropped.webp?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/Yaesu-FT-170-Cropped.webp?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/Yaesu-FT-170-Cropped.webp?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/Yaesu-FT-170-Cropped.webp?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":46398,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2020\/11\/shortwave-listening-with-the-yaesu-ft-817-ft-817nd-or-ft-818\/","url_meta":{"origin":43581,"position":3},"title":"Shortwave listening with the Yaesu FT-817, FT-817ND, or FT-818–?","author":"Thomas","date":"November 9, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"I recently re-acquired a Yaesu FT-817ND general coverage QRP transceiver. I wrote a post with some info about this radio and how it came into my possession over at QRPer.com, if you're interested. My question here: Have any folks in the SWLing Post community ever used the FT-817 or FT-818\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Ham Radio"","block_context":{"text":"Ham Radio","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/ham-radio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/Yaesu-FT-817ND-1-1-e1604936467981.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/Yaesu-FT-817ND-1-1-e1604936467981.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/Yaesu-FT-817ND-1-1-e1604936467981.jpeg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/Yaesu-FT-817ND-1-1-e1604936467981.jpeg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":44564,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2020\/07\/covid-19-popular-yaesu-and-alinco-rigs-meet-early-demise\/","url_meta":{"origin":43581,"position":4},"title":"Covid-19: Popular Yaesu and Alinco rigs meet early demise","author":"Thomas","date":"July 31, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"\u00a0 No doubt, the Covid-19 global pandemic has had a mostly negative impact on our daily lives.\u00a0 Surprisingly, I found that the impact on the amateur radio world, at first, was quite minimal. Not only did sheltering at home seem to increase the number of operators on the air, but\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Ham Radio"","block_context":{"text":"Ham Radio","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/ham-radio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/Yaesu-FT-450D-edited-1-e1596207207516.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/Yaesu-FT-450D-edited-1-e1596207207516.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/Yaesu-FT-450D-edited-1-e1596207207516.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/Yaesu-FT-450D-edited-1-e1596207207516.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":47105,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2021\/01\/upgrading-my-yaesu-ft-817-transceiver-with-the-g7uhn-rev2-buddy-board\/","url_meta":{"origin":43581,"position":5},"title":"Upgrading my Yaesu FT-817 transceiver with the G7UHN rev2 Buddy board","author":"Thomas","date":"January 1, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Last August, SWLing Post contributor, Andy (G7UHN), shared his homebrew project with us: a genius companion control display for the venerable Yaesu FT-817 general coverage QRP transceiver. Andy's article caused me (yes, I blame him) to wax nostalgic about the popular FT-817 transceiver. You see, I owned one of the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Accessories"","block_context":{"text":"Accessories","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/accessories\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Yaesu-FT-817-G7UHN-Buddy-board-1-1.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Yaesu-FT-817-G7UHN-Buddy-board-1-1.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Yaesu-FT-817-G7UHN-Buddy-board-1-1.jpeg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Yaesu-FT-817-G7UHN-Buddy-board-1-1.jpeg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Yaesu-FT-817-G7UHN-Buddy-board-1-1.jpeg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43581","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=43581"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43581\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=43581"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=43581"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=43581"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}