{"id":47997,"date":"2021-03-02T08:09:18","date_gmt":"2021-03-02T12:09:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/?p=47997"},"modified":"2021-03-02T08:13:45","modified_gmt":"2021-03-02T12:13:45","slug":"guest-post-marks-review-of-the-yaesu-ft-891-as-shortwave-broadcast-receiver","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2021\/03\/guest-post-marks-review-of-the-yaesu-ft-891-as-shortwave-broadcast-receiver\/","title":{"rendered":"Guest Post: Mark’s review of the Yaesu FT-891 as shortwave broadcast receiver"},"content":{"rendered":"

Many thanks to SWLing Post<\/em> contributor, Mark Hirst<\/a>, who shares the following guest post:<\/p>\n

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Using the Yaesu FT-891 for SWLing<\/h1>\n

by Mark Hirst<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Woodland Operation in North Hampshire<\/p><\/div>\n

Introduction<\/h2>\n

While I have a small collection of portable shortwave radios for outdoor listening, I\u2019ve been looking to fill a gap in my amateur radio lineup for a while. Outdoor operation has become important in recent years as solar cycle conditions deteriorated along with rising levels of QRM in urban neighbourhoods. The ICOM IC\u20137200 with Wellbrook loop stays at home fighting a losing battle with PLA noise, while the very portable FT\u2013817ND does occasional data modes contacts and outdoor listening. Somewhere in the middle, the FT\u2013891 promised to provide a modern and more powerful data modes station, a radio to take on holidays, needing external batteries, but portable enough for walks into the country side. Earlier this year, I bought one new from my local ham radio store, and what follows are my findings and observations so far on shortwave listening.<\/p>\n

Audio Characteristics<\/h1>\n

I\u2019ve accumulated hundreds of recordings of VOA Radiogram and Shortwave Radiogram since 2013, so a recent woodland expedition with the FT\u2013891 was an opportunity to compare a recording made with it against those of other radios I\u2019ve used.<\/p>\n

The most striking difference is the lack of frequencies in the lower part of the audio spectrum along with a distinct cut off at around 5kHz.<\/p>\n

This is easily visualised in the following comparison between the FT\u2013891 and the Tecsun PL\u2013680. Note the conspicuous pillar associated with MFSK32 from these Shortwave Radiogram broadcasts, and interfering RTTY on the FT\u2013891 recording:<\/p>\n

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Audio Frequency Analysis<\/p><\/div>\n

While this audio profile may not be to everyone\u2019s taste, the extra sparkle yields voice audio that is clear and distinct. I find those low frequencies make the audio muddy and tiring to listen over long periods, so I\u2019m quite happy with this.<\/p>\n

When listening to speech based broadcasts through the top mounted speaker, the audio is also precise and intelligible, and provides more than enough volume.<\/p>\n

You can judge for yourself from this 2 minute video<\/a> I made recently:<\/p>\n