So it looks like the good folks at customer after-sales-focused Yaesu have decided to surprise everyone (well, me anyway) with not one but THREE new mobile radios.
The new radios are here:
https://www.yaesu.com/?cmd=DisplayProducts&DivisionID=65&ProdCatID=106
What say ye? On a scale of 9 to 427 how excited are you for these new toys?
FTM-150RASP
FTM-3165RASP
FTM-3185RASP
Looks like a game of spot the differenceā¦ a 65W version and an 85W version of the same radio? Although looks like the 85W version also comes with one more memory channels, in case 220 wasnāt enough, you get 221ā¦
Three Feeble Mode radios. Not interested.
I was expecting maybe WIRES-X and/or a data port at least. Three uninspiring radios that only seem to be flaunting DSP as their X Factor.
Love a bit of 2 and 70 as much as anyone, but these do look a bit British Leyland*ā¦
*Iād still love a supercharged Allegro Cosworth Estate with a Van Den Plas front grille though. 
Driving a mateās 1750SS saloon was enough for me. We people of a certain ageā¦ 
Iām not in the market for a new FM box, but even if I was I canāt say I was inspired by any of the three new radios. Iāll stick to my old kit which is fine for my purposes. Maybe some people are out there looking for a shiny new toy. For Yaesuās sake I hope so. 
You and I have spoken three times on the radio, I think. FM every time. 
Austin Allaggro Equipe.
Rarer than an underwater hairdryer. Belissimo!
Indeed Fraser. I have (looks about shack) 2x VX170, 1x VX1, 1x DJ-D7, 1x FT290, 1x TR2300 and an IC-705 for 2m FM. And the TS-570 and KX2 do FM for 10m. Thereās been a 2m FM capable radio with me on nearly all my SOTA activations.
But thereās no wow factor about these new sets. Just another nondescript FM box with a gazillion watts output and a trazillion memories. If you consider the entire UK FM allocation is only 160 12.5kHz channels wide, youāve got enough memories to have one for each channel and still have 80 for the repeaters.
Now if they were doing a new version of the FT-90, especially one that didnāt melt itself on long oversā¦ well that would be tempting. 
The 3165 and 3185 look very similar to their existing mobile radios, the only addition being the Super DX.
I wonder if itās a case of get something new out before Christmas.
Id agree that the generic dual band yaesu with the orange display is very boring. I guess they only update them when they have to due to component availability.
I do enjoy using my ftm-400, as it has a lot more functionality, as well as a touch screen. Seen here sandwiched between a network radio running Zello and a high band Kenwood. Many marshals are also radio amateurs and we use 2m as a back channel.
Edit:
Thereās possibly a bit of a lift on. APRS is handy for that.
Thatās a great looking radio. Amazed Yaesu put a postage stamp sized screen on the 500.
A Group B Austin Allegro WRC car? Now thereās a thought!!!
The FTM-3185RASP does 85W and no cooling fan.
That will save having the central heating on in the house 
Every time Yaesu announce a new mobile, I think āoh maybe a new FT-90?! Nope, nevermind.ā
About -427
Iām sure someone will want yet another mobile radio, but they arenāt of interest to me. Iāll stick with my ancient Kenwood TM G707 until someone (Yaesu) bring out a proper 2m/70cm multimode.
73, Simon
Itās not just me then?
I want a submersible āVX-FTMā for soggy SOTAās and POTAās.
Ireland. A brilliant countryā¦if ye could put a roof over it. 
OT but just leaving this here for @MM0EFI
Timestamp of particular interest is 30:34 in case the link doesnāt work right. Enjoy.
HaHa! Rally car on the outside, but still has the beige cloth seats in it.
Our weekend was spent with this kind of rally car.
Very good! Those remind me a little bit of the 1972 Puma from the Terence Hill and Bud Spencer classic comedy Watch Out Weāre Mad!
OT Trivia #1 for today; that 1972 Puma was destroyed in the film, they made 3 of them - I forget the Italian company that made them, it was a real car. A coachbuilt 100% accurate replica was made a few years back and now resides in the Bud Spencer museum in Berlin - I visited it when I was in Berlin for work earlier this year. If you ever visit, itās near the Brandenberg Gate, just on the corner of Freidrichstrassen.
OT Trivia #2 for today; did you know that there was a Morris Marina rally car? I āthinkā it was on the early 1970ās Group B circuit. I believe Rover submitted the famous Triplex SD1 in to rally as well, and I think it won?! Good old āthatāll doā coachbuilding from British Leyland Motorsport! 
When you look back I always thought there were many 2m, 70cm, 6m multimodes (and multi band) multimode mobiles. But there were only ever a few.
So whilst FM mobile sets continue to be released with minor differences between each revision, there are no multimode mobiles in production now. There is the IC-705 but itās not designed for car mounting and there is to be released Yaesu FTF-1x.
You have to go back to the later 70s, 80s and early 90s when these sets were sold.
Icom were first with the IC-245 then IC-260 before coming out with a rather good mobile multimode: the IC-290 family. IC-290 2m FM/SSB/CW and IC-490 70cm FM/SSB/CW. A variety of 2m models were produced, IC-290D was 25W, IC-290A/E (10 US/EU version) IC-290H another 25W version. the IC-490 was always 10W. I have seen 2x IC-490 for sale second hand since 1990. In fact I have seen more Japanese market IC-390 (70cm) on sale secnd hand in the UK that 490s! I had an IC-290D, it was ānot badā, average NF and sensitivity for the day.
Trio/Kenwood had the TR-9000 2m FM/SSB/CW at the same time. It was 10W. Later the TR-9130 was sold, this was 25W. Considered not as good receive wise as the IC-290. There was a TR-9500 10W 70cm version and a 6m TR-9300. Iām not sure the TR-9300 was officially sold in the UKā¦
After that Kenwood released the rather brilliant TR-751 25W 2m FM/SSB/CW and TR-851 70cm 10W FM/SSB/CW radios. These were significantly better than other radios in their class. The bugbear was the combined on/off squelch/volume pot wearing outā¦ the carbon track wearing off the plastic backing. For a long time these pots were unobtanium from Kenwood, they still are but there is website showing how to mod other pots and Andrew VK1DA pointed me at at a website that showed some CB radio pots mechanically fit and work fine. A second hand TR-751 with a duff volume pot is now repairable.
Yaesu, of course, had the original FT-290 2.5W 2m, FT-690 2.5W 6m and FT-790 1.5W 70cm battery portable multimodes. All were quite deaf and Mutek made a small fortune selling a decent front end preamp kit for the 290. However, their deafness matched their whisper strength output. (Queue someone saying they have worked 50squares and 40 countries on 2m using a barefoot 290!) They were not cheap. Just when I was licenced in 1990 the MkII versions were released. There was a clip on 25W linear for the 290 but it was eye wateringly expensive for what it was. (Ā£595 for the basic FT-290 MIkII in 1992 ISTR).
Kenwood did produce the ultimate in these mutlimode mobile setsā¦ the TM-255 and TM-455 2m 40W and 70cm 35W sets. Excellent RF performance and a much more usable power output. No need for a nasty Micky Mouse (Microwave Modules) squaggy amp with their Trades Descriptions Act bustiing powers. You may get 100W out of them by hammering them well into compression, 85W linear was more typical. The 255/455 were well made, worked well and as expensive as the Koh-i-Nor diamond. 1994 price of the TM-255 was Ā£895 and Ā£995 for the TM-455.
Like the FT-90, Iāve wanted a TM-255 because itās shiny and I could not justify the cost when they were on sale. I have seen 3 for sale second hand in the last 30 years and they went for Ā£500 +/- for a 25+ year old radio made from complete unobtanium custom components.
Of course those in the know are aware the proper SSB mobile set was the Kenwood/Trio TR-7010, an 8W SSB only radio covering 200kHz of 2m. I had one in 1990 when 1st licenced and was over the moon with my first non UK/EI contact to ON. Mine was recrystalled and covered 144.200 to 144.395 and stupidly I sold it for about Ā£50 and regretted for ever. I bought one earlier this year that also is recrystalled and covers 144.260 to 144.450. It works but needs a good alignment as it is 47years old. I only know of 5 people in the UK who have had one, me, the guy I bought my first one from, the guy I sold it to, the guy I bought one from this year and Gerald @G4OIG , tell them about it Gerald.
There is no market for these sets because there is no demand. There is no demand since the late 1990ās as more and more countries gained 6m access so VHF only licencees could work DX on 6m instead of having to fit beams for 2m SSB. And since CW tests were abolished and the VHF bands were abandoned in droves for HF within weeks of the licence changes, very few people do any kind of VHF and up DXing. In fact itās surprising Icom fit 2/70cm on the IC-705. Suddenly those beat up 20yr old FT-817s look a bit of a steal at Ā£350 
So I want a TM-255E because I have always wanted one. And an FT-90 (that works and hasnāt been mistreated.)
