Uncle Mikey (WDØOM) (@belmikey) Bsky

SPA-1 and FTX-1 Mobile Setup - Real World Results At long last, it's time to talk about the Yaesu SPA-1 amp and tuner, in concert with the Yaesu FTX-1 ham radio. Or, if you prefer, the Yaesu FTX-1 Optima, although I didn't buy it that way, so I don't think of it that way. The good news: putting these two things together, as Yaesu intends, makes for a power combination that's good for mobile or portable ham radio. While the SPA-1 does not **physically** fit in my car as well as the body of the ICOM IC-7100 did, the FTX-1 + SPA-1 do fit my operating style exactly, for those days when I'm on the road, or when the weather makes operating out of the car a bad plan. Not everything is wine and roses, and the radio is still awfully expensive and likely to get more so; but now that Yaesu have fixed their firmware problems, this is a **good** radio. Let's talk about it. 00:00 - Intro 00:58 - Thanks to Newer Subscribers! 02:04 - Addressing Some Critiques 05:54 - Updated FTX-1 Thoughts 11:05 - Using the SPA-1 with the FTX-1 13:58 - Tour of Connections 20:28 - Things I don't love about the SPA-1 22:42 - SPA-1 RFI susceptibility 26:15 - Concluding thoughts Music: Master Planned Music @masterplannedmusic

1 day ago 0 0 0 0

SPA-1 and FTX-1 Mobile Setup - Real World Results At long last, it's time to talk about the Yaesu SPA-1 amp and tuner, in concert with the Yaesu FTX-1 ham radio. Or, if you prefer, the Yaesu FTX-1 Optima, although I didn't buy it that way, so I don't think of it that way. The good news: putting these two things together, as Yaesu intends, makes for a power combination that's good for mobile or portable ham radio. While the SPA-1 does not **physically** fit in my car as well as the body of the ICOM IC-7100 did, the FTX-1 + SPA-1 do fit my operating style exactly, for those days when I'm on the road, or when the weather makes operating out of the car a bad plan. Not everything is wine and roses, and the radio is still awfully expensive and likely to get more so; but now that Yaesu have fixed their firmware problems, this is a **good** radio. Let's talk about it. 00:00 - Intro 00:58 - Thanks to Newer Subscribers! 02:04 - Addressing Some Critiques 05:54 - Updated FTX-1 Thoughts 11:05 - Using the SPA-1 with the FTX-1 13:58 - Tour of Connections 20:28 - Things I don't love about the SPA-1 22:42 - SPA-1 RFI susceptibility 26:15 - Concluding thoughts Music: Master Planned Music @masterplannedmusic

5 days ago 0 0 0 0

Things Fall Apart: Chapter 70 Union City, Cherryh's World, Tau Ceti, 16.14.775 CW 21.6 megaseconds since the catastrophe Elyah could not have said how long she stood there in her mother's arms melting down, save that it was both too long and not long enough. Emotionally, she needed

1 week ago 1 0 0 0

Things Fall Apart: Chapter 70 Union City, Cherryh's World, Tau Ceti, 16.14.775 CW 21.6 megaseconds since the catastrophe Elyah could not have said how long she stood there in her mother's arms melting down, save that it was both too long and not long enough. Emotionally, she needed

1 week ago 1 0 0 0

Hamstick Antenna Test During Road Trip (Channel Update April 2026) On the road again, I decided against flying to New Jersey and instead opted for a driving journey, complete with a 20-meter hamstick ham radio antenna on the car. Yaesu FTX-1 did me solid the whole trip. This is really just a quick channel update. Life's been busy, but I'm still here, and I've got more stuff coming soon!

1 week ago 0 0 0 0

Things Fall Apart: Chapter 69 Union City, Cherryh's World, Tau Ceti, 16.14.775 CW Esmé Singer considered the bags of groceries she as she hefted them off the checkout counter from the distribution center with a certain resignation. Cherryh's World had, fortunately, not wholly given up agriculture with the

2 weeks ago 1 0 0 0

Things Fall Apart: Chapter 69 Union City, Cherryh's World, Tau Ceti, 16.14.775 CW Esmé Singer considered the bags of groceries she as she hefted them off the checkout counter from the distribution center with a certain resignation. Cherryh's World had, fortunately, not wholly given up agriculture with the

2 weeks ago 0 0 0 0

Hamstick Antenna Test During Road Trip (Channel Update April 2026) On the road again, I decided against flying to New Jersey and instead opted for a driving journey, complete with a 20-meter hamstick ham radio antenna on the car. Yaesu FTX-1 did me solid the whole trip. This is really just a quick channel update. Life's been busy, but I'm still here, and I've got more stuff coming soon!

2 weeks ago 1 0 0 0

Things Fall Apart: Chapter 68 Zephyr, pacing Robinson Station, Tau Ceti, 16.12.775 CW 21.5 megaseconds since the catastrophe Donato's followup would be nearly one-hundred kiloseconds in finding its way to them. Objectively, this was not too long to wait. After all, it was altogether possible that the investigation itself would

4 weeks ago 0 0 0 0

Things Fall Apart: Chapter 68 Zephyr, pacing Robinson Station, Tau Ceti, 16.12.775 CW 21.5 megaseconds since the catastrophe Donato's followup would be nearly one-hundred kiloseconds in finding its way to them. Objectively, this was not too long to wait. After all, it was altogether possible that the investigation itself would

4 weeks ago 0 0 0 0

Did Yaesu finally get it right? #hamradio #ftx-1 Friday, Yaesu released firmware for the FTX-1 ham radio that added the long awaited Wires-X but broke VHF and UHF when using the SPA-1 amplifier. This morning I dropped a little rant about it, and assumed it would be days before it was fixed. For once, I was pleasantly surprised! A fix came out this afternoon that actually seems to fix things! Only three days from "Broke it" to "Fixed it!" Now, they should never have broken it at all, but, now, at last, it's fixed. Is that the end of the saga, or are there more bugs lurking! Stay tuned, radio fans!

1 month ago 0 0 0 0

FTX-1 Update adds more bugs! (oh and WiresX) I was all set to say nice things about Yaesu for finally releasing the Wires-X firmware for the Yaesu FTX-1 ham radio. Then reports started coming in about it breaking 2m band transmit power, and at least one source says even Yaesu says "don't update yet"! Quality Control? Apparently that's for other people.

1 month ago 0 0 0 0

Things Fall Apart: Delays Okay, straight talk, folks. I still have a fair chunk of story to tell. I even know how a lot of it's going to go, although I'll admit I'm having a little trouble with some of the connective tissue. That said, I also started

1 month ago 0 0 0 0

Things Fall Apart: Delays Okay, straight talk, folks. I still have a fair chunk of story to tell. I even know how a lot of it's going to go, although I'll admit I'm having a little trouble with some of the connective tissue. That said, I also started

1 month ago 3 0 1 0

Did Yaesu finally get it right? #hamradio #ftx-1 Friday, Yaesu released firmware for the FTX-1 ham radio that added the long awaited Wires-X but broke VHF and UHF when using the SPA-1 amplifier. This morning I dropped a little rant about it, and assumed it would be days before it was fixed. For once, I was pleasantly surprised! A fix came out this afternoon that actually seems to fix things! Only three days from "Broke it" to "Fixed it!" Now, they should never have broken it at all, but, now, at last, it's fixed. Is that the end of the saga, or are there more bugs lurking! Stay tuned, radio fans!

1 month ago 0 1 0 0

FTX-1 Update adds more bugs! (oh and WiresX) I was all set to say nice things about Yaesu for finally releasing the Wires-X firmware for the Yaesu FTX-1 ham radio. Then reports started coming in about it breaking 2m band transmit power, and at least one source says even Yaesu says "don't update yet"! Quality Control? Apparently that's for other people.

1 month ago 0 0 0 0

Changes coming If you actually read my blog (or Things Fall Apart) on the website instead of just reading the email, you'll notice a pretty major shift in the look of the site soon. When I first chose the theme, I went for something fairly simple, mostly text oriented, and

1 month ago 0 0 0 0

Changes coming If you actually read my blog (or Things Fall Apart) on the website instead of just reading the email, you'll notice a pretty major shift in the look of the site soon. When I first chose the theme, I went for something fairly simple, mostly text oriented, and

1 month ago 1 0 0 0

Things Fall Apart: Chapter 67 Better Nate than lever, a chapter for this week after all! --- Robinson Station, Tau Ceti, 16.12.775 CW 21.5 megaseconds since the catastrophe Karenski had taken advantage of both the communication lag and the travel time to dither over whether he wanted Zephyr's command crew to

1 month ago 3 0 0 0

Things Fall Apart: Chapter 67 Better Nate than lever, a chapter for this week after all! --- Robinson Station, Tau Ceti, 16.12.775 CW 21.5 megaseconds since the catastrophe Karenski had taken advantage of both the communication lag and the travel time to dither over whether he wanted Zephyr's command crew to

1 month ago 3 0 0 0

Things Fall Apart: AMA (Skip Week) Sorry, folks. I'm feeling a bit fried, so no chapter this week. If you've fallen behind, this is a great week to catch up! If you're fuzzy on what's gone before, it's a great week to read from the beginning

1 month ago 1 0 0 0

Things Fall Apart: AMA (Skip Week) Sorry, folks. I'm feeling a bit fried, so no chapter this week. If you've fallen behind, this is a great week to catch up! If you're fuzzy on what's gone before, it's a great week to read from the beginning

1 month ago 1 0 0 0

The FTX-1 In Detail -- What Works, and What Doesn't! Last week, I posted a short overview of my impressions of the Yaesu FTX-1 Field ham radio, which has replaced the IC-7100 as my full-time in-car mobile companion. This week, I present a more detailed review of this compact, portable radio: where it stumbles and where it shines. This radio has a lot to recommend it as a shack-in-a-box: HF, VHF, UHF, all-mode, all-band, great speakers, a great display, an excellent receiver. But Yaesu made a number of odd choices in its design, and the firmware remains a problem! Dive in and see what I mean! Don't forget to Like and Subscribe! 00:00 - Intro 01:07 - Points of Comparison 01:43 - My Goals with this Video 02:08 - Describing the Radio 04:49 - Where Yaesu Went Wrong! 13:07 - Things they could (and should) fix! 15:44 - Let's Get to the Good Stuff! 25:27 - Wrapping Up Music: Master Planned Music (@masterplannedmusic )

1 month ago 0 0 0 0

Things Fall Apart: Chapter 66 Captain's Office, Zephyr, Inbound Tau Ceti, 16.9.775 CW 21.2 megaseconds since the catastrophe Despite that only a small portion of the crew had been directly involved, the rescue of the Thessalian freighters had made a serious dent on flagging morale. Arriving in-system, the crew had

1 month ago 3 0 0 0

The FTX-1 In Detail -- What Works, and What Doesn't! Last week, I posted a short overview of my impressions of the Yaesu FTX-1 Field ham radio, which has replaced the IC-7100 as my full-time in-car mobile companion. This week, I present a more detailed review of this compact, portable radio: where it stumbles and where it shines. This radio has a lot to recommend it as a shack-in-a-box: HF, VHF, UHF, all-mode, all-band, great speakers, a great display, an excellent receiver. But Yaesu made a number of odd choices in its design, and the firmware remains a problem! Dive in and see what I mean! Don't forget to Like and Subscribe! 00:00 - Intro 01:07 - Points of Comparison 01:43 - My Goals with this Video 02:08 - Describing the Radio 04:49 - Where Yaesu Went Wrong! 13:07 - Things they could (and should) fix! 15:44 - Let's Get to the Good Stuff! 25:27 - Wrapping Up Music: Master Planned Music (@masterplannedmusic )

1 month ago 0 0 0 0

Things Fall Apart: Chapter 66 Captain's Office, Zephyr, Inbound Tau Ceti, 16.9.775 CW 21.2 megaseconds since the catastrophe Despite that only a small portion of the crew had been directly involved, the rescue of the Thessalian freighters had made a serious dent on flagging morale. Arriving in-system, the crew had

1 month ago 0 0 0 0

FTX-1 After 3 Months - Is It Worth It? I've been using the Yaesu FTX-1F as my primary ham radio for over three months now, and I **have opinions**. This brief ham radio review will explore my experiences with Yaesu's shiny new hotness, after a dozen POTA activations and hundreds of contacts on VHF, UHF, and HF. This is really a down-payment on a much more detailed review, coming soon! Stick around, and don't forget to like and subscribe! Music: Master Planned Music (@masterplannedmusic ) Chapters: 00:01 Introduction 01:04 This is a controversial radio! 01:32 This radio arrived half baked! 01:48 Bugs! 01:54 Firmware Updates bricking radios! 02:35 Let's talk expensive! 03:05 There's also a lot to like! 04:32 Even so: Yaesu needs to check itself!

2 months ago 0 0 0 0

Coming soon: FTX-1 opinion piece AND detailed breakdown #yaesu #hamradio Here's an update about my current plans for upcoming long-form ham radio videos! My focus for the next two installments will be the Yaesu FTX-1 field radio. ...

2 months ago 1 0 0 0

Things Fall Apart: Chapter 65 Tau Ceti, Robinson Station, 16.8.775 CW 21 megaseconds since the catastrophe Karenski had expected long silences between volleys of communication between himself and Zephyr. In fact, he had barely managed to get a word in edgewise. Rather than waiting on him, or indeed, on much of anything, a

2 months ago 1 0 0 0

Things Fall Apart: Chapter 65 Tau Ceti, Robinson Station, 16.8.775 CW 21 megaseconds since the catastrophe Karenski had expected long silences between volleys of communication between himself and Zephyr. In fact, he had barely managed to get a word in edgewise. Rather than waiting on him, or indeed, on much of anything, a

2 months ago 3 0 0 0

Posts by Uncle Mikey (WDØOM)