‰  NOW 40 WPM  ‰  
IN FAVOR OF THE NAR FUNCTION THAT SELECTS THE NARROWER RECEIVE BAND WIDTH
FOR EACH MODE.  BEHIND THE FRONT PANEL IS A SPEAKER/ PHONES SWITCH.  THIS
SETS THE LEVEL OF THE COMBINED REAR PANEL SPEAKER/ PHONES JACK LABELED SPKR
TO AVOID INJURY DUE TO HIGH AUDIO LEVELS WHILE PLUGGING IN HEADPHONES.
WHILE WERE HERE, THE MIC CONNECTOR IS ALSO BEHIND THE FRONT PANEL ON THE
MAIN UNIT.  THE OPTIONAL YSK 891 SEPARATION KIT PROVIDES THE CABLES AND
HARDWARE TO ALLOW THE FRONT PANEL TO BE 

PRODUCT REVIEW YAESU FT 891 HF AND 6 METER TRANSCEIVER A COMPACT
TRANSCEIVER ESPECIALLY ORIENTED TO MOBILE AND PORTABLE OPERATORS.  REVIEWED
BY JOEL R.  HALLAS, W1ZR QST CONTRIBUTING EDITOR W1ZR ARRL.  ORG THE FT 891
IS A 100 W 160 6 METER SSB, CW, AM, FM, AND DATA MODE TRANSCEIVER THAT
INCLUDES A GENERAL COVERAGE RECEIVER WITH RESPONSE FROM 100 KHZ TO AND 74
MHZ.  THE PREVIOUS GENERATION YAESU COMPACT 100 W TRANSCEIVERS INCLUDED TWO
DISTINCT MODELS WITH SIMILAR ARCHITECTURES BUT DIFFERENT FORM FACTORS.  THE
FT 857D STILL AVAILABLE AT THE TIME OF THIS WRITING WAS DESIGNED ESPECIALLY
FOR MOBILE OPERATION, WHILE THE FT 897D, WITH ITS PROVISION FOR AN INTERNAL
BATTERY PACK, WAS MORE ORIENTED FOR PORTABLE OPERATION.  OF COURSE, EITHER
RADIO COULD BE ADAPTED TO EITHER ROLE, AND BOTH HAVE ALSO SERVED AS COMPACT
HOME STATIONS.  THE FT 891 HAS DIMENSIONS THAT ARE ALMOST IDENTICAL TO
THOSE OF THE FT 857D JUST 0R6 INCHES SHORTER, SO A COMPARISON IS PERHAPS
APPROPRIATE.  THE FT 891 ADDS IF DIGITAL SIGNAL PROCESSING DSP WITH
VARIABLE WIDTH FILTERS FOR ALL MODES, IN PLACE OF THE TWO SLOTS FOR
OPTIONAL CRYSTAL FILTERS IN THE 857D.  THE DSP ALSO PROVIDES AUTOMATIC
NOTCHING, PEAKING, AND NOISE REJECTION.  A NEW 3 KHZ WIDE ROOFING FILTER IN
THE FIRST IF IMPROVES DYNAMIC RANGE ON CW, SSB, AND DATA MODES.  A SPECTRUM
DISPLAY PANADAPTER THAT TIMESHARES THE RECEIVER WITH NORMAL AUDIO

OPERATION.  A LARGER, EASIER TO READ, MULTI LINE DISPLAY.  THE FT 891 GIVES
UP OPERATION ON 144 AND 432 MHZ IN SSB, CW, AND FM MODES.  IT MAY ALSO BE
APPROPRIATE TO CONSIDER THE FT 891 IN COMPARISON TO ITS SIBLING, THE FT
991A.  THE 991A IS A LARGER, MORE EXPENSIVE ABOUT 700 FOR THE 891 VERSUS
1,400 FOR THE 991A, AND MORE CAPABLE PORTABLE TRANSCEIVER PERHAPS
FUNCTIONALLY A CLOSER RELATIVE TO THE NOW DISCONTINUED FT 897D MODEL.  IF
YOU LOOK AT JUST THE 891S HF CAPABILITIES WITHOUT LOOKING AT THE CONTROL
PANEL SIZE AND CAPABILITIES THE 891 IS SIMILAR TO ITS LARGER BROTHER.
HOWEVER, IT GIVES UP VHF AND UHF CAPABILITY, DIGITAL VOICE, THE COLOR
DISPLAY, AND THE ADDITIONAL CONTROLS ASSOCIATED WITH THE LARGER PANEL.
WHILE THE DYNAMIC PERFORMANCE ISNT QUITE UP TO THAT OF THE FT 991 IN MOST
RESPECTS, IT DOES TRACK FAIRLY CLOSELY.  CONTROLS AND INDICATORS THE
COMPACT AND EASILY REMOVABLE FRONT PANEL INCLUDES A 1 5/8 INCH DIAMETER
MAIN TUNING KNOB ON THE RIGHT THAT TUNES WITH A SMOOTH, WEIGHTED FEEL.
DRAG IS ADJUSTABLE, WHICH IS A GREAT FEATURE FOR A MOBILE RIG BECAUSE
HITTING A BUMP WITH YOUR HAND NEAR THE DIAL INVARIABLY RESULTS IN CHANGING
‰  END OF 40 WPM TEXT  ‰  QST DE W1AW  ƒ