I hope Yaesu will soon bring the memory banks for FTM200/300/400/500 with a firmware upgrade. So incomprehensible and tedious that this function is missing. They have integrated it in the handhelds, why not in the mobile devices? 73, de HB3XVA
This also proves that you can use the radio to display maps. What good is aprs for tracking when you can't see what's around you without Internet connection. Using an app to connect to the phone or tablet fixes that. I have been looking high and low for this answer. Thank you for providing it. I wish they would allow you to connect directly to the radio without needing the tnc. That just adds to the cost to run the setup.
Just discovered your 11 month old video concerning the screwed up topics with the FTM-500D, and now you posted this update. I am glad I saw the original and now this. I would like to have a full power dual band mobile in the car but at this point I don’t believe it’s necessary. I will install my FT-3100 144MHz mobile and my FT-891, I figure that will keep me busy until they unscrew (if ever) all this 🐂 💩. I can monitor all the Air Traffic on my FT-70D (that REPEATEDLY was sent back to Yaesu because it wouldn’t charge the battery 🔋 🪫 but functioned properly straight off of 12VDC to the power socket. I’ll keep the money in the bank for now. 73 de Okinawa 🏝
I too fixed my radio…..swapped back to my FTM400! I don’t like the noise the aprs band makes when signals are received. Gets annoying unless you mute aprs.
Every entertainment center component I owned in the '90s and Naughties that had any sort of alphanumeric entry used an ABCDE keyboard. It's something I expect 100% of the time from non-PC tech products from Japan.
After watching some FT-991A videos, I'm wondering if there's an internal USB hub inside of the FTM-500D. Given the micro-SD card slot and the Bluetooth for the optional headset I expect that there is such a USB bus with chip to act as an internal USB hub. I don't have the soldering skills to tap into it but hopefully someone else does and will figure out how to add functionality to the radio. I guess the real question would be if that hypothetical USB hub circuit is in the radio body or in the control head. Have you tried pairing a bluetooth keyboard to the radio? I'm curious if anything at all would result.
I'm a ham for maybe two years now, so I have reviewed or examined a lot of amateur radios now. My general impression is Yaesu in the amateur radio industry... is comparable to 'Sony' in the digital SLR camera market. Although better than some prior implementations, as of 2024 Yaesu menus still need serious improvement. Sony has some disorganized menus on some newer cameras. I'm thinking the group designing Yaesu menus are focused on technical issues only, as compared to user software ergonomics. Yaesu and Sony could improve their fortunes, IF they hire some competent industrial designers for proper integration of hardware & software. Yaesu radios work well, just the ergonomics need some serious re-design.
100% agree. they need to hand some prototypes out to some novices and see if they can figure out the things the radio is capable of. if not, try again.
Hey with a touch pad those cheap skates could offer a Dvorak keyboard option to boot! lols, The fastest typing speeds have now surpassed qwerty, unsurprisingly. Although it should be noted the Dvorak keyboard speeds are suppressed, it took me a few searches to find out what is going on. Qwerty was designed for the key arms on mechanical typewriters to stop them sticking together, but an un-natural layout for typing, where Dvorak was specifically designed to spread the letters of each word on opposite hands as opposed left-hand centric with qwerty.
I remember a toy called a "speak 'n spell" which used and abcd keyboard, but it was intended as a learning aid for children who might be learning the alphabet at the same time, and who were very unlikely to be familiar with the qwerty layout. I believe that I've also seen it one some test equipment where they didn't have the space for the staggered rows of a normal keyboard, and the user wasn't expected to be touch typing on it. That's particularly likely where, keeping the keys large enough for fat human fingers, there isn't enough horizontal space for ten keys in a row. If you're going to go to the next line between the I and the O, for example, maintaining qwerty order isn't particularly helpful, since, for example, the R will no longer be over the F. Additionally, while no country uses abcd, not everywhere uses qwerty. The French, for example, use a layout that is identified as azerty (I think that only four keys have changed). So if Yaesu chose qwerty, the French might be annoyed (among others). And probably other countries, Making the layout selectable requires yet more potentially buggy code to develop, more ROM, more settings that users don't want to deal with, and more effort writing the manuals. It may not be great, but we all know the alphabet, meaning that Yaesu may have made a relatively wise choice. Personally, I think that text entry should have been via two buttons on the microphone that you could use as an iambic key. ;^)
@@thuff3207 if you create them as outgoing messages in pocket packet, they won’t show in the radio. Incoming messages should show up on both the radio and in the app.
I use the FTM-440 and I have used the Mobilink with it as well. I have to turn the packet modem off to get the Mobilink data to be transmitted. I did not think the FTM-500 allow packet transmission with the modem on. If so I will be upgrading.
I haven't tried scanning but talking on the repeater is fine. I assume scanning would be as well on the A band. The mobilinkd is listening to the B band.
QWERTY isn't a great layout, but its the defacto standard that we are all trained on/accustomed to. I'd even do T9 like on the Kenwood... Its 2024 (2022? when that radio was released?) We should be able to do in-device voice recognition at this point.
I cant even figure out how to view the received messages on the FTM-500. it's crazy how bad the UI is on these radios. so much you just have to remember and know.
Incomprehensible that they cannot put a firmware update out for US radios to add QWERTY and memory banks. But, we keep buying the radios so they have no reason to change. I'm planning to sell my 300 and jump to ICOM solely for these issues.
@@KM4ACK unfortunately not that I am aware of, but I figure I can use a set up similar to what you are using with APRSdroid on a dedicated old android phone to get APRS functionality and also gain memory banks.
Icom does not have an APRS capable radio, unfortunately. When doing APRS, I set up my ID-5100A for crossband repeater when using my FT3D or D-75. At my QTH here in East Tennessee, I have a hard time getting out since the closest Igate is off the air. The nearest digipeter is in Monterey, about 40 miles from me. Getting into that with 50w out on the 5100A is more of a miss than a hit. That is an option to use. The crossband repeater function on the ID-5100A is a lot easier than setting up a Yaesu Mobile Radio with that capability.
maybe someone will figure out how to make a Bluetooth keyboard work on that radio. most countries use qwerty format. flip phones use the old keypad one. so does smart phone. you can switch . A girl in Russia I know has different keyboard on her laptop because Russian has different letters . same as my Ukraine friends . both Speake English as well. I just hope for piece between them. I love them both. love the contacts in my log. a lot of Japan uses English and QWERTY keyboards . makes me wounder. some great stations in Japan . just a firmware update should fix the keyboard. will they ??? 73's
Honestly, I dont understand why this is a big deal. However, seems that about 25 lines of code could have given the user the option. 😂 They should fix it.
For those that seldom use APRS, it's not a big deal. As an avid user, I just wanted a keyboard that I am use to. You are right that it should only take a few lines of code.
I hope Yaesu will soon bring the memory banks for FTM200/300/400/500 with a firmware upgrade. So incomprehensible and tedious that this function is missing. They have integrated it in the handhelds, why not in the mobile devices? 73, de HB3XVA
Yes this
Ambrosia for my eyes and ears!!!
I think that goes for a bunch of us :-)
This also proves that you can use the radio to display maps. What good is aprs for tracking when you can't see what's around you without Internet connection. Using an app to connect to the phone or tablet fixes that. I have been looking high and low for this answer. Thank you for providing it.
I wish they would allow you to connect directly to the radio without needing the tnc. That just adds to the cost to run the setup.
The Winlink ap in the comment just blew my mind. How handy, I need to learn more. Thanks again Jason!
I love watching a video for one thing and picking up another tidbit :-)
thanks Jaison you are de best guy to fixed everything from yaesu mistakes
Thank you very much for the informative video. Very easy to follow and understand
Jason! Nice workaround. I'm def trying it. So much nicer than fiddlin' around with the radio. 73 de Bill
Just discovered your 11 month old video concerning the screwed up topics with the FTM-500D, and now you posted this update. I am glad I saw the original and now this. I would like to have a full power dual band mobile in the car but at this point I don’t believe it’s necessary. I will install my FT-3100 144MHz mobile and my FT-891, I figure that will keep me busy until they unscrew (if ever) all this 🐂 💩. I can monitor all the Air Traffic on my FT-70D (that REPEATEDLY was sent back to Yaesu because it wouldn’t charge the battery 🔋 🪫 but functioned properly straight off of 12VDC to the power socket.
I’ll keep the money in the bank for now. 73 de Okinawa 🏝
I too fixed my radio…..swapped back to my FTM400! I don’t like the noise the aprs band makes when signals are received. Gets annoying unless you mute aprs.
I run voice alert so I don't hear the APRS packets except for those stations within simplex range
Can you please post your Mobilinkd4 settings? Having trouble getting this to transmit with my FTM500DR and DIN connection.
Every entertainment center component I owned in the '90s and Naughties that had any sort of alphanumeric entry used an ABCDE keyboard. It's something I expect 100% of the time from non-PC tech products from Japan.
amazing! thanks for sharing this.
After watching some FT-991A videos, I'm wondering if there's an internal USB hub inside of the FTM-500D. Given the micro-SD card slot and the Bluetooth for the optional headset I expect that there is such a USB bus with chip to act as an internal USB hub. I don't have the soldering skills to tap into it but hopefully someone else does and will figure out how to add functionality to the radio.
I guess the real question would be if that hypothetical USB hub circuit is in the radio body or in the control head.
Have you tried pairing a bluetooth keyboard to the radio? I'm curious if anything at all would result.
Would this "upgrade" also add winlink functionality through the mobilinkd?
Yes it would
Nice work!
Thanks!
What cable did you use to connect the mobilink to ftm500
I'm a ham for maybe two years now, so I have reviewed or examined a lot of amateur radios now. My general impression is Yaesu in the amateur radio industry... is comparable to 'Sony' in the digital SLR camera market. Although better than some prior implementations, as of 2024 Yaesu menus still need serious improvement. Sony has some disorganized menus on some newer cameras. I'm thinking the group designing Yaesu menus are focused on technical issues only, as compared to user software ergonomics. Yaesu and Sony could improve their fortunes, IF they hire some competent industrial designers for proper integration of hardware & software. Yaesu radios work well, just the ergonomics need some serious re-design.
100% agree. they need to hand some prototypes out to some novices and see if they can figure out the things the radio is capable of. if not, try again.
Hey with a touch pad those cheap skates could offer a Dvorak keyboard option to boot! lols, The fastest typing speeds have now surpassed qwerty, unsurprisingly. Although it should be noted the Dvorak keyboard speeds are suppressed, it took me a few searches to find out what is going on. Qwerty was designed for the key arms on mechanical typewriters to stop them sticking together, but an un-natural layout for typing, where Dvorak was specifically designed to spread the letters of each word on opposite hands as opposed left-hand centric with qwerty.
I remember a toy called a "speak 'n spell" which used and abcd keyboard, but it was intended as a learning aid for children who might be learning the alphabet at the same time, and who were very unlikely to be familiar with the qwerty layout. I believe that I've also seen it one some test equipment where they didn't have the space for the staggered rows of a normal keyboard, and the user wasn't expected to be touch typing on it. That's particularly likely where, keeping the keys large enough for fat human fingers, there isn't enough horizontal space for ten keys in a row. If you're going to go to the next line between the I and the O, for example, maintaining qwerty order isn't particularly helpful, since, for example, the R will no longer be over the F.
Additionally, while no country uses abcd, not everywhere uses qwerty. The French, for example, use a layout that is identified as azerty (I think that only four keys have changed). So if Yaesu chose qwerty, the French might be annoyed (among others). And probably other countries, Making the layout selectable requires yet more potentially buggy code to develop, more ROM, more settings that users don't want to deal with, and more effort writing the manuals. It may not be great, but we all know the alphabet, meaning that Yaesu may have made a relatively wise choice.
Personally, I think that text entry should have been via two buttons on the microphone that you could use as an iambic key. ;^)
I picked up a FTM-500 and have Radio Mail working with it. On Pocket packet sending messages, I am not seeing them show up on the radio.
@@thuff3207 if you create them as outgoing messages in pocket packet, they won’t show in the radio. Incoming messages should show up on both the radio and in the app.
@@KM4ACK That clear it up and I did not get any reply’s. Thank you.
I use the FTM-440 and I have used the Mobilink with it as well. I have to turn the packet modem off to get the Mobilink data to be transmitted. I did not think the FTM-500 allow packet transmission with the modem on. If so I will be upgrading.
It will allow TX with the modem on :-)
@@KM4ACK@ KM4ACK That is awesome and I would like to know if you could use the USB cable to Direwolf and YAAC and send APRS messages.
Is the radio useable for scanning and repeaters while the mobilinkd is plugged in?
I haven't tried scanning but talking on the repeater is fine. I assume scanning would be as well on the A band. The mobilinkd is listening to the B band.
@@KM4ACK
Wow I wish I could do the same with the FT5 lol.
Compelling reason to get the 500 for an APRS person!
Pretty awesome! Will this work with the ftm400?
It should. The FTM400 has the same data port on the back.
QWERTY isn't a great layout, but its the defacto standard that we are all trained on/accustomed to. I'd even do T9 like on the Kenwood... Its 2024 (2022? when that radio was released?) We should be able to do in-device voice recognition at this point.
It would be awesome to have voice recognition on the rig.
I cant even figure out how to view the received messages on the FTM-500. it's crazy how bad the UI is on these radios. so much you just have to remember and know.
Pretty much all of my favorite radios are Yaesu…. But some of their decisions leave me dumbfounded.
Flight Management Computers use A-B-C-D keyboards for pilot interface/input in the Boeing and Airbus jets I flew.
Incomprehensible that they cannot put a firmware update out for US radios to add QWERTY and memory banks. But, we keep buying the radios so they have no reason to change. I'm planning to sell my 300 and jump to ICOM solely for these issues.
Does Icom have a true APRS radio that I am unfamiliar with?
@@KM4ACK unfortunately not that I am aware of, but I figure I can use a set up similar to what you are using with APRSdroid on a dedicated old android phone to get APRS functionality and also gain memory banks.
Icom does not have an APRS capable radio, unfortunately. When doing APRS, I set up my ID-5100A for crossband repeater when using my FT3D or D-75.
At my QTH here in East Tennessee, I have a hard time getting out since the closest Igate is off the air. The nearest digipeter is in Monterey, about 40 miles from me. Getting into that with 50w out on the 5100A is more of a miss than a hit.
That is an option to use. The crossband repeater function on the ID-5100A is a lot easier than setting up a Yaesu Mobile Radio with that capability.
maybe someone will figure out how to make a Bluetooth keyboard work on that radio. most countries use qwerty format. flip phones use the old keypad one. so does smart phone. you can switch . A girl in Russia I know has different keyboard on her laptop because Russian has different letters . same as my Ukraine friends . both Speake English as well. I just hope for piece between them. I love them both. love the contacts in my log. a lot of Japan uses English and QWERTY keyboards . makes me wounder. some great stations in Japan . just a firmware update should fix the keyboard. will they ??? 73's
A bluetooth keyboard would be awesome!
Collins uses this abcde keyboard on Aircraft flight management computers. You are right it is annoying.
Honestly, I dont understand why this is a big deal. However, seems that about 25 lines of code could have given the user the option. 😂 They should fix it.
For those that seldom use APRS, it's not a big deal. As an avid user, I just wanted a keyboard that I am use to. You are right that it should only take a few lines of code.
I can't stand the ABCDE key layout. I know the alphabet but qwerty is the way. Unless you are a real pro then it's DVORAK