When living in Jersey I was regularly using 2 meter FM to chat to the locals, expecially Mike 2J0SZI, Chris 2J0CMB and Mike GJ0PDJ and this would usually be when out and about for work in the car or to and fro to the radio club on a club night. The FTM10r came out in about 2009 and really fitted the bill for hands free communication as you could specify it with a bluetooth module and matching bluetooth headset. The radio itself is excellent and can actually be used without the bluetooth having a built in microphone in the radio head unit but does seem susceptible to a strange 'wooshing' noise which is usually reported as winscreen wiper noise! This often prompted comments such as 'why have you got your wipers on, its a sunny day?!'

Strange noises aside (!!) the radio is an excellent little mobile unit and has now seen a lot of years service across three cars and has never missed a beat. The main radio is a metal clad unit that can be bolted to the floor under the drivers seat (in my case) and acts as a heatsink (no cooling fan is fitted) with a remote lead to the head unit which can be mounted on a plastic bracket or, in my case, with a magnet to a metal plate fitted to the car dashboard. This works well as it is easy to remove and can be stowed out of sight, usually on part of the seat frame (its a strong magnet). The radio has a slightly difficult to understand means of programming for memory channels but is blessed with a very useable fast scan function so it fairly romps through the memory channels stopping for a few seconds on a busy channel the unit using an adjustable automatic squelch. The rig puts out plenty of power too (5/20/50 watts) so when linked to a 5/8 wave mobile antenna it gets you heard!

The FTM10r is no longer a new radio but still performs really well and whilst there are newer bluetooth radios this one is so compact and just 'works' it is highly recommended. Only downside I have found is the Yaesu bluetooth headset is slightly bulky and includes an ear loop which soon breaks and can no longer be replaced! I've had two and now need to scour the eBay small ads for a replacement but I suspect I may have to build something myself! On the upside, when the headset can be used it can be re-charged simply by plugging in to the radio head unit on the dashboard, good thinking Yaesu!

The FTM-10R saw good service in each of the cars right up until 2021 when with the arrival of the Volvo C30 there just wasn't really a good position for it so it got relegated (kind of!) to the shack in France, the magnet allowing it to be 'stuck' to the front of the FT1000MPV power supply with the radio fitted elsewhere out of sight and connected to the Watson white stick vertical fairly pulls in a good signal and the fast scan is ideal.

December 2021 and the time had come to upgrade.., or at least make the move into digital with a DMR radio so it was time to realise some assets and move my trusty FTM-10 on.

"Offering for sale my trusty Yaesu FTM-10r 2m and 70cms mobile amateur radio transceiver. I’ll be sorry to see this one go but it no longer gets the use it deserves and I’m wanting to fund the move to a DMR rig. This has been mine since new and whilst used mobile for many years with the supplied separation cable and magnet mounting for the head unit with the rig mounted under the drivers seat it has been well looked after and everything works as it should including the Yaesu Bluetooth headset and it’s built in charger all of which is included in the sale and all comes with the original boxes. The only known problem is that the Bluetooth headset ear loop which is a weak design, snapped and was replaced with a new one and eventually that snapped as well and they are now nigh on impossible to obtain! I have made a temporary fitting out of garden wire of all things which works but no doubt the buyer may come up with something better. A printed out manual and ‘cheat sheet’ is included, I’ll send the original manual which is around here somewhere (!) if it turns up!! This is pre-programmed with VHF/UHF simplex and repeater frequencies for the Channel Islands, south west England and northern France as well as some other VHF/UHF frequencies that are worth monitoring and the scan function is fast and works well. This doesn’t come with a hand microphone but the head unit has a built in PTT and microphone which works well if you don’t want to use the Bluetooth though it can pick up some background noise when mobile. I could write lots more but if you’re interested it’s worth looking the radio up online for information and reviews."

Was going to be sold via the bay but ultimately made a cash sale to Radioworld (their photo below), quicker, less aggro and got a fair price! Farewell old friend, you did me well!