Part of our New Ham? This Is Where You Should Spend Your Money guide.
The Yaesu FT-891 has been a go-to compact HF radio for a few years now, and the appeal is easy to see: full 100W output, coverage from 160m through 6m, all mode (SSB/CW/AM/FM plus digital via computer interface), in a chassis barely bigger than a car stereo. I’ve used mine in all three of its natural habitats: desk, in my jeep, and manpack, and each one plays to slightly different strengths.
The basics
- 100W output (25W on AM), TX 1.8-54 MHz, RX down to 30 kHz
- Triple-conversion receiver with a 3 kHz roofing filter standard, 32-bit floating point DSP
- 6.1 x 2.0 x 8.6 in., about 4.2 lbs, genuinely small
- No internal antenna tuner, no internal battery. This is a radio that expects external power and, usually, an external tuner
- Optional YSK-891 kit lets you separate the front panel from the main body entirely
In the shack
On the desk, the FT-891 punches above its size. The receiver is genuinely good for the price point, and the DSP noise reduction and adjustable roofing filter give you real tools for pulling signals out of a crowded band. The tradeoffs show up here more than anywhere else, though: no built-in tuner, a small single-line-ish display compared to the big touchscreen SDR rigs, and knobs sized for portability rather than all-day contest operating. If you already own a bigger base radio, the FT-891 isn’t really trying to replace it. It’s trying to be the radio you don’t have to think twice about grabbing.
In the vehicle
This is where the FT-891 is genuinely excellent. The included mobile mounting bracket and the separation kit mean you can mount the main chassis in the back of the vehicle and mount just the control head and mic clip within reach. Current draw (about 23A on transmit, 2A on receive) is manageable for most vehicle electrical systems, and the compact size means it fits where bigger mobile rigs simply won’t. Pair it with a mobile-rated screwdriver antenna (Atas 120) or a permanently mounted HF whip and you’ve got a legitimate mobile HF station.
Portable / field use
The FT-891 is small and light enough to carry, but it’s worth being clear-eyed about what it needs to get there: no internal battery, so you’re bringing a separate 12V pack, and no internal tuner, so you’re either running a resonant antenna or a wire antenna setup that needs an external ATU in the bag too. Once you’ve got those pieces, though, it’s a capable field radio: full 100W (dialed down as needed for battery life), a solid receiver, and a rugged enough build to handle a POTA activation. It’s just a slightly heavier kit than a purpose-built QRP field radio, in exchange for a lot more transmit power.
Bottom line
The FT-891 doesn’t try to be the best radio in any single category. It’s trying to be good enough at all three that you only need to own one radio. For a lot of hams, especially anyone who splits time between the shack, the truck, and the trail, that tradeoff is exactly the point.