Stephen WA8LMF wrote¡
Yaesu's "C4FM" is a proprietary format entangled
in licensing issues.
Are you sure about the word proprietary? I thought it was just the AMBE chip that was licensed. When does the AMBE patent run out?
PS - if you don¡¯t like the term C4FM, you could just call it System Fusion.There¡¯s a lot more to the FTM-400 than not being able to send data to the TNC.
The FTM-400 is a dream to use. C4FM (OK, System Fusion!) sounds a lot better than D-STAR. If the BER nudges upwards a bit, you might hear a few ripples, or miss a word. You won¡¯t lose sentences like D-STAR. OK¡ we don¡¯t have the equivalent of D-RATS yet!
There are limits, but it is surprising how weak a C4FM (sorry) signal can be and still be crystal clear as long as there aren¡¯t drop-outs in the signal or multi-path distortion.
Being able to send and receive text messages and colour pictures is kinda nice. Every digital transmission includes your call sign, and your position if you have it enabled. It can of course control WIRES-X nodes and DR-2X repeaters too if you update the firmware. In my opinion it is the best APRS Radio other than not being able to send data to the TNC. It is a dream to enter text (digital or APRS) messages from the on-screen keyboard. The colour screen us absolutely gorgeous and many functions can be controlled from the touch screen. Seeing full-screen colour pictures is pretty hard to not like. Pictures definitely low resolution if you download the card onto a PC for the high resolution screen, but they are the perfect resolution for the FTM-400 screen. Group Monitor is a nice way to keep track of a group of stations. I could go on, but the FTM-500 will be even better!
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73 Keith VE7GDH
¡°I may be lost, but I know exactly where I am!¡±
