Yaesu FTM-3200DR C4FM/FM 144MHz Mobile Transceiver

I bought the FTM-3200 about 2 years ago. I first loaned it to a friend so we could talk Fusion, then used it in the house as a base.

I am deducting one star from my rating because of an issue that is very annoying. The radio has three modes: FM only, Digital only, or auto-mode. In auto-mode the radio will switch to the mode it hears and leave the radio there. So, when scanning, it switches to FM when it is on an FM repeater, or to digital when it hears a digital signal.

That is convenient when listening, but when you want to transmit in the different mode, it is a pain in the assets to switch it back to the other mode while driving mobile.

Only two buttons on the mic can be programmed, so I had to program one as wires and the other as mode. When the FM repeaters go quiet and I move to the digital node, I have to manually press button 4 on the mic to rotate through all the options until I get to the mode I want.

Likewise, when I disconnect from the wires node, the radio defaults to the fixed digital mode so I have to rotate through the options until I get to FM, then key an FM repeater to switch to FM mode in the auto-mode. I need auto-mode set when I am scanning both the FM repeaters and my digital node.

Most Fusion Wires-X repeaters in this area (NC) are on 70cm so 2-meter Fusion repeaters are few and far between.

The FTM-3200 also has an issue with signal spurs. I receive the 147.330 repeater output on 145.515 as clearly as if I were on the 33 frequency, but with a little less signal strength.

I love using it in the car to connect to my node at home with Wires-X. When the locals are not talking, I can connect to my home node, which is normally on Carol-Link, and either talk to that room or switch to one of the other 4 rooms I have programmed into my FTM-3200. (I can also manually enter a room by number to switch rooms, too so I have a list of the most popular rooms in my phone so I can see the numbers.)

As a mobile talking to a base, I find that C4FM is easier to understand when I am on the fringes of the base range, but mobile to mobile, I find I get a little better communication range in FM.

Mobile to base or mobile to mobile when I have a good signal typically sounds better in C4FM.

Microphone audio in the C4FM mode needs to be set to higher (not highest) but for FM mode, it should be set to normal. (for my voice)

I love being able to program power level into any memory and that I can change the power level easily when driving mobile if necessary. I leave the power level to low for local repeaters and high for simplex and other repeaters. When I get further from the local repeaters, I can easily raise the power where it will stay until I turn the radio back on again.

I will be replacing this radio in my car with the FTM-100DR dual-band so I have 70cm and other features of the 100 in the car. However, I am considering also leaving this 3200 in the car for 2 meter only so I can simultaneously use the 100 in other features, to be connected to the node or to operate on 70cm or scan other bands while leaving me a fully functional 2 meter radio in the car.

This radio is very easy to program with the software, but I did mess up several programmed memories trying to change a different one manually. With practice that would not have been an issue, but I admit, I am spoiled with the software.

I think this is a great mono-band radio with or without digital, but I would recommend that if you can budget for it, get the 7250 instead. It allows you to program the mode for each memory and it has both 2 meter and 70cm to transmit, and a whole lot of scanner spectrum if you desire.

What it last lacks in features when comparing it to the yaesu 100dr or the 400xdr, it shines for its price and talking in clear digital audio. I wasn't concerned with GPS or dual band. I'm talking on clear digital audio now with two friends, and enjoying it. I don't miss the static noise of FM analog at all. If you simply want to talk digital with no bells and whistles this is the perfect radio!

I have one friend with the yaesu 100dr and another with the yaesu 400

Ok, what they don't tell you. On my Yaesu fp1030A power supply it says that it draws 2amp at 5watt, 5 amp at 30 watt and 9 amp at 65 watt. I am getting 62 watts at 1.3 SWR. I have learned that the lower the SWR, the more wattage I get with anything that I run.
This radio has a super loud speaker and it is clean, clear and crisp. I like how it programs once I played with it and got used to it, it's not that hard. Remembering what all the acronyms are for and what function it is can be a bit of a pain but I bought the handbook and now I have no problem though not all the numbers are correct because of changes in the radio but the acronym is still the same. I have not used the C4FM yet but the people in our club love it. I am out in the boonies so I don't get to talk with them in town but they like being able to see that their friend is on when they fire up the rig.
I am a FT470 and FT530 man from way back and that is all I ever used. I bought this for the DCS so I could use some of the local repeaters I wasn't able to get with my old radios. I am really happy with this and think I might be buying two more for the other vehicles. What's nice is it is a reasonable price so if it gets stolen it isn't going to hurt as much, it works really well, it is easy for these old eyes to see and I like that you can set the power for each channel individually.

Buy it, you won't be sorry.

I've had this radio since the summer of 2018. It is a fine radio and easy to program. I have used it extensively with my friends and on the 2 Fusion repeaters that we have in this area of Southern New Mexico. We really like the excellent voice quality especially compared to D-Star. Yes, I know that the big D uses a lot less bandwidth, but the R2D2 effect is very disconcerting (yes I use it also). I will say I like the fusion and this radio much better...thank you very much.

I had a couple of Baofeng's before this. Good build quality and easy to use.

This is my first new mobile transceiver. Before this purchase I bought an old used Kenwood and I own 2 Baofeng HT's. I bought this radio for the price and it's digital. What a bargain I got. It's so nice to have quality radio equipment. The digital sound is like FM broadcast quality. 65 watts on simplex is nice to reach out and make good clear FM transmissions. The radio is easy to use, easy to program, and the manuals are easy to understand. No bad English translations here. I am very pleased with this purchase. 73