The History Of Yaesu
History. Yaesu had initially been formed with the intention to develop and manufacture commercial and amateur radio transceivers for the Japanese market, but only five years after its formation the company had signed foreign sales agreements for export to Australia and Germany.
Yaesu is a Japanese brand of amateur radio equipment, founded as Yaesu Musen Co., Ltd. (八重洲無線株式会社, Yaesu Musen Kabushiki-gaisha) in 1959 by a Japanese radio amateur Sako Hasegawa (call sign JA1MP[1]) in Yaesu, Japan, a district of Tokyo.
History
Yaesu had initially been formed with the intention to develop and manufacture commercial and amateur radio transceivers for the Japanese market, but only five years after its formation the company had signed foreign sales agreements for export to Australia and Germany.
In Europe, the equipment was sold under the Yaesu brand and the Sommerkamp brand. In 1963 the Swiss firm Sommerkamp imported Yaesu equipment and sold it using their own brand.
Yaesu’s line of equipment was first imported into the US by Spectronics, Inc. located in Signal Hill, California, in 1965. Yaesu became an important presence in the U.S. amateur radio market with the introduction and improvement of its very popular FT-101 line of equipment in the 1970s. In addition, transceiver manufacture was outsourced to Henry Radio in Los Angeles.
Sako Hasegawa died in 1993. Following his death, Jun Hasegawa took over as managing director.
Yaesu Musen acquired the STANDARD radio equipment brand from Marantz Japan in 1998 and changed the company name to Vertex Standard Co., Ltd. (株式会社バーテックススタンダード, Kabushiki-gaisha Bātekkusu Sutandādo) in 2000. In 2007, Motorola announced its intention to purchase 80% of Vertex Standard and form a joint venture with Tokogiken (a privately held Japanese company controlled by Jun Hasegawa), which would hold the other 20%. This deal was completed in January 2008.[2] The joint venture was dissolved effective January 1, 2012. The Vertex Standard land mobile division operates as a wholly-owned subsidiary headquartered in Tokyo, Japan.[3] The Amateur Radio, Airband and Marine Radio business was transferred to the new company “Yaesu Musen”.[4]
Digimode “Fusion”
In 2013, YAESU launched its own digital mode of operation for amateur radio: “System Fusion”. Like other digital modes, Fusion utilize a narrower radio bandwidth. With System Fusion, special attention was paid to compatibility with analog FM radio. This was intended to simplify migration of the existing amateur radio repeaters from analog to digital technology.
In the early 2000s, minimum-shift keying (GMSK) technology emerged in the amateur radio market as the dominant digital mode. In 2013 Yaesu introduced “System Fusion,” new technology utilizing C4FM 4-level FSK technology for transmitting digital voice data. The System Fusion communication protocol enables devices to analyze an incoming signal and automatically determine if it is using C4FM or conventional FM mode. System Fusion also enables data transfer at full rate with speeds reaching up to 9,600 bits per second.[5]
Yaesu is the only company with System Fusion-enabled devices. ICOM, alongside the Japan Amateur Radio League has developed devices using the D-STAR protocol. Other brands use DMR, among other modes.
Products
Yaesu has manufactured a number of devices listed in Yaesu radio transceivers throughout its history. The focus is still on amateur radio transceiver.
| Corporate Summary Historical Highlights |
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| 1956 Founded GENERAL TELEVISION SERVICE CO., LTD. in Ota-ku, Tokyo Started development of wireless communication equipment1962Began exporting wireless communication equipment1964 Moved headquarters to Yaesu, Chuo-ku, Tokyo Changed the company name to YAESU MUSEN CO., LTD.1973 Established YAESU MUSEN U.S.A., INC. in Los Angeles, U.S.A. Established Sukagawa Factory in Sukagawa, Fukushima, as a main factory for communication equipment production1978 Moved headquarters to Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo1988 Established YAESU EUROPE B.V. in Amsterdam, The Netherlands1989 Established Iwate Factory in Iwate1991Publicly listed and increased capital to 4,220 million yen1994 Established YAESU UK LTD. in London, U.K.1995Established YAESU GERMANY GmbH in Frankfurt, Germany Established YAESU HK LTD. in Hong Kong1998 Established STANDARD CO., LTD. as a domestic sales company Acquired STANDARD COMMUNICATIONS CO., LTD. from Marantz Japan1999Moved headquarters to Meguro-ku, Tokyo Acquired STANDARD HORIZON, the top brand in overseas marine radio market Obtained ISO 9002 approval 2000 Changed the company name to VERTEX STANDARD CO., LTD. Acquired TRONDULE CO., LTD., a manufacturer of data transmission devices, from Bosch Braking Systems Co., Ltd.2001Obtained ISO 14000 approval Completed acquisition of worldwide distribution rights for STANDARD brand from Marantz Japan Concentrated production facilities under TRONDULE CO., LTD. control, including Sukagawa main factory Combined Yaesu Europe B.V. and Yaesu Germany GmbH 2002 Moved USA headquarters to a new building due to expansion of business Obtained ISO 9001:2000 approval 2003 Established VERTEX STANDARD (SUZHOU) CO., LTD. in Suzhou, China2004VERTEX STANDARD (SUZHOU) CO., LTD. obtained ISO 14001:1996 and ISO 9001:2000 approval2005Obtained ISO 14001:2004 approval2006Established VERTEX STANDARD (AUSTRALIA) PTY., LTD. in Melbourne, Australia2012Changed the company name to YAESU MUSEN CO.,LTD.Moved headquarters to Higashi-Shinagawa, Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo |
| Yaesu Musen Co. Amateur Radio Equipment in Australia During The 1960’s by Greg Whiter, VK4IG (Ex VK3CA) |  |
Japanese electronics engineer Sako Hasegawa, JA1MP, established Yaesu Musen Company during 1959 in the Tokyo suburb of Yaesu. Prior to this date he had been operating a company called General Television Co Ltd in Ota-ku, Tokyo since 1956. His first SSB Equipment had been manufactured under the General Television Co Ltd name in 1957. Sako Hasegawa’s ambition appears to have been to design and manufacture modern HF single sideband equipment (initially transmitters) for the amateur radio market. Yaesu Musen Co’s first product was a crystal controlled monoband 40 metre transmitter, the FL-10/40. Quickly following on its heels was a 5 band crystal controlled mechanical filter HF transmitter called the FL-20. Finished in grey crackle paint, it featured a built-in power supply, VOX and was only 250 x 380 x 180 mm in size. In Japan the FL-20 sold for 49,800 Yen, equivalent to approximately 62 Australian Pounds in 1963.
Outside Japan, Australia and Germany were the first two countries to have Yaesu Musen Co. SSB equipment available to their radio amateurs. Bail Radio & TV Service introduced the Yaesu name to Australia in April 1964, while Sommerkamp also started selling Yaesu SSB transmitters in Germany around the same time. United States radio amateurs didn’t see Yaesu Musen Co. radio equipment in their stores for another 3 to 4 years.
This web site is devoted to some of Yaesu Musen’ Co’s lessor known radios and the history of their introduction to Australian radio amateurs by Bail Radio & TV Service / Bail Electronic Services in the early 1960’s.
| Above is an extract from a Yaesu Musen Co. ad which appeared in the Japanese CQ Magazine, August 1963 issue. It depicts Yaesu’s then current model crystal controlled mechanical filter 5 band HF SSB transmitter, the FL-20 (a Mark 1 version in this case). Note Yaesu’s reference to overseas users of their FL-20, particularly VK3YS, Fred Bail, who with his brother Jim Bail, VK3ABA, were soon to introduce Yaesu Musen, and with it cost effective HF single sideband operation, to the Australian radio amateur. Although Fred Bail owned and operated a Mark 2 FL-20, which he purchased from Yaesu Musen Co. while on a visit to Japan in 1963, the FL-20, FL-20A and FL-20B were never sold by Bail’s in Australia. The author currently owns Fred Bail’s original FL-20, the very first piece of Yaesu equipment to ever come to Australia as well as the only FL-20 ever imported into Australia to the author’s knowledge.A partial circuit diagram of the FL-20, its Block Diagram and photos of the Mark 2 version and an FL-20B are shown here. Also available on the Japanese market at the same time was Yaesu Musen’s FL-100 (which also never sold in Australia). Like the FL-20, it was a crystal controlled 5 band HF transmitter but with an SSB power input of 100 watts PEP (a VFO controlled transmitter was not available until the FL-20B and FL-100B appeared early in 1964). Between the models FL-20 / FL-100 and the FL-20B / FL-100B were the FL-20A and FL-100A. Both were crystal controlled 5 band HF SSB transmitters but had somewhat improved appearance to their predecessors.As a point of interest, Yaesu Musen Company’s title was derived from the name of the Tokyo district of Yaesu, where the company’s founder, Sako Hasegawa JA1MP, first started operations. Musen being the Japanese word for radio! |
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| From mid April 1964 Australian radio amateurs were able to buy the first Yaesu radio sold in their country. Called the FL-100B, it was a mechanical filter based 5 band HF SSB transmitter with a built in power supply, VFO and 100 Watts PEP input. Bail Radio & TV Service sold the FL-100B direct throughout Australia from their premises in the Melbourne, Victoria, suburb of Box Hill.As can be seen in the ad above, from the Wireless Institute of Australia’s March 1964 issue of Amateur Radio magazine, Fred and Jim Bail were at the time also still operating their radio and TV repair business which they had started in 1956. It would not be long, however, before the new Yaesu HF SSB equipment’s popularity in Australia saw the Bail’s relinquishing their radio & TV repair interests to concentrate wholly on representing Yaesu Musen Co in Australia. The change of business direction also accompanied a change in business name to Bail Electronic Services. Although the photo in the ad above (as well as that depicted immediately below) shows the FL-100B Mark 1, the first shipment of Yaesu Musen transmitters to come to Australia were in fact the Mark 2 version, with its approximate 1 KHz tuning knob calibration. |
| The photo immediately above is of an FL-100B Mark 2, the same as was first offered to Australian amateurs in April 1964. Note the main tuning dial escutcheon, not provided on the Mark 1 unit, which gave a frequency resolution of approximately 1 KHz.Finished in a grey crackle paint with white lettering and black knobs, the FL-100B Mark 2 (it was never officially know as the Mark 2, other than within Bail’s organization) was an attractive piece of equipment to have in one’s ham radio shack back in April 1964. However VFO drift, considered excessive by the Bail brothers, saw them spending many hours conducting temperature runs in a quest to alleviate the problem before allowing the transmitters to be sold.Instruction manuals were all in Japanese, necessitating Bail’s to take on the task of English translation. Once they had produced an English manual, its manuscript was sent to Yaesu Musen Co. who then had the benefit of use of it in other English speaking countries. This situation continued whenever new equipment was released, even into the early 1970’s .At this early stage of introducing Yaesu to the Australian ham, Fred and Jim Bail worked very hard in an effort to have the equipment well accepted and gain a good name. The letter below was written to an early purchaser of an FL-100B from their first Australian shipment, following its delivery, and gives an idea of the trouble taken by Bail’s to achieve this end. |
In the early days of Bail Radio & TV Service’s introduction of Yaesu Musen SSB equipment to the Australian hams some resistance was experienced to the Australian selling price of the equipment. Below is shown a 1964 letter from VK6VK, Mr Vic Kitney of Kalamunda in Western Australia, expressing his concern over the Australian price of an FL-100B SSB Transmitter.
Fred Bail’s Response to the above letter is shown below.
| Because Yaesu’s early quality control program was still gaining momentum in 1964, Bail Radio & TV Service found themselves thoroughly checking every transmitter before sale, a task which also incorporated adding, for safety reasons, a 3-core power cord, Australian standard 3 pin plug as well as a slow blow fuse in the power amplifier’s high tension circuit. An example of one of Bail’s check notes for an FL-100B from their first Australian shipment is shown below. |
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| The two extracts above from Bail Radio & TV Service’ Equipment Check Notes give an indication of the extent of testing they performed on each new transmitter in order that the equipment gain a good reputation on the Australian market. These particular notes, dated May 1964, are for FL-100B S/N A104 which was subsequently sold to amateur radio station VK2AHM, R. J. Whyte (pictured below) of Wentworth, NSW.The transmitter had three faults which required rectification, including a dry solder joint in its electronic voltage regulator, causing voltage variation at the power amplifier valve’s screen grid. Other faults were an open circuit resistor in the VFO, intermittent carrier oscillator crystal and low ALC voltage.Modification details, such as change of diode type to remedy the ALC fault and the additional HT fuse were fed back to Yaesu Musen Co. who later incorporated these changes into their production line. |
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| An early purchaser of an FL-100B from Bail’s first Australian shipment, R. J. Whyte VK2AHM on a sheep station near Wentworth in South Western NSW, is shown here in his shack operating a RL Drake 2B receiver with the FL-100B located just behind him. |
| In June 1964 Yaesu Musen Co. released their Mark 3 version of the FL-100B, the most attractive so far. It differed from its predecessors through virtue of having a new fawn coloured case with perforated ventilation holes in place of slots, and a front panel finished in satin silver with engraved black lettering. The Mark 3 FL-100B still did not have the large VFO knob which featured on later F-Line equipment. |
| By early 1965 Yaesu Musen had introduced their more refined F-Line 5 band HF SSB amateur radio station, consisting of the FR-100B mechanical filter SSB receiver, SP-100 matching speaker, FL-200B mechanical filter 200 watt PEP input SSB transmitter and FL-1000 1 kilowatt PEP input linear amplifier.The photo above shows Yaesu Musen’s founder and President, Sako Hasegawa JA1MP, operating an F-Line station less the FL-1000 amplifier. Sako Hasegawa passed away in 1993, Jun Hasegawa is the company’s current president.F-Line equipment was finished in a fawn crackle paint with satin silver front panels and black engraved lettering. Knobs were either all black (on the early units) or black with silver inserts. Early quality control problems with Australian stock saw Bail Electronic Services having a number of the fawn F-Line cases re-sprayed before releasing the equipment to the Australian market. |
The top photo shows Yaesu Musen’s complete F Line. The photo forms part of a
QSL
card that Yaesu Musen made available to hams who were using their equipment. The two photos directly above give a closer look at Yaesu Musen’s F-Line FR-100B Receiver and FL-200B Transmitter. The transmitter shown here has the later type black knobs with silver inserts.
At this time Yaesu also sold an
FL-20B, which was just a powered down version of the FL-200B. The FL-20B was aimed at the Japanese novice market and as such was never available in Australia.
Perhaps not as good looking as the Collins mechanical filter based S-Line SSB equipment of the same period, Yaesu Musen’s F-Line was never the less still quite attractive in its own right, performed extremely well and cost considerably less.
The photo above shows Fred Bail displaying the then new FL-50/FV-50 crystal controlled SSB transmitter and VFO at the Wireless Institute of Australia’s Gosford (NSW) convention in May 1966. Also visible at the back is Fred’s own
FL-20, a second generation Mark II unit. This FL-20 holds the distinction of being the very first piece of Yaesu Musen SSB equipment to come to Australia, arriving with Fred Bail following his 1963 visit to Japan. It is apparent from the photo that Fred had decided to put this particular radio on the market, he had owned it for three years and now had the full Yaesu Musen F-Line (FR-100B receiver, FL-100B transmitter & FL-1000 Linear amplifier) available to him. The author is now the owner of this particular FL-20 along with Jim Bail’s original FL-1000 amplifier. An FL-1000 linear amplifier is also partially visible on the right hand side of the photo.
In late 1965 Yaesu Musen Co. released a Single Sideband generator board aimed at the home constructor. Known as the Type F SSB Generator, it was based on one of their new 5 MHz 5 pole crystal filters, later forms of which would ultimately replace mechanical filter use in Yaesu equipment that followed.
With a Type F SSB Generator, all a home constructor had to do was add audio, mixing circuitry and a power amplifier in order to go SSB on his or her favourite amateur band. Released at about the same time, the
FL-50
crystal controlled transmitter also used a Type F SSB Generator at its heart.
Bail Electronic Services received their first shipment of FL/FV-50 transmitters and VFO’s in August 1966. Their first shipment of FR-50 receivers arrived in April 1967. A copy of an Australian Amateur Radio magazine review on the FL-50 along with some photos can be found
here.
The FT-50 was Yaesu Musen Co’s second transceiver, released in late 1967 it was designed as a basic entry level radio with a peak envelope input power of 100 watts (their first transceiver was the virtually all solid state
FT-100
released in late 1966). The FT-50 transceiver sold for $380 (1967 Australian dollars) against the FL-50 at $225.
The FT-50 used Yaesu’s 5 Mhz crystal Filter, was crystal controlled (with a VXO [variable crystal oscillator]), had a built-in AC power supply and was of single conversion design. It was all valve in construction, but had a matching solid state VFO, the FV-50B (a later version of the FV-50 with the addition of an RFA [Receiver frequency Adjust] control), which allowed freedom from the restrictions of crystal control. In looks it closely matched Yaesu’s
FL-50
and FR-50 valve transmitter and receiver of late 1966. The model DC-50 mobile power supply was available to allow 12 volt DC operation of the FT-50 using its in-built AC mains power transformer. The top photo, showing both the FV-50B and FT-50, was taken in February 1968 by Victorian photographer and radio amateur, Alan Elliott VK3AEL, for Bail Electronic Services.
Below is shown a Block Diagram for the FT-50.
As this Yaesu poster shows, by 1967 Yaesu Musen Co. had considerably expanded its product range. Pictured from top left are: a Type F SSB Generator, FF30DX Low Pass Filter, FTdx-100 Transceiver, FV-50B VFO, FR-50B (partially hidden) Receiver, SP-50 Speaker,
FL-50B
Transmitter, FRdx-400 Receiver, FL-2000 Linear Amplifier, FLdx-400 Transmitter, SP-400 Speaker, FTdx-400 Transceiver, FT-50 Transceiver and (partially hidden) an FTV-650 6 metre transverter.
Throughout Bail’s tenure with Yaesu they were continually troubled by non factory appointed persons/companies importing and selling equipment against them on the Australian market. More often than not such imports came from Japan’s domestic market, as this letter of April 1969 from Sako Hasegawa, Yaesu Musen Co’s president, to Fred Bail indicates.
F
red Bail made a number of trips to Japan. The one referred to in his letter of June 1969 below to Sako Hasegawa, was intended amongst other things, to sort out the back door importation of Yaesu equipment that continued to undermine their distributorship in Australia. The problem was never really completely alleviated, with small equipment lots continually coming in from either Germany, Hong Kong or Japan. Also, ultimately rubbing salt into this wound, was the factory’s appointment of Dick Smith Electronics as a second Australian Yaesu distributor in the mid 1970’s.
A 1975 photo of Sako Hasagawa and two staff members taken by the author outside Yaesu Musen Co’s head office in Yaesu, Tokyo. Sako Hasegawa passed away in 1993, Jun Hasegawa is the company’s current president.
Shown below is part of the circuit diagram of one of Sako Hasegawa’s first Yaesu Musen Co. products (the very first was in fact the model FL-10/40*), a 5 band crystal controlled 40 watt input HF SSB transmitter he called the FL-20.
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| The partial FL-20 circuit above shows a 6BQ6 in the PA stage while the block diagram below indicates a 6DQ6 tube was used. Although the block diagram was copied from an FL-20 advertising brochure, the author suspects that “6DQ6” is a typographical error. The crystal controlled FL-100 did however use the heavier duty 6DQ5 in its PA. |
| Shown at right is a rather poor photo of the first piece of Yaesu Musen equipment to be brought to Australia, Fred Bail’s own FL-20. It is a later Mark II version and can be seen next to an FV-50 companion VFO for the FL-50 SSB transmitter. Although this photo was taken in May 1966 Fred had owned this FL-20 since 1963, having brought it back from Japan following a trip there. The author currently owns this particular original FL-20, the very first piece of Yaesu equipment to ever come to Australia as well as the only FL-20 ever imported into Australia to the author’s knowledge. | |
| The photo above depicts a Mark II version of the FL-20, 20 watt PEP input HF, 5 band crystal controlled mechanical filter SSB transmitter. This is the same (apart from the small White knobs) as the first Yaesu Musen Co. transmitter to be brought to Australia by Fred Bail, VK3YS, for his personal use, in 1963. | |
| Shown above is an extract from an FL-20 advertising brochure giving general technical specifications of this early Yaesu transmitter. |
| From the same FL-20 advertising brochure are, above, a drawing of the front panel layout and, below, a drawing of the internal component layout. Note that, unlike all later Yaesu valve equipment, which used solid state rectifiers, the FL-20 still used a valve rectifier (5U4GB) in it power supply. | |
| By the mid 1960’s Yaesu Musen Co. had its F-Line on the market which, at that time, consisted of the FR-100B receiver, FL-200B transmitter and FL-1000 linear amplifier. Also, aimed mainly at the Japanese novice operator, was a powered down version of the FL-200B, the FL-20B. Shown at left, it used just one PA valve with much reduced voltage on it’s plate to provide 10 watts PEP input power. | |
* The FL-10/40 was a monoband 40 metre 10 watt mechanical filter SSB transmitter, Yaesu Musen Co’s first product.
Shown below is a 1974 photo of Bail Electronics Services’ staff.
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| From left are Fred Swart, Greg Whiter, Fred Bail, Jim Bail and Brian Stephens. This photo was taken inside Bail’s showroom, which was co-located with Fred Bail’s private residence at 60 Shannon Street, Box Hill North, Victoria, Australia. Fred Bail passed away in the late 1970’s, Jim Bail passed away in the early 1980’s, Brian Stephens passed away in late 2018. Although the Showroom/Workshop building has now been removed, the residence still exists today and, until late 2002 was still in the hands of Fred Bail’s widow, Gladys Bail. In 2002 Gladys Bail passed away. Seen in the background are some of Yaesu’s product range of 1974, including an FT-101B on the bench between Greg Whiter and Fred Bail. |
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| Shown above is a view of Yaesu’s factory at Fukushima in northern Japan. The photo was taken in the early 1970’s and is of the FT-101 production line. |
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| Fred Bail and Malcolm White, a Bail’s staff member in the early 1970’s, are shown above at an amateur radio convention at Leongatha, Victoria. |
Covering a frequency range of 7.1 to 7.15 MHz using crystal control and having a built-in power supply, the FL-10/40 was available in two power output versions. A 10 watt unit used one 6BQ6 tube as its final power amplifier, while a 6DQ5 was used in the 40 watt FL-10/40. VOX transmit control was available as a factory installed optional extra. Size was 300 x 180 x 250 mm and the FL-10/40 was finished in a grey cackle paint. The FL-10/40 shown above is a Mark 1 version which remained in production from 1959 until late 1963.
By early 1964 a Mark 2 version of the FL-10/40 was on the market, however it was dropped not long afterwards in favour of the 5 band FL-20 and FL-100 crystal controlled transmitters. Also helping to push the FL-10/40 out of production was Yaesu’s new 5 band VFO controlled transmitter, the FL-100B, which appeared in early 1964. Price of the FL-10/40, 10 watt version, was 24,800 Yen, equivalent to approximately 40 Australian 1964 Pounds.
Shown above are two FL-10/40 ads which appeared in Japanese CQ magazine. The Mark 1 unit on the left featured in a mid 1963 issue while the Mark 2 unit on the right appeared in an early 1964 copy.
| By early 1964 a Mark 2 version of the FL-10/40 was on the market, however it was dropped not long afterwards in favour of the 5 band FL-20 and FL-100 crystal controlled transmitters. Also helping to push the FL-10/40 out of production was Yaesu’s new 5 band VFO controlled transmitter, the FL-100B, which appeared in early 1964. Price of the FL-10/40, 10 watt version, was 24,800 Yen, equivalent to approximately 40 Australian 1964 Pounds. |
| Shown above are two FL-10/40 ads which appeared in Japanese CQ magazine. The Mark 1 unit on the left featured in a mid 1963 issue while the Mark 2 unit on the right appeared in an early 1964 copy | |
JA6ELZ’s QSL card is an example of the card that Yaesu Musen made available to ham’s who used their equipment.
Shown above is another QSL Card from Yaesu Musen which was available to hams who purchased Yaesu equipment. Hams could over print their call sign
and address details on the face of the card. This QSL card depicts the then new (from left to right) FLdx200 linear amplifier, FRdx400 HF SSB receiver and FLdx400 HF SSB transmitter.
A final QSL card from JA1MP, Sako Hasagawa, founder of Yaesu Musen Co. Ltd. was issued following his death June 12th 1993.
Shown above are both Fred and Jim Bail’s amateur radio QSL Cards. Prior to getting involved with Yaesu Musen Co., Jim and Fred had been very active amateur radio operators, Fred having gained his license in 1938 at age 20 (see the VK3YS 1939 QSL card above). The war years saw Fred Bail initially as an instructor at the RAAF’s Ballarat Radio School and subsequently with 82 Fighter Squadron until wars end. Both graduating from the Marconi School Of Wireless in time for the introduction of TV in Australia, Jim and Fred Bail started Bail Radio & TV Service in 1956. During the early years after the Second World War they pioneered 166 MHz, 144 MHz and 50 MHz operation around Victoria, as well as both being actively involved with the Wireless Institute of Australia. In 1954 Fred Bail became Federal Councillor for the Victorian Division of the WIA. During the period 1955 to 1956 Fred held the WIA Victorian division office of Secretary, then in 1957 to 1958 he was elected President. Fred went on to hold the Vice-Presidency from 1959 to 1962. In the late 1950’s, around the 1957 Geophysical Year, he often opened up his amateur radio station to the wives and families of Australians stationed at the Antarctic, who could then talk to their loved ones via ham radio. Fred Bail passed away on the 26th of May 1979 following a massive heart attack.
In or around May 1966 Fred Bail, VK3YS, displayed some of Yaesu’s new SSB equipment at the Wireless Institute of Australia’s Gosford (NSW) field day. The FL-50 SSB transmitter and its FV-50 VFO, having just been released by Yaesu Musen, took pride of place on the display stand. Also seen at the back is Fred Bail’s own original FL-20 crystal controlled SSB transmitter, and to the right, an FL-1000 linear amplifier. This particular FL-20 was the very first piece of Yaesu equipment to arrive and operate in Australia when Fred Bail brought it back to Australia from Japan following a holiday he had there in 1963. The author is now in possession of this particular FL-20.
Below is the first page of a three page Trade Review on the FL-50, which featured in the October 1968 issue of the Wireless Institute of Australia’s Amateur Radio magazine.
Go to
Page 2
of the FL-50 Review
Above is the Yaesu 50 Series in a photo taken for Bail’s by Victorian photographer and fellow ham Alan Elliot, VK3AEL in June 1967. From left can be seen the SP-50 speaker (mostly hidden), FR-50 receiver, FL-50 SSB transmitter and FV-50 VFO. The first shipment of FL-50 transmitters and FV-50 VFO’s arrived in Australia in August 1966. The 50 Series equipment was of mainly all valve construction.
The FR-50 receiver didn’t see the Australian market until April 1967. Even then, Bail Electronic Services wouldn’t sell any FR-50’s until they had performed a number of modifications on them. These included changes to the AGC and Product Detector circuitry as well as adding an additional filter capacitor to the power supply.
Below is the second page of a three page Trade Review on the FL-50, which featured in the October 1968 issue of the Wireless Institute of Australia’s Amateur Radio magazine.
Go to Page 3 of the FL-50 Review
| Another photo of the 50 series taken for Bail’s by Victorian photographer and radio amateur Alan Elliott in June 1967. |
Above is a picture of the later model FR-50B. Note that its appearance, and that of the FL-50B, had reverted back to the looks of the earlier F-Line equipment, except that the 50B Series still had their cabinets finished in black.
Go to
Page 1
of the FL-50 Review
In 1966 Yaesu Musen Company released their first HF transceiver. It was a complete compact base/mobile station, mainly of solid state construction. Known as the FT-100, it represented a quantum advance in technology for that time, particularly for the mobile ham radio operator. Now only the FT-100B and FTdx100 stood between this and Yaesu’s most famous radio of all, the FT-101 which arrived in Australia in October 1970.
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| With a built in 12 volt DC and 230 volt AC mains power supply, the FT-100 offered easy mobile or base SSB operation to the Australian radio ham. Mainly solid state circuitry kept both the size and power consumption down. Twenty-five germanium transistors and 32 diodes, as well as 3 valves, were used in the FT-100 SSB/AM/CW transceiver. Transmit power input was 150 watts, using 2 x 6JM6 compactron based valves. Following Bail Electronic Services typical line of support for their Yaesu Musen products, very early after it’s introduction they produced a Trouble Shooting Guide for the FT-100. The FT-100 Trouble Shooting Guide is shown HERE in its entirety.Shown below is one of the first FT-100’s brought to Australia by Bail Electronic Services in 1966, it is mounted in an Australian General Motors Holden Premier car, model HD vehicle of the same year. The vehicle is that of Bail’s then New South Wales representative, Sandy Brucesmith who operated Mosman Radio Services and was Bail’s first interstate distributor of Yaesu products. |
| Below, the same FT-100 as shown above, however this time it is mounted in Fred Bail’s own 1959 model 190D diesel Mercedes Benz sedan. |
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| In the December 1966 issue of the Wireless Institute of Australia’s ‘Amateur Radio’ magazine, Bail Electronics Services placed the following advertisement for their new Yaesu Musen Co. FT-100 solid state HF SSB Transceiver. Note the price being shown in both Pounds and Dollars, as at that time Australia was in the process of changing to decimal currency. |
| A Mark 2 version of the FT-100 soon followed the original FT-100, after which Yaesu produced their FT-100B. At right is pictured a Mark 2 FT-100. The most obvious difference between it and the original is an additional front panel control. The concentric RF/AF Gain control on the Mark 1 was moved to the centre left of the front panel and in its place Yaesu mounted an AM Carrier/Mic Gain control. | Block Diagrams of the FT-100B and FTDX100 are shown HERE. |
| By mid 1968 Bail’s had begun advertising the FTDX100. At that stage Yaesu had refined their solid state HF transceiver design into a mature product. The FTDX100 differed from the FT-100 Mark 2 and the FT-100B mainly in its looks, their circuits were almost identical.The FT-100 series ran in Australia from 1966 to April 1970 when Bail Electronic Services sold their last FTDX100. In October 1970 the first FT-101’s arrived in Australia.The FT-100 Mark 2 and FTDX100 shown to the right both belonged to JA1VBN at the time of writing. |
DX
100, 5 band SSB/CW/AM mainly solid state transceivers.
Note that the block diagrams of the FT-100B and the FT
DX
100 are almost identical. Both germanium and silicon transistors were used in almost equal quantities, unlike the original FT-100 which used nearly all germanium devices, and the later FT-101 which used nearly all silicon devices.
By the time Yaesu released the FT-100B they had refined their solid state transceiver design considerably, having used the model’s FT-100 Mark 1 and 2 to iron out problem areas. Being at the forefront of technology when it was first released, the original Mark 1 FT-100 did have a few teething problems, to the extent that Bail’s published their own three page
Trouble Shooting Guide
for it.
Below is the first page of a three page Trouble Shooting Guide on the FT-100, which Bail Electronic Services published in 1966. It gives an indication of the trouble they went to in order to maintain a high quality name for Yaesu Musen’s products.
Above is shown Page 1 of the FT-100 Trouble Shooting Guide. Symptoms varied from low drive to VFO frequency instability.
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| Page 2 of Bail Electronics Services FT-100 Trouble Shooting Guide covers such problems as VFO FM’ing on speach to low transmitter power output. |
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| Page 3 of the Trouble Shooting Guide covers no transmitter out to oscillation in the receiver RF amplifier stage. |
It’s introduction to Australia came in the form of a full page advertisement in the April 1968 edition of the Wireless Institute of Australia’s Amateur Radio magazine, as shown below.
As can be seen from the block diagram below, the FTdx400 used mainly valves with 2 x 6KD6’s in its final transmit Power Amplifier. The only areas where transistors were used was in the VFO and Fixed Crystal Oscillator. The FTdx400 boasted 18 valves, 9 transistors and 35 diodes. It’s dimensions were relatively large at 400 mm wide x 160 mm high x 350 mm deep and weight was 18 Kg.
Below is Yaesu Musen’s first FTdx400 brochure. You’ll note that it advertises a PEP input power of 400 watts, however Bail’s advertisement states 500 watts!
Shown above is a Yaesu Musen Co. advertisement for their then new FTdx400 HF SSB Transceiver. The advertisement appeared in the September 1967 issue of an English language Japanese magazine, “Electronic Products of Japan”.
We would like to thank the author, Greg Whiter for this article we at elite communication and electronics take no credit for this article but only to share the hard work that Greg has done.
