How to Program an FTX-1 — Step by Step

A portable rig built around one knob and a touchscreen. The menu is a named tree rather than a list of numbers, so you read your way to a setting instead of counting to it.

This page covers: Yaesu FTX-1, Yaesu FTX-1 optima, Yaesu FTX-1 field. They share the same firmware, so the steps below are identical on all of them whatever name is printed on the front.

Nothing you learned on the FT-891 or FT-991A transfers

All three are Yaesu HF rigs and all three do this differently. The FT-891 has two-part menu numbers, the FT-991A has flat three-digit ones, and the FTX-1 has no numbers at all — you touch your way down a named tree such as RADIO SETTING then MODE DATA then MOD SOURCE. The tuner differs too: the FT-991A has one built in, the FT-891 has none, and on the FTX-1 it is built in only on the optima, and optional on the rest.

One knob does nearly everything, and how you press it decides what

Press and hold the FUNC knob and you get the function menu — three pages of touch buttons for the things you change while operating. Keep going into the named categories at the end of that list and you are in the settings menu. Meanwhile the MAIN DSP knob, held down, gives you the filter controls: shift, width, notch, contour and APF. Nothing here has a number, so you never have to remember one — but you do have to know which knob you are holding.

The optima is not the same radio underneath

The built-in automatic antenna tuner and the ANT 1 / ANT 2 selection are on the FTX-1 optima only. On the other versions the tuner is an external option — the FC-80, FC-90 or FC-40 — and the tuner steps below change accordingly. The manual is explicit that the built-in tuner cannot be used at the same time as an external one.

What you can do on this radio

Rather do this on your phone, standing at the radio?

The app walks you through the same steps one at a time, on a screen sized for a phone.

Open Radio Rosetta

Set the radio up for FT8 and other digital modes on an FTX-1

Two settings do the real work here, and both are in the same place. The manual documents them under PSK rather than FT8, but they are the same menu items — what changes for FT8 is only the mode you put the radio in and what the software does with the audio.

Have these to hand before you start

  • A USB cable to the computer. The FTX-1 has its own sound card and CAT interface, so one cable carries audio and control.
  • The dial frequency your software expects for the band.
  1. Set the operating mode to DATA-U.MODE›touch DATA-UThe screen should show: DATA-U in the mode area.The FTX-1 keeps DATA-L, DATA-U, RTTY-L, RTTY-U and PSK as separate modes. FT8 is upper sideband, so DATA-U is the one — PSK is a different mode on this radio, not a synonym.
  2. Hold the FUNC knob, then touch your way to RADIO SETTING, MODE DATA, MOD SOURCE — and set it to USB.hold FUNC›touch RADIO SETTING›touch MODE DATA›touch MOD SOURCE›dial → USB›FUNCThe screen should show: MOD SOURCE, then USB.Watch out. MIC is the factory setting, and it means the radio listens to the front microphone jack. Leave it there and the computer's audio never reaches the transmitter, however correct everything else looks. USB is what tells the radio to take audio and data from the USB jack.
  3. In the same MODE DATA list, set RPTT SELECT to RTS or DTR, matching what your software uses to key the radio.touch RPTT SELECT›dial → RTS or DTR›FUNCThe screen should show: RPTT SELECT, then RTS or DTR.Watch out. This one leaves the factory switched OFF, and OFF means the serial lines cannot key the transmitter at all. If the software says it is transmitting and the radio sits there receiving, this is almost always why.
  4. USB MOD GAIN sets how hard the audio from the computer drives the transmitter. It starts at 50.touch USB MOD GAIN›dial → 0 - 100›FUNCThe screen should show: USB MOD GAIN, then a number.This is the radio's half of the drive level. The computer's output slider is the other half, and it is usually the one to move first.
  5. USB OUT LEVEL is the opposite direction — the receive audio the radio sends to the computer. Then press BACK a few times to get out.touch USB OUT LEVEL›dial → 0 - 100›FUNC›BACKThe screen should show: USB OUT LEVEL, then a number.If your waterfall is blank or completely saturated, this is the level to move, not anything on the transmit side.

One thing to check yourself rather than take on trust: MODE DATA also carries DATA SHIFT (SSB), which leaves the factory at 1500 Hz and moves the carrier point for the SSB-based data modes. The manual does not cover WSJT-X, so before you call anybody, compare the frequency on the radio with the frequency your software thinks it is on. If they disagree, that setting is the first place to look.

Taken from the manufacturer's own manual for this model.

Connect the radio to a computer on an FTX-1

This radio has three CAT ports rather than one, each with its own speed. That is more flexible than the older rigs and also one more thing to get wrong — the port your software is talking to has to be the port you configured.

  1. Hold FUNC, then OPERATION SETTING, GENERAL, CAT-1 RATE — and set the speed your software expects.hold FUNC›touch OPERATION SETTING›touch GENERAL›touch CAT-1 RATE›dial → 38400›FUNCThe screen should show: CAT-1 RATE, then 4800, 9600, 19200, 38400 or 115200 bps.Watch out. Note 115200 is available here, which the FT-891 and FT-991A do not offer. Faster is not automatically better — set whatever the software is set to, and nothing else.
  2. CAT-1 TIME OUT TIMER is how long the radio waits on a half-finished command.touch CAT-1 TIME OUT TIMER›dial → 10, 100, 1000 or 3000›FUNCThe screen should show: CAT-1 TIME OUT TIMER, then a value in milliseconds.
  3. CAT-2 and CAT-3 have their own rate and timeout settings in the same list.touch CAT-2 RATE›touch CAT-3 RATEThe screen should show: CAT-2 RATE and CAT-3 RATE.Three ports means you can have a logger on one and a digital program on another without them fighting. It also means that if you configure CAT-1 and your software is on CAT-2, nothing works and everything looks right.
  4. CAT-1 CAT-3 STOP BIT sets the stop bits for those two ports. Then BACK out.touch CAT-1 CAT-3 STOP BIT›dial → 1bit or 2bit›FUNC›BACKThe screen should show: 1bit or 2bit.Almost nothing needs this changed. It is worth knowing it exists for the one program that asks.

If the radio will not answer, work through it in this order: which COM port the software is using, which CAT port that maps to, then the speed. The setting in this menu is the last thing to suspect, not the first.

Taken from the manufacturer's own manual for this model.

Set the drive level for digital modes on an FTX-1

This is a low-power radio, which changes the arithmetic. There is much less headroom to hide a badly set drive level in, so getting this right matters more here than on a 100 watt rig.

  1. Hold the FUNC knob and touch RF POWER, then rotate FUNC to set the transmit power.hold FUNC›touch RF POWER›dial → your power›FUNCThe screen should show: The power setting.Digital modes run at full duty cycle — the transmitter is flat out for the whole transmission, not peaking on syllables. Backing the power off is normal practice here and does more for your signal than any menu setting.
  2. Then RADIO SETTING, MODE DATA, USB MOD GAIN — the radio's own input level for USB audio.touch RADIO SETTING›touch MODE DATA›touch USB MOD GAIN›dial → down from 50›FUNCThe screen should show: USB MOD GAIN, then a number from 0 to 100.Watch out. Turn this and the computer's output slider in the same direction, not against each other. Cranking one to compensate for the other is exactly how a signal ends up wide.
  3. There are also per-band ceilings under OPERATION SETTING, TX GNRL — HF MAX POWER, 50M MAX POWER and so on.touch OPERATION SETTING›touch TX GNRL›touch HF MAX POWER›dial → 0.5 - 10.0 W›FUNC›BACKThe screen should show: HF MAX POWER, then a figure in watts.Setting a ceiling per band is a good habit on a radio this size, and MAX POWER (BAT) is a separate one again for when you are running off the battery.

Judge it by the power meter holding steady on a constant tone. If the reading is bouncing around while the tone is not, the drive is too high — and on ten watts there is not much room between right and wrong.

Taken from the manufacturer's own manual for this model.

Narrow the filter to shut out the station next door on an FTX-1

The filter controls are not in the menu. They hang off the MAIN DSP knob, and the scope on the screen draws the passband as you change it — which makes this the easiest of the three Yaesu HF rigs to understand, once you know where to press.

  1. Press and hold the MAIN DSP knob. Touching the spectrum area on the screen does the same thing.hold MAIN DSPThe screen should show: The filter functions appear: SHIFT, WIDTH, NOTCH, CONTOUR and APF.
  2. Rotate MAIN DSP to WIDTH and press it. You can also just touch the word.dial → WIDTH›MAIN DSPThe screen should show: WIDTH, with the current bandwidth in hertz.
  3. Rotate counter-clockwise to narrow the bandwidth and cut the interference, then press MAIN DSP to save.dial → counter-clockwise›MAIN DSPThe screen should show: The bandwidth figure dropping, and the passband closing up on the scope.Watch out. Defaults differ by mode: about 3000 Hz on SSB, 500 Hz on CW and RTTY. If a CW signal sounds oddly wide, check what mode the radio thinks it is in before you blame the filter.
  4. Press and hold BACK to put the bandwidth back where it started.hold BACKThe screen should show: The default bandwidth for the mode.Worth knowing before you experiment — there is a one-press way back, so you can move things without having to remember where they were.
  5. For interference on one side only, choose SHIFT instead and move the whole passband away from it.hold MAIN DSP›dial → SHIFT›MAIN DSP›dial → left or rightThe screen should show: SHIFT, with the offset.The shift range is plus or minus 1.2 kHz, and it moves the passband without changing the pitch of the station you are listening to — so you do not have to re-tune to get rid of the interference.

There are two of everything on this radio, MAIN and SUB. The SUB DSP knob does exactly the same job for the sub receiver, so if you change a filter and nothing happens, check which side you are actually listening to.

Taken from the manufacturer's own manual for this model.

Turn on noise reduction on an FTX-1

For the steady hiss and hash rather than sharp ticks. On this radio it is one touch away on the function menu.

  1. Press and hold the FUNC knob, then touch DNR on the first page.hold FUNC›touch DNRThe screen should show: DNR switches on.DNR sits on PAGE 1/3 of the function menu with the other receive controls — NB and DNF are on the same page, which makes trying each of them quick.
  2. Rotate the FUNC knob to set the level, then press it to save.dial → the level›FUNCThe screen should show: The DNR level.

Touch DNR again to switch it off. Use the least that does the job — noise reduction always takes some of the wanted signal with the noise, and voices go hollow long before the noise is gone.

Taken from the manufacturer's own manual for this model.

Turn on the noise blanker on an FTX-1

For repeating pulse noise — ignition, power line, switching supplies. The blanker itself is on the function menu; how it behaves is set in the menu tree.

  1. Press and hold FUNC, then touch NB.hold FUNC›touch NBThe screen should show: NB switches on.
  2. For how it behaves, go to OPERATION SETTING, RX DSP, NB WIDTH.touch OPERATION SETTING›touch RX DSP›touch NB WIDTH›dial → NARROW, MEDIUM or WIDE›FUNCThe screen should show: NB WIDTH, then NARROW, MEDIUM or WIDE.WIDTH is how long the blanker assumes each pulse lasts. A fast sharp tick wants NARROW; a broader thump wants WIDE. This is the setting to try when the blanker helps but not enough.
  3. NB REJECTION in the same list sets how hard it works.touch NB REJECTION›dial → LOW, MID or HIGH›FUNC›BACKThe screen should show: NB REJECTION, then LOW, MID or HIGH.Watch out. Note these are words rather than the numbers the FT-891 and FT-991A use for the same two settings. Same idea, different scale — do not go looking for a dB figure.

Switch the blanker off when the pulse noise stops. On a quiet band a hard setting chews up strong signals and makes them sound distorted, which is easy to blame on the other station.

Taken from the manufacturer's own manual for this model.

Notch out a whistle or a carrier on an FTX-1

Two notches again, in two different places — and on this radio that split is easy to remember, because the one you aim is with the filters and the one that aims itself is with the other switches.

  1. Press and hold the MAIN DSP knob, rotate to NOTCH, and press.hold MAIN DSP›dial → NOTCH›MAIN DSPThe screen should show: NOTCH, with its position indicator.
  2. Rotate MAIN DSP until the whistle disappears, then press to confirm.dial → the null onto the tone›MAIN DSPThe screen should show: The notch marker moving across the passband display.The scope draws where the notch is sitting, so unlike the older radios you can see the hole as well as hear it.
  3. The automatic one is DNF, on the first page of the function menu.hold FUNC›touch DNFThe screen should show: DNF on or off.DNF hunts the tones itself and copes with more than one. Quicker, but it can also take a bite out of something you wanted — the manual notch is the better tool against a single steady carrier.
  4. How wide the manual notch cuts comes from OPERATION SETTING, RX DSP, IF NOTCH WIDTH.touch OPERATION SETTING›touch RX DSP›touch IF NOTCH WIDTH›dial → NARROW or WIDE›FUNC›BACKThe screen should show: IF NOTCH WIDTH, then NARROW or WIDE.Watch out. WIDE is easier to aim and takes more of the voice with it. If the notch is killing the whistle and muffling the station at the same time, this is the setting.

Turn it off when the interference goes. A notch left sitting in the passband quietly removes part of everything you listen to afterwards, and on this radio you can see it there on the scope — so there is no excuse for forgetting.

Taken from the manufacturer's own manual for this model.

Work a DX station that is running split on an FTX-1

Split on the FTX-1 uses the two sides it already has: MAIN receives, SUB transmits. That makes it unusually easy to keep straight, because the two frequencies are on screen side by side the whole time.

Have these to hand before you start

  • The frequency the DX station is transmitting on.
  • Where it is listening — usually announced as "up 5" or a range.
  1. Set the MAIN-side VFO to the frequency you can hear.dial → the DX station's frequencyThe screen should show: The DX frequency on the MAIN side.
  2. Press and hold the SPLIT key.hold SPLITThe screen should show: Split engages — MAIN for receive, SUB for transmit.The manual is explicit about the division: the MAIN-side register is used for reception and the SUB-side for transmission, for as long as split is on.
  3. Set the SUB-side VFO to where the station is listening.dial → the listening frequencyThe screen should show: Your transmit frequency on the SUB side.Both frequencies stay on the display at once, so there is no swapping back and forth to check what you are about to do.
  4. To hear your own transmit frequency before you call, hold FUNC and touch TXW, then press FUNC.hold FUNC›touch TXW›FUNCThe screen should show: You hear the SUB-side frequency.Worth doing every time. It tells you whether the frequency you picked is clear or already has three other people calling on it.
  5. Press and hold SPLIT again to cancel split.hold SPLITThe screen should show: Back to transmitting where you are listening.

It is a press and hold on SPLIT in both directions — on and off. A quick tap does something else, so if split will not engage, hold it a little longer before assuming anything is wrong.

Taken from the manufacturer's own manual for this model.

Save a frequency to a memory channel on an FTX-1

One key does the whole job, held down twice. That is the only thing to get right.

  1. Set the frequency, the mode and anything else you want kept.dial → the frequency you wantThe screen should show: Your frequency.The mode is stored with the channel, so set it before you write.
  2. Press and hold the V/M key.hold V/MThe screen should show: The memory channel list.Watch out. Held, not tapped. A quick press of V/M just switches between VFO and memory — it does not open the list.
  3. Touch the channel you want, or rotate the FUNC knob to it.touch a memory channelThe screen should show: Your channel highlighted in the list.
  4. Press and hold V/M again to store, then touch BACK.hold V/M›touch BACKThe screen should show: The channel now holds your frequency, and the screen returns to normal.The same press and hold also overwrites a channel that already has something in it, which is how you correct a mistake.

The manual gives a warning worth repeating: memory contents can be lost to a mishandled operation, static, or a component failure. Write your important channels down or keep a copy on a microSD card — this radio can save its memory and menu settings to one.

Taken from the manufacturer's own manual for this model.

Run the antenna tuner on an FTX-1

Which radio you have decides this one. The FTX-1 optima has an automatic tuner built in. The other versions do not, and take an external FC-80, FC-90 or FC-40 instead.

  1. Tune to the frequency you actually want to work, and listen first.dial → your operating frequencyThe screen should show: Your frequency.Watch out. The manual asks you to listen before tuning, because tuning keys the transmitter onto whatever frequency you are sitting on.
  2. On an optima: hold FUNC and touch TUNER to put the tuner into the transmit path. Nothing is tuned yet.hold FUNC›touch TUNERThe screen should show: TUNE appears on the display.This step only switches the tuner in. It is the equivalent of the brief press on the older radios' TUNE button.
  3. Touch ANT TUNE to actually start tuning.touch ANT TUNEThe screen should show: TUNE blinks while it works, and the radio returns to receive when it finishes.You will hear the relays clicking. The manual says that is normal.
  4. Touch TUNE to take the tuner back out of the transmit path.touch TUNEThe screen should show: The TUNE indicator goes out.
  5. On a non-optima with an external tuner, tell the radio what is connected: OPERATION SETTING, GENERAL, TUNER SELECT.hold FUNC›touch OPERATION SETTING›touch GENERAL›touch TUNER SELECT›dial → OPTION or ATAS›FUNCThe screen should show: TUNER SELECT, then OPTION or ATAS.Watch out. The built-in tuner cannot be used with an external tuner connected to the antenna jack. It is one or the other, not both.

The optima's tuner matches roughly 16.7 to 150 ohms on HF — about 3:1 — and a narrower 25 to 100 ohms on 6 metres. A random wire, a non-resonant whip or a G5RV on most bands may simply be outside that range. Watch the result too: if the SWR after tuning is worse than 2:1 the settings are not stored, so you will retune every time you come back, and worse than 3:1 lights the HI-SWR icon and means something needs fixing at the antenna rather than in the radio.

Taken from the manufacturer's own manual for this model.

Set the CW keyer speed and weight on an FTX-1

Speed is on the function menu, one page along from the receive controls. The feel of the sending is in the menu tree under CW SETTING.

  1. Press FUNC, touch CW SPEED, and rotate the FUNC knob to set the sending speed between 4 and 60 words per minute.FUNC›touch CW SPEED›dial → 4 - 60 wpmThe screen should show: The speed in wpm.
  2. For how the keyer behaves: CW SETTING, KEYER, KEYER TYPE — OFF, BUG, ELEKEY-A, ELEKEY-B, ELEKEY-Y or ACS.hold FUNC›touch CW SETTING›touch KEYER›touch KEYER TYPE›dial → ELEKEY-B›FUNCThe screen should show: KEYER TYPE, then your choice.OFF puts it in straight key mode. BUG generates the dots automatically and leaves you to send the dashes by hand, the way a mechanical bug works.
  3. CW WEIGHT in the same list sets the dah-to-dit ratio, 2.5 to 4.5.touch CW WEIGHT›dial → 2.5 - 4.5›FUNC›BACKThe screen should show: CW WEIGHT, then a number.3.0 is the textbook ratio and the factory setting. A touch heavier is often easier for the other operator to copy through noise.

KEYER and BK-IN both sit on the same function menu page as CW SPEED, so switching the keyer out for a straight key, or turning break-in off to practise without going on air, is a touch away rather than a trip through the menu.

Taken from the manufacturer's own manual for this model.

Reset the menu to factory settings on an FTX-1

Unlike the FT-991A, this is done from the menu with the radio running, and it asks you to confirm before it does anything — so there is a way out right up to the last touch.

  1. Press and hold the FUNC knob, then touch EXTENSION SETTING and RESET.hold FUNC›touch EXTENSION SETTING›touch RESETThe screen should show: The reset options.
  2. Touch DONE on the MENU CLEAR item.touch DONEThe screen should show: A confirmation screen.MENU CLEAR restores the menu settings and LEAVES YOUR PROGRAMMED MEMORIES ALONE. This is the one to reach for when something is misconfigured and you cannot find what.
  3. Touch OK, or press the FUNC knob, to go ahead. CANCEL backs out with nothing changed.touch OKThe screen should show: The radio switches itself off and then straight back on again.That automatic power cycle is the confirmation it worked — you do not need to touch the power switch.

Because it confirms first, this is the safest reset of the three Yaesu HF rigs covered here — you can get as far as the confirmation screen and still change your mind. Try MENU CLEAR before anything more drastic; it fixes most of what sends people looking for a reset, and it costs you no memories.

Taken from the manufacturer's own manual for this model.

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