Yaesu FT-891 — Compact HF + 6 m All-Mode Transceiver

Overview

The FT-891 is a compact, rugged, full-power (100 W) HF plus 6-metre all-mode transceiver aimed squarely at mobile and portable/field operators. It packs Yaesu’s high-end 32-bit floating-point IF DSP and a triple-conversion receiver into a chassis barely bigger than the old FT-857D, with a detachable front panel https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yaesu_FT-891 https://static.dxengineering.com/global/images/technicalarticles/ysu-ft-891_sn.pdf.

Key Specifications

General

Type: HF/50 MHz all-mode amateur transceiver, mobile/portable focus https://swling.com/blog/2021/03/guest-post-marks-review-of-the-yaesu-ft-891-as-shortwave-broadcast-receiver/
TX bands: 1.8 / 3.5 / 5.3 / 7 / 10 / 14 / 18 / 21 / 24 / 28 MHz (160–10 m + WARC) plus 50 MHz (6 m) https://static.dxengineering.com/global/images/technicalarticles/ysu-ft-891_sn.pdf
RX coverage: 0.030 – 56.000 MHz general coverage (includes AM broadcast band) https://www.eham.net/reviews/detail/13042
Modes: USB / LSB / CW / FSK (RTTY/Packet) / AM / FM / NFM https://static.dxengineering.com/global/images/technicalarticles/ysu-ft-891_sn.pdf
Tuning steps: 5 / 10 / 50 / 100 Hz; 1 / 2.5 / 5 / 6.25 / 9 / 10 / 12.5 / 15 / 20 / 25 / 100 kHz https://static.dxengineering.com/global/images/technicalarticles/ysu-ft-891_sn.pdf
Frequency stability: ±0.5 ppm (AM/SSB/CW), −10 to +50 °C https://www.eham.net/reviews/detail/13042
Memories: 99 regular channels with alpha tags, 9 scan-edge pairs (PMS), 5 QMB, non-volatile EEPROM https://www.eham.net/reviews/detail/13042
Power supply: 13.8 VDC ±15% (external, not included) https://www.eham.net/reviews/detail/13042
Current drain: RX max 2 A; TX max 23 A https://www.eham.net/reviews/detail/13042
Antenna: 50 Ω, SO-239 (single port) https://www.eham.net/reviews/detail/13042
Dimensions: 155 × 52 × 218 mm (6.1 × 2.0 × 8.6 in) https://www.eham.net/reviews/detail/13042
Weight: 1.9 kg (4.18 lb) https://www.eham.net/reviews/detail/13042
MSRP: ~$889.95 (often found around $600–700 on sale) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yaesu_FT-891

Receiver

System: triple-conversion superhet (AM/SSB/CW): 1st IF 69.45 MHz, 2nd IF 450 kHz, 3rd IF 24 kHz; double-conversion for FM https://www.eham.net/reviews/detail/13042
Roofing filter: new 3 kHz wide filter in the first IF improves dynamic range on CW/SSB/data https://static.dxengineering.com/global/images/technicalarticles/ysu-ft-891_sn.pdf
Sensitivity (SSB/CW, 10 dB S/N): 0.16 µV (1.8–30 MHz and 50–54 MHz); AM 1.6 µV; FM 0.35 µV https://www.eham.net/reviews/detail/13042
Selectivity: SSB/CW 2.4 kHz (−6 dB); CW-N 500 Hz (−6 dB); AM 6 kHz; FM 12 kHz / NFM 9 kHz https://www.eham.net/reviews/detail/13042
DSP: variable-width filters all modes, auto notch, peaking, noise reduction (DNR) https://static.dxengineering.com/global/images/technicalarticles/ysu-ft-891_sn.pdf
Band scope / spectrum display (panadapter) timesharing the receiver https://static.dxengineering.com/global/images/technicalarticles/ysu-ft-891_sn.pdf
AF output: 2.5 W @ 10% distortion into 4 Ω; 3.5 mm external speaker jack https://www.eham.net/reviews/detail/13042

Transmitter

RF output: 100 W SSB (PEP) / CW / FM; 40 W AM (some sources list 25 W) https://www.eham.net/reviews/detail/13042 https://swling.com/blog/2021/03/guest-post-marks-review-of-the-yaesu-ft-891-as-shortwave-broadcast-receiver/
Modulation: AM low-level; FM variable reactance; SSB balanced https://www.eham.net/reviews/detail/13042
Max FM deviation: ±5 kHz (FM), ±2.5 kHz (NFM) https://www.eham.net/reviews/detail/13042
Spurious emissions: better than −50 dB (HF), −63 dB (6 m) https://www.eham.net/reviews/detail/13042
Built-in CW keyer and voice/CW memory keyer https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yaesu_FT-891
Microphone: MH-31A8J hand mic, 8-pin modular, 200 Ω–10 kΩ https://www.eham.net/reviews/detail/13042

Extras

Detachable front panel (YSK-891 separation kit available separately) https://swling.com/blog/2021/03/guest-post-marks-review-of-the-yaesu-ft-891-as-shortwave-broadcast-receiver/
USB CAT control; CTCSS/PL and DCS; repeater offset (10 m ±0–1 MHz, 6 m ±0–4 MHz) https://www.eham.net/reviews/detail/13042
Dual-fan cooling system; matches optional FC-50 antenna tuner https://www.prc-77.com/2019/06/yaesu-ft-891-again.html

History & Lineage

Announced at Dayton Hamvention 2016 and shipped shortly after (early production units from late 2016); designed in Japan https://www.prc-77.com/2019/06/yaesu-ft-891-again.html https://static.dxengineering.com/global/images/technicalarticles/ysu-ft-891_sn.pdf.
It effectively replaced the long-running FT-857D as Yaesu’s compact mobile rig. Compared to the ‘857D it adds IF-DSP with variable filters (replacing crystal-filter slots), the 3 kHz roofing filter, a spectrum scope, and a larger multi-line display — while giving up the ‘857D’s 2 m and 70 cm transmit capability and digital voice https://static.dxengineering.com/global/images/technicalarticles/ysu-ft-891_sn.pdf.
It sits below the larger FT-991/FT-DX10 series in Yaesu’s lineup but tracks them fairly closely in dynamic performance https://static.dxengineering.com/global/images/technicalarticles/ysu-ft-891_sn.pdf.
Still in production today, widely regarded as “the last affordable, compact 100 W HF rig” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yaesu_FT-891.

Reputation & Owner Notes

Owners rate it highly for its receiver quality, audio clarity and rugged “built like a tank” construction, plus surprisingly modest current draw (fine on a small Li-ion pack for POTA/park operations) https://www.prc-77.com/2019/06/yaesu-ft-891-again.html https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yaesu_FT-891. The eHam community (169 reviews) generally calls it an unbeatable value at sale prices https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yaesu_FT-891. Common gripes:

The menu system divides opinion — some find it unintuitive compared to the ‘857D or Icom/Kenwood rivals, though others say it’s reasonable given the tiny front panel https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yaesu_FT-891 https://www.prc-77.com/2019/06/yaesu-ft-891-again.html.
No internal antenna tuner (Yaesu expects you to use an external FC-series tuner) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yaesu_FT-891.
Audio rolls off the bass and cuts off around 5 kHz — great for intelligible voice, less hi-fi for SWL/music listening https://swling.com/blog/2021/03/guest-post-marks-review-of-the-yaesu-ft-891-as-shortwave-broadcast-receiver/.

If you are using the Digirig DR-891 interface, you can use the following settings in the menu.