Smoke signals - the conclave speaks!

Anticipation had reached a fever pitch when wisps of smoke began to emanate from Yaesu-Musen's USA headquarters, with several onlookers breaking down in tears of joy.

A conclave of engineers and sales executives announced the arrival of the new FTX-1F transceiver - Yaesu's new flagship QRP rig.

"Glory be!" cried local ham Hiram McFahnstock, who was booking a room in Dayton when he heard The News.

Several "Hallelujahs!" were also heard being shouted by those accompanying Mr. McFahnstock.

The radio's announcement took place at Yaesu-USA rather than at their main headquarters in Tokyo. "We have been told that Americans enjoy these sorts of things!" said Yaesu executive Shiriko Yamaguchi over a lunch of fried chicken and collard greens at Yaesu-USA's field office. "And these gizzards are exquisite!"

At press time, many of QRP's most faithful disciples are Googling the specs of the new FTX-1F to find out if it really is QRP. According to many, the previous flagship from Yaesu, the FT-818, would output more than 5 watts under some circumstances.

Hopefully that heresy will not be repeated with the FTX-1F.

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