Tuesday, November 11, 2008

How to decode Yaesu serial numbers

If you need to know exactly when your Yaesu radio was manufactured here is the way to decode Yaesu serial numbers:

Position 1 = year made

Position 2 = month made

C = January
D = February
E = March
F = April
G = May
H = June
I = July
J = August
K = September
L = October
M = November
N = December

Pos 3 &/or 4 = lot number(s)

Pos 5<-8 sequence in that lot

Position 1: last digit of the year in which the radio was produced

Position 2: Determine the position of the letter in the alphabet (C=3,D=4,E=5, etc) and then subtract 2. The result gives the month in which the radio was manufactured. Note that the letters will range from C (January) throughN (December). Thus, a radio with a serial number of 5H221234 would have been manufactured in 2005 (5), during the month of June (H=8, 8 minus 2 = 6, June is the 6th month), was part of lot 22, and was the 1234th radio in that lot.

17 comments:

K4GTM said...

Wow Mark. Great info about the serial numbers!

kv7m said...

So does my serial of 0j520101 decode to 2010 august lot 52 item #0101?

Bora said...

I have a FT-60 with serial# 6J411105. If this means it was made in 2006, what will show on a unit that will be made in 2016?

Bora said...

Serial# from a friends unit: 2M590057. Was this made in 2002 or 2012?

Knut Buttnase said...

the same Q: my serial from my FT-736r is 1F460117. Is this now from 2001? I belive not ... 1991 is better ('81 is also possibility:)

Mike M0SAZ said...

I wouldn't think any radio has been made for over a decade has it? Even the venerable FT-857 / FT-817 have been replaced with D and ND versions respectively. By that token one would know the decade their radio was made and know the year from the years it was in production. Mike M0SAZ

Hwidger Lourenço said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Hwidger Lourenço said...

Wow! Tks. So I have the a FT-101B made in March/75, lot number 32, 1.385th radio in that lot, and the FT-101E made in March/78, lot number 33, 951th radio!

Unknown said...

You need to correspond with the period your radio was launched

Unknown said...

You need to correspond with the period your radio was launched

Unknown said...

You need to correspond with the period your radio was launched

Beer said...

How is showed when it's 2015 instead 2005? Both numbers start with 5 ?!
For example this is my serial number : 5m650521

K5KTF said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
K5KTF said...

FT-101F : Dec 1978 lot 38 # 339 (8N380339)
(With OEM NEC tubes @ ~110W output still)
Thanks!
de K5KTF

windhampensacola said...

What about years like 2017 for the serial #. Could 5H350065 be 2005 or 1995 or what year

Good Way to tell the age said...

One way to get an approximate year with year #'s that are the same is to look at the back of the radio and if it has a RED CW plug it is an older version and most likely has TOKO IF filters which should be changed out. Now changing them out is a tough job even for my shop, bit patients and perseverance will pay off. The replacement filters are online it will take three filters. Good luck and I buy broken 857's.
73, W6LDX

jrfoleyjr said...

My 857 has serial# 0E200012 so it was built in March 2000 or 2010?
Is it a FT857 or FT857D?
73 de W8NSI Jim