Fake Vs Real Yaesu Products!– You’ll Be SHOCKED by the Results!

In 2022, I set out on a mission to spot the differences between a "Fake" Yaesu FH-2 from AliExpress and a genuine one.

It took me a while to produce this video, but two years later, here it is—and honestly, I’m shocked by the results and the incredibly minor differences I found between the two keypads.

UPDATE: The general consensus in the comments is that this is most likely a Grey Marketed Keypad.

Disclaimer: I will not include affiliate links of a Fake FH2 in this video to avoid promoting any form of piracy. However, if you're interested, I purchased my authentic Yaesu FH-2 directly from Ham Radio Outlet:

And for comparison, here's the link to the "fake" Yaesu FH-2 I purchased from AliExpress:

Be sure to watch the full video to find out just how similar (or different) these two keypads really are!

Affiliate links allow me to make a small commission based off a sale, while still saving you money.
#yaesu
#hamradio

[HAMRADIODUDE]

The general consensus is that neither is fake. The Chinese one probably is grey marketed. This could explain the same serial number being used. Thanks all.

[GordonHudson]

I think I know whats happened here. Chinese factories have a habit of continuing to manufacture things after their conteact with a Japanese or American company has ended. The quality control gradually drifts and they often stick a genetic name on the unofficial ones.

[TobotronPrime]

One isn’t fake vs real, they are both real - it’s just one is being sold directly to you without a middleman taking a cut.

There’s LOADS of profit in these accessories that are actually very simple to make so these are being sold direct to you the buyer with less of a mark up.

[piefpv]

The Fact Yaesu sells this for $100 and it only works with $1500+ radios. It should have been in the box. its a $5 part

[Hank_WIR]

There are "clones" out there for around $15. In this case it just some push buttons with resistors attached that work just fine. Or build your own, the values for the resistors and schematic are in your manual.

[offgridpete]

This is an inherent risk of manufacturing in China, where the prevalence of the gray market and counterfeit goods is a significant threat to product integrity and brand reputation.

[noimnotarobotcanubeleiveit]

Yaesu outsourcing to baofeng yet retained the yaesu price tag

[GilesEvans]

They may be both real Yaesu products, just packaged for different markets. Buying an official product intended for a different market is called a "grey market" product as it wasn't meant to be sold outside of the region of the market it was intended for. Most manufacturers, however, will not warranty any "official" products outside the intended market area. Some features of the product may be different to adjust to the laws or regulations within the region they were intended to be sold in.

[DudeFromHere]

Bro, those are both legit and neither one is fake. Just different production cycles and therefore different serial numbers.
Maybe the “fake” one is from some illegal overproduction or just failed qc. But most likely just some vendor got them cheap because the hw price is low and sells them via aliexpress.
Edit: Also in germany you find them from local online shops even cheaper than 50$. Exactly 34, 90€ from well known ham shops.
Seams Yaesu or the US dealers just cash out on US customers.

[socallars]

It's outrageous that they would charge $100 for such a thing, or even $50. I built a $12.80 kit from Aliexpress that works just fine and I actually prefer the buttons on it to the real FH-2. They are larger, have a tactile click, are color coded and also laid out in a logical manner instead of just being a traditional number pad. I have a real FH-2, it sits in a drawer and will likely end up on eBay.

EDIT: Corrected the price, it is now $12.80, not $12.00. That damn inflation! 😁

[jackKFIT]

Nice comparison. I am still troubled by the soldering but as long as it works.

[timel]

I appreciate your time & efforts. But if the build quality & function are the same, I don’t mind the clone.

[LBFH]

Another interesting video from you. Thanks for sharing!

[billsmotrilla]

Ahhhh, This Vid and the John Kruk Yaesu Gray Market warranty questions vid within 24 hours of eash see what you did here and love it.

[l.a.]

On of these came with my Yaesu FTDX-3000, as standard equipment- i rarely use it. I have an FT-710 now, so i suppose I'll use it. I know that Baofeng has tons of problems with their stuff with counterfeit parts, etc.

[simongordon]

Btw couldn’t you just phone up and check the serial number with yaesu ?

[frankjimenez]

Notice that the fake one was hand assembled (bent over component leads and non uniform soldering) and the real one was machine stuffed and wave soldered using automated production facility (straight component leads and uniform soldering.

[simongordon]

Knowing supply chains it’s highly likely that all the parts are made by the same supply chain companies that yaesu uses using the same molds etc. Then the same or different factory does the final assembly. The only question would really be around the quality checks during manufacturing imho

[jasontetlow]

A lot of things will get assembled from parts that have failed QC and were rejected, but not destroyed, and then sold on the black market.

[LeeMcc_KIYPR]

They might use different dimensioned raw PCB material sheets from batch to batch, so the panelizations, hence the lines, may change.

The markings on the switches could be an innocent difference, like date code or a trivial spec difference.