The Yaesu FT-890 is a very versatile “older” rig allowing transmit operations from 160 meters to 10 meters, using LSB/USB/FM/AM/CW and digital modes.
The unit also has a general coverage receiver capacity from 150KHz to 30MHz, which is very useful when listening to commercial, aviation and broadcasting stations locally and around the world.
Although I have a number of HF rigs to choose from, this is currently my primary radio in the shack.
The FT-890 is not a complex radio to operate but has many features that certainly enhance pulling weaker signals out of the mud, including notch and IF shift filtering, plus an attenuator and IPO for those signals that are exceptionally strong.
This rig nominally runs 100 watts full power with the ability to reduce power output to a QRP level.
The FT-890 has an analogue “S” meter coupled with a digital frequency readout, which to me is a good combination.
It also has an internal Antenna Matching Unit (AMU) that is useful when using a non-resonant antenna for broadband operations. The general rule of thumb is that the internal AMU will handle an SWR of <3 to 1, however if the antenna impedance is greater an external antenna matching unit should be used.
Having acquired this radio from a fellow radio club member some 10 years ago, the FT-890 continues to provide excellent service with full functionality.