Yaesu had initially been formed with the intention to develop and manufacture commercial and amateur radio transceivers for the Japanese market, but only five years after its formation the company had signed foreign sales agreements for export to Australia and Germany.

Yaesu became an important presence in the U.S. amateur radio market with the introduction and improvement of its very popular FT-101 line of equipment in the 1970s.

In 2007, Motorola announced its intention to purchase 80% of Vertex Standard and form a joint venture with Tokogiken (a privately held Japanese company controlled by Jun Hasegawa), which would hold the other 20%.

In the early 2000s, minimum-shift keying (GMSK) technology emerged in the amateur radio market as the dominant digital mode.

The System Fusion communication protocol enables devices to analyze an incoming signal and automatically determine if it is using C4FM or conventional FM mode.