I’ve Never Been a Yaesu Ham!

My first experiences with the Yaesu FT-897 “shack in a box” transceiver.
Learning enough to power up, turn on the electronic meter, set the speed, RF Power and make my first CW contact!
Quite fun so far!
73
#yaesu #hamradio #radio

[@che59v]

Solid radio, small, takes only 0.65amps on RX stand by, has most bands in one box, looking at the size we achieved so many years ago it looks as we are going back to the bulky look and the need to go buy two different radios, one for H.F and one more for UHF /UHF. I am keeping my FT 897 and 857 for as long as they work.

[@tyrueiI]

I’m still reading and learning the differences between the 857 and 897. I have the itch to try an 817/818 as well! Haha

[@jollyfinequality9865]

Absolutely agree 100% I love these radios and I have 2 857s and 2 897s.

[@GoonyMclinux]

If your doing active emcomm lets say during a hurricane you are going to need one radio per band.

[@che59v]

@@GoonyMclinux One per band?? one for H.F one for VHF and one for UHF ??? really? emcomm has different levels, but you knew that (well, I hope). So, you will be running with a few radios while I will need to carry one only?

[@GoonyMclinux]

@@che59v you can only talk on one band at a time brah.

[@ehayes5217]

I've been all CW on HF for decades! Thanx for posting & 73 de WA4ELW in TN 🇺🇸 dit dit 😃

[@tyrueiI]

Glad to hear it was useful! 73

[@mikesey1]

Always loved Yaesu radios. I have an 897D with it's own power supply, best radio I have, and it's reliable too!

[@tyrueiI]

Agree! with the built-in supply and a tuner hanging on the side, it is a really nice rig. With the filters getting hard to get, if you have one, hang on to it!

[@thuff3207]

I had one and it was a good radio and after repairing it the radio worked well. The reason I sold it was CW filters were limited to 500Hz. I hope you enjoy yours I moved to better CW radio.

[@tyrueiI]

That is a great point. I’ve been spoiled by the Elecraft K1 and K2 as well as the NorCal Sierra. They have either continuously variable b/w or lots of options. So far the very scarce Collins filters are only 300 and 500 hz. Fun but not a perfect CW radio

[@theoldhobbit3640]

Each to their own, but as someone who has only ever used Yaesu, I have to say I am very pleased. I suppose not having used other sets to compare the differences, my opinion is somewhat restricted. My current fleet consists of a FT450D, 2 x FT8800, 1 x FT 857ND, 1 x FTM 500, 1 x FT 500, 1 x FT817ND and my trusty VX6. I don't have the FT 897 but if I have the money available and one becomes available I would defiantly consider it. By all accounts a great radio and those who have had them have really good things to say.

[@tyrueiI]

That is a well equipped ham shack. Sounds like a lot of fun! How do you like the FT817ND? After seeing Thomas k4SWL out on his POTA activations, I want to try one with internal batteries. What is the antenna of choice for portable? 73

[@theoldhobbit3640]

@@tyrueiI My FT 817ND was my first "shack in a box" transceiver and I cut my teeth on it so to speak. I use it every chance I get and if space allows, I stick up my homebrew fan diplole 10, 20 & 40 and have a ball. I have adapted the internal battery tray to take rechargeable AA batteries and they work a treat, gives me a couple of hours to play. My battery of choice is a 6.8amp Lithium on anderson power poles which give me a whole weekend no problem.

[@mattpace5982]

Also I use 10 meters I use an rci 2950 Dx mobile I use a antron 99 antenna about 50 up in the air have talked all over the USA on my rci 2950dx mobile

[@tyrueiI]

The reviews look quite good for the RCI 2950 DX - lots of features!

[@joeblow8593]

I own one. They are great rigs. The power supply alone cost me $150 used at the time, I think they were over $200 new.

[@tyrueiI]

Yes agree! When I saw the original prices it makes it more inviting to pay $750 for the 897 + the built-in PS. Wondering if the internal batteries still fit with the AC supply installed.

[@denelson83]

That ham you are picking up on CW at the start of the video lives in my part of the world, Duane VE7UF.

[@tyrueiI]

Glad you got to pull out some CW from the background. I think having CW in the video is better than any background music!

[@denelson83]

@@tyrueiI Thanks. I am right now working on putting together my own HF station so I can start working the world. 73 VE7NDE

[@kingdick4508]

I love my FT-897!

[@tyrueiI]

I’m having a great time with the FT-897! Thanks for commenting

[@sdmay1980]

Been licensed since January and when I first seen this radio I thought it looked like a tank. I ended up getting a barely used FT 891 for 500$. I would still love to have this radio.

[@tyrueiI]

Great! Glad you got the FT-891! For a first radio, it gives you all kinds of options for bands and modes. I’ve heard it has better filtering than the FT-897 and with the cost for the remaining Collins mechanical filters, you did really well. The 40M band is a good place to start, but there are hams on all the bands that will be happy to help you out! 73 and good luck!

[@nr3rful]

I have 3 of these radios and the 857 .... you wont be sorry....the best radios ever made....

[@tyrueiI]

So far, having a really fun time. I'm almost ready for a trip out portable to see how it goes.

[@cidcolead1115]

The filters only report to the screen based on a jumper in the filter itself. If you add an aftermarket filter, say for more narrow SSB, it will report the same text on the buttons. On row Multi Function row "n" the "A" button should show "CFIL" for the ceramic filter. Mine also shows "B" as "2.3" and "C" as "2.3" but my "C" is the Inrad 1.8 kHz. I paid $600 a few years ago. It came with the power supply and the remote tuner along with the cover for the bottom if you use batteries. Plus the TCXO. Stock batteries do not have much operating time. It would be more cost effective to use a modern external battery. I keep the power supply in mine even when using it in the truck from the 12V system. (And I carry an AC cord set) I picked up a new DTMF mic, MH-36-E8J hand mic, just in case the original has trouble or if it becomes my only radio. I am not going to use the tuner. When you select Tuner, Amp or PC remote control it is exclusive. You can't use the tuner and PC remote. I like the remote for digital operation in the field with my laptop. I saw one in a go box kit at the Orlando Hamfest for $1,000 with lots of accessories. Looks like you got a decent deal.

[@tyrueiI]

Lots of great info! Thanks yes, $750 with the a/c supply is pretty good these days. I bought the Yaesu tuner from Gigaparts, only to learn that the LDG can handle a larger impedance range. So far it works well on the dipoles and mobile whips. You should do a video on all the filter info. Thanks for the comments and for watching!

[@lordmichaelharris1710]

I owned one those brand new in 2004 had the maching atu and psu screwed too the bottom i had a mds100 desk mike was a great combination i worked 160 dxcc with it

[@tyrueiI]

Wow, quite an accomplishment. There must be a sizable antenna farm there. Lots of FT-8xx showing up on ebay, maybe it is time.

[@toddrodgers908]

You can get into the " Service Menu " and turn the output up to 100 watts. Or even well over 100 watts. At 13.8 volts some bands turn up to 160 watts. At 16.2 volts it will turn up to 200 plus watts on some bands. The Yaesu FT-857 will do the same and other Yaesu radios like the FTM350R, 2900, 2980 and so on.

[@tyrueiI]

Great info! Sounds like it is a good way to squeeze out a little more power. So far I’ve been staying on the low power side and playing with battery power. I tried the FT-817 on the IARU Contest today. I definitely needed both a better antenna and more power. Haha I’ll take notes on your comments - good info! It looks like you should do a video to me! :-). 73

[@Ed-ox1th]

I've owned two of these radios. Traded the first one for an upgrade and missed it greatly. Bought my second one and will keep it for portable ops. Does it have the receive my FTdx10 has??? No, but with the install batteries, it's a complete portable station. I believe it's the most rugged and portable 100 watt rig I've seen in many years......

[@tyrueiI]

Thanks Ed, I recently picked up a pair of batteries for my FT897. The issue now is that the Yaesu chargers are unavailable. What do you use for charging yours? I’m having a great time with the 2nd FT-897 with the builtin tuner and AC supply. Really a shack in a box! 73, Bruce

[@vironpayne3405]

They are great radios, especially for portable ops. They lack some of the filtering options that a good for busy contesting days. However, turning down the RF gain and utilizing the clarifer do okay most of the time for adjecent channel noise. Perhaps not as good a fully tunable notch, but its a great portable rig, not a contesting rig.

[@tyrueiI]

Yes, agree! With ATTN and IPO (preamp off) it is a fun radio! I’ve got the mobile whip clamp mount, portable table and small brass paddle ready to try things out in yard/park. I’ll post something soon.

[@phils2180]

I bought one in 2007 and sold it a few years later for reasons completely unrelated to the radio itself and ended up regretting it. I found another nice example, obviously 2nd hand, at a radio rally 2019 and this will be a keeper!👍 If the FT991 was supposed to be the replacement for the 897 then Yaesu dropped the ball IMO, a completely different radio. If they had maybe just updated the 897 with a few tweaks and kept the same rugged form factor I reckon they could have kept it in their lineup alongside the 991 and it would still have sold.👍

[@tyrueiI]

Glad you found another radio to take its place. I’m having a good time learning to drive all the menus and functions. I had to reset all the settings 4 times when I changed to the USA band plan. That was a lot of settings practice. Haha

[@tyrueiI]

I’ve seen a few KZbin videos of the 991 menus… definitely not the same radio!

[@robertvarner9519]

My 897 went bad very quickly when I bought it. First the display developed "Zebra lines" and then the VFO failed and would not tune correctly. I wish I never bought it.

[@tyrueiI]

I see videos and parts to change the display. I wonder if the vfo issue was the rotary encoder. There might be hope if you still have the 897. 73

[@latymz]

I thought they all were 100 watts. I learned something new.

[@tyrueiI]

Yes, you need to be pretty careful buying radios that don’t have an FCC or Canadian approval. The ones that say JARL might be a 10 Watt “S” model and also may not line up with our American band plan, depending on which bands the radio operates on.

[@romiemiller7876]

I had one about 30 years ago. Great radio. Ex KG0ER.

[@tyrueiI]

Which model did you have? I guess my real first one was the old FRG-7

[@mcturan]

It is also my first All mode rig. Only 1 thing I wish it had, The waterfall scope... It has a scope but ehh, you need to open etc... Except this, It is a perfect radio... It's should be called All in One radio. Have fun, have good news... TA1XTA 73

[@tyrueiI]

Agree that the “scope” function on these radios you might only look at once to see what it does. I guess a cheap thumb-drive SDR waterfall switched in would be fun.

[@joewoodchuck3824]

I've owned three HF radios and Yaesu always had the right one for me at the time. I've never been sorry for any of the purchases. At this point I have at least some brand loyalty and will look to Yaesu first in the future.

[@tyrueiI]

Great comment. Agree that they have consistently delivered good products year after year. I’m having a good time after having many homebrew and a few ICOM radios. Only wish the Collins mechanical filters would be produced by someone again.

[@joewoodchuck3824]

@@tyrueiI Can't Collins filters be replicated electronically?

[@tyrueiI]

I’ve been looking and so far only see some filters based on Murats ceramic resonators for SSB only (for what I can find). Comments I’ve read say those filters are less steep on the filter curves, but I’m looking for CW filters).

[@joewoodchuck3824]

I don't see my other reply here. It concerned using a filter chip designed for audio. Then use a 386 I think it is to reamplify the audio. I don't know what configurations of filter the device can perform, nor do I know anything about the slopes it can provide.

[@Oldnoitall]

Yaesu next to what was once Ten Tec 0:48 KE4TDG 73

[@tyrueiI]

Not sure what you meant. I watched at the 48 second mark and didn’t pick up anything about Ten Tec. Thanks for watching! 73

[@Oldnoitall]

@@tyrueiI sorry for not being clear! What i meant was in order of quality! Lol. I’m from Tennessee where Ten Tec was made ! : )))

[@KN4YEM]

Hopefully I will be next

[@tyrueiI]

Lots of radios on the ham swaps and eBay. Likely lower prices on the swaps. So far the FT-897 is a lot of fun and has a lot of features!

[@alanb76]

power supply is in battery space

[@tyrueiI]

Hmmm I guess the external battery will do when I try it in the backyard. Or if I get the itch to try POTA!

[@vironpayne3405]

I love my Yaesu FT-8XX radios. I had an FT-897ND until I dropped it. Oops. Great radio. I have two FT-857d radios and one FT-897D. I keep looking for another 100W shake in the box radio that is SDR/direct conversion to replace my radios for portable ECOM, but no love. New SDR/direct conversion radios are either not 160m-70cm, not all mode, not 100W or too power hungry for portable ops. One FT-857d is for my car. The second FT-857d is my go-bag radio. My FT-897D is primarily my home station. They are not the best contesting radios by any means. Collins filters, IF shift, notch filter, and DSP make it usable for contest. For portable EMCOM there are no better radios. kzbin.info/www/bejne/pITLdYyij6x-osU

[@tyrueiI]

Sounds great! - Do you have internal batteries in any of them? I'm thinking of trying that. The 857 does look a lot smaller (and lighter). I am impressed with the aluminum casting and overall build quality so far. Maybe take a look at the Elecrafts for the next portable? 73

[@jneale5204]

I am not a Yaesu or nothing ham. I do have the successor to that radio. The FT-857D. It has a lot of the same functions as the 897. I am really happy with it..

[@tyrueiI]

That’s very cool! Almost the same radio, just packaged a bit more compact. Have you been on CW or SSB or Digital with it?

[@jneale5204]

@@tyrueiI I don't get on CW because I don't know Morse Code and I haven't been able to get the digital setup working yet. I need to find the right CAT cable. Also I started learning Morse Code but then I decided to start working on a degree and that stopped the learning Morse Code.

[@tyrueiI]

The degree will payoff big! Great job!

[@mattpace5982]

My cousin is going to ship me a yeasu transceiver ft 101e x when she gets the money she is going to ship it to me

[@tyrueiI]

The Yaesu will be a fun radio. I can imagine the glow of the tube finals and the 260 watts output.

[@mattpace5982]

@@tyrueiI when I get the yeasu radio I'm going to have a buddy of mine look at it to see if anything is wrong with the radio he is an extra class license Ham operator

[@jamess1787]

TYL: Japanese make great products, and they take pride in them One thing they aren't proud of: their terribly wild electrical grid and inability to standardize. 😅. Pretty sure the universal power adapter was invented because of Japan ... 🥁 (Okay, last part was a joke)

[@tyrueiI]

That’s so cool to learn about. I went to read about their grid today. I learned they use 50 hz in eastern japan and 60 hz in western Japan. That is pretty crazy. I guess they don’t time electric clocks off the grid as we do in the USA.

[@MI7DJT]

I've never been a Yaesu fan. Their drivers for wires-x (FTM-400 & 500) are rubbish, the aprs messaging is pathetic and their menus might as well be in chinese.. they make no sense. They have the potential to make great radios but they don't spend enough time on polishing up the stuff that really matters. And now the broken DTMF on the FTM-500. I'll stay well clear of Yaesu.

[@robertvarner9519]

Goddamn right. I'll never buy another Yaesu radio.

[@tyrueiI]

That's where I'd say the Elecraft designs shine. They really think of optimizing the user experience. Only having used my FT897 for a couple weeks, I agree that the scrolling through functions, hot keys and then... oh that one is in a menu isn't intuitive. Still having a great time discovering what it will do though. My sample size is one so far. 73

[@Kibwunga]

This is probably the lowest performance radio Yaesu made. To use it as a benchmark for your opinion on Yaesu is not doing the product justice. They are currently at the top of the best receiver design in the industry.

[@tyrueiI]

Good information, thank you! I’m seeing some pretty rave reviews on the FTDX-10. I’m also enjoying the super small size of the FT-817. I really should move into the current decade. Haha