Yaesu
FT817
All Band, All
Mode, Handheld Transceiver
Updated
20.9.06
Handheld DXing
on VHF, UHF and
HF!
The FT817 is a handheld/ transportable successor to the world famous FT690, 290 and 790 range. The FT290 must have been the most popular multimode handheld ever made. Now, the Yaesu unit includes 6m, 2m and 70cms as well as all the HF bands too. Data modes such as PSK31 are well supported as well as the usual SSB, CW, FM and AM.
Most of the features of a base station multimode are included plus space for a set of AA rechargeable cells to allow true handheld operation. The top BNC antenna connector is normally active on 6, 2 and 70cms for which bands a whip antenna is included. The top antenna socket may also be menu selected for the HF bands so a compact base or centre loaded whip can be used for handheld HF DX working. When used with an HF whip on the rig it is best to use a short counterpoise wire as well as this helps radiation efficiency and antenna matching considerably.
How it performs - and some handheld HF DX
results!
5 continents on QRP handheld HF SSB can't be bad! Best DX from indoor handheld operation is the USA on SSB. Using a Miracle Whip antenna the best DX from indoors in the bedroom is LU (Argentina) at 11000kms on 10m SSB, and LA (Norway) on 40m SSB. On 50MHz it has worked around 35 countries with best DX over 3000kms when using a simple external vertical. Several Europeans have been worked handheld on 50MHz. On VHF and UHF it has worked a fair number of QTH squares around the UK and Europe with simple antenna such as whips and halos.
Likes and dislikes
Of course I like the very small size. Also, unlike my old IC706, there is no annoying fan blowing away. The ergonomics are pretty good for a radio of such small dimensions. The receiver SSB filter is a little wide although with use of the adjustable passband filter shift one can compensate for this to a degree. It held its own in the recent ARRL DX contest and I managed to pull plenty of stations out of the mayhem and work them. A serious CW QRP DXer would benefit from the optional narrow filter which I added last Christmas. I prefer to use the wide setting (less tiring on the ears) but sometimes the narrow 500Hz filter does help to pull signals out of the QRM.
Battery life on the
Yaesu NiCad pack wasn't too great - enough for an
hour's lunchtime DXing but not much more unless
you use external gell cells. I suspect that with 2500mAhr
NiMH cells it would give a much more useful duty cycle (a few hours
of casual operating). Overall
it is a great little rig and I
love it! The rig is ideal for
QRP holiday and
Adventure Radio use.
Future
Improvements?
The following would improve the rig should
Yaesu-Vertex consider a MkII version (please!). Others may have
differing views.
- an internal ATU (something like the Elecraft
T1 but within the transceiver.
- a LiIon battery pack (less weight
for better capacity).
- a speech processor (to add punch)
-
DSP filtering and noise reduction
- more colour choice on the
LCD backlight
- 70MHz (4m) coverage as this is becoming a serious
band in Europe.
- small socket for a counterpoise
- built-in
stand-up support for desk use.
Links
FT817 Yahoo
Group
FT817 Accessories from BHI
FT817 modifications
FT817 brochure
The UK price is now
as low as £359, with 60m coverage, NiMH
rechargeable pack and charger, from the usual
Yaesu dealers. This is excellent value. An ATX Walkabout multi-band or ATX
single band antennas are available to use with the
rig but always use a counterpoise to get the best performance. The
Miracle Whip antenna is a good addition to the
FT817 station although in the UK the price is higher
than I'd like at £99. As with the whip antennas a counterpoise or
decent ground will really help with ERP.
Main Spec Details
Power 2.5W SSB/CW/FM/CW,
0.7W AM (int. batteries) ,
5.0W SSB/CW/FM/CW
1.5W AM (with 13.8V supply)
RX 0.1-56MHz,
76-154MHz, 430-470MHz
TX 1.8-432MHz
(not 70MHz, not 220MHz)
Weight 2.6 lbs
Size
5.31 x 1.5 x 6.5
inches