Goodbye to another two Yaesu products!

Many have seen details on forums etc about Yaesu discontinuing the FTM-400 & FT-818ND due to aviability of parts. I first read about this on QRPer blog and was pretty sad to hear the news. 

As I don't really do digital I don't know alot about the FTM-400 but My first radio when I was licensed was the FT-817, LDG Z-11 to a halfsize G5RV I went for this mainly because the foundation licence course I did the club used an 817 to demonstrate bands, using a radio to tuning antenna etc. At the time I was amazed that a small radio could do so much! 

I couldn't tell you how many 817's I've owned over the years, got to be atleast 8 in total including the two I have recently aquired.

When the FT-818ND was released I was temepted to buy one new but shortly after a guy had a 2nd hand one forsale so bought that. I noticed that there were a few differences between a 817 and 818. If I remember correctly the lowest power setting on the FT-818 wasn't 500mW but it was 1watt so this was no good for driving my 472KHz transverter and on 70cms even though my antenna was a perfect match there was always a higher SWR reading on the display of the 818. In the end I returned it to the owner.

People say the 817/818 is old tech but for the price no radio compares too it! There will be hams rushing out to buy a FT-818ND now the news has been released especially as it's not being replaced at the moment.  

I also think this will make 817/818 prices remain high for so time to come. I'm just glad I pick up another 817ND.

   

Revisted - A further tear down of HF "walkabout" antennas - Comet CHF-412

 I started to strip down the Comet CHF-412 antenna and put it to one side as I didn't want to misplace any thing. Today I striped the coils and measure /counted the turns on the inductors from the PCB

On one side it had the red inductors, I think these could be T37-2 but not sure and a 5pf cap:

 

Top inductor near whip had 32 turns (4.60mH)

Below that the second inductor had 31 turns (4.39mH)

 

The other side had two black inductors and a balun/transformer:

Top inductor near whip had 22 turns (8.45mH)

Below that the second inductor had 23 turns (9.20mH)

 

The balun/transformer has bifilier winding. Gold wire 9 turns: One connected to the inner of BNC and the other to ground. 

The red wire had 12 turns: One connted to antenna and the other two ground. 

As I'm not expert and knowledge of these things I do lack, if it had the same amount of turns I would of said it was a 1:1/isolation. It still could be a 1:1 transformer (maybe someone can enlighten me?).

 

As this arrangement didn't work, I'm now think of what I can do to make it work on one or two bands. For some fun ( and I mean laugh.....)  I'm wondering if I can wind a 49:1 on a very small toroid and use the inductors and whip to create a electrically short endfed half wave or do I use the balun and rewind the new toroids to see if I can get it to match??

SIGMA EUROCOMM MULTI SCAN DX 25-1300MHz BASE SCANNER ANTENNA / AERIAL

A rally I went to back in November 2022 I picked up a short vertical antenna. The guy who was selling told me it was for 145Mhz but I knew this wasn't the case. It was either the scanner antenna or the excalibur CB antenna sold by a UK company.

 

 I had no use for either but was always interested to see what was inside so I bought it. 

It was the scanner version and never had much hope to what was inside and I wasn't dissappointed either! Basically a 1 metre lenght of copper wire with a number of coils (4 in total) to form the main element, the out of the coax isn't connected to form part of the antenna basically to the SO-239. Where these manufactures come up with these claim's of 25- 1300Mhz range. I know this is scanner antenna and I won't see a perfect match between this frequency range but for interest I done a sweep on the rigexpert analyzer and didn't see a dip of less that 6:1 anywhere upto 600Mhz (what my AA-600  goes to) I would expect to see one or two dips of less than the 6:1 somewhere! 

Click image to enlarge

   

  

Repurposing a CB "artificial ground"

My Dad's friend was scrapping a old lorry and he used to have a CB radio installed in the cab but took it out years ago but the antenna and mount was still in place on the side mirror. Attached to the antenna was small plastic cylinder. I asked if I could take them which he inclined, so I removed the antenna and accessories.

I have seen these small cylinders on CB antennas and at radio rallies before but never paid much attention to them. A search online came up "artificial ground" basically if you don't have a metal body on the vehicle place this between the antenna and mount and it will improve the SWR "so they say....."

 

 

Well I was able to remove the bottom cap where the SO-239 was to find small black toroid with a number of windings on. It looked like a choke more than anything! I had no use for this and hate throwing items away so will always try to repurpose it, so today decided the enclosure would make an ideal 49:1 transformer for portable use.

I already had FT82-43 and 150pf 3KV capacitors so got to work making the 49:1. There is plenty of info on the web for 49:1 but I followed the QRPguys version as I read about them recently.

The only tricky part was leaving enough wire so I could solder onto the ring terminal on the 3/8thread inside. I also used some hot glue to hold the FT82-43 in the center and stop it moving about when in my portable kit.

 

the new transformer

All ready to push together

Just need to find a nut for 3/8thread

 

So if you come across old CB stuff, just before you decide to throw it give it another though you never know what you can do to give it a new lease of life!

 

 

Compact 472Khz transverter finished

As I have some free time over the holiday period I have spent some time finishing off the G3XBM transverter. It's now placed inside the metal enclosure and all wired up.

 

Except for the layout nothing else has changed component wise and with 500mW input from the FT-817 it produces 18watts out, the transistor doesn't even get warm and the power doesn't even back down having run 5 WSPR transmission back to back? All the other versions I have built have produces 12-14watts!

Comparing it to my older version you can see a major differeance in size. Still deciding if I'm going to design a printed label for the front cover like the older one.

Front view

Side view

Rear view

A more compact G3XBM 472Khz transverter.

I first build Roger G3XBM 472Khz transverter in 2018 and since then I've built a total of 3 of them. One went to a station in Scotland another one went to Poland and I kept one for myself to use. 

The one I kept for myself is in a nice box and printed front label, I have had plenty of WSPR spot and quite a few FT8 & JT9 QSO's with 12watts to the antenna. The layout on the copper clad board was quite big and I have always wanted to condense it down to save abit of space on the bench. 

The size compraison with the IC-705

 

After studying Roger's version with the pictures of his website and taking my time, getting a few parts I needed. Tonight I have finally finished the build and carried out a bench test, at first it didn't work but this was down to a faulty SBL-1 but lucky I have quite a few spare!

Latest build!

With 12volt supply and fed with 500mW input from the FT-817 (knew the 2nd 817 would come in handy for bench test) I'm getting 11.5watts out at 474.2KHz. Finally I just need to put it in the box and give it a good "On-air" test.

The difference in size!

 

If the latest version works well, it will replace the original one I made and I may sell it to someone who has always wanted to get on the band. Lets see how the tests go first!

HF "walkabout" antennas - Comet CHF-412

Over the years I've bought a number of HF "walkabout" antennas from mulitband to mono banders and only had much luck with 28Mhz versions from a UK company that no longer make them. The main models I have owned where the MFJ-1899T which was a nightmare to get working and a MFJ- 1820T 14Mhz mono band version which tuned for 15Mhz when checking on a antenna analyzer in the end MFJ sent me another free of charge which was alittle better.

Some time ago I picked up an old 2nd hand Comet CHF-412 from a UK dealer, The only details I could find before buying it was from Universal radio website:

The Comet CHF-412 is a tri-band portable HT antenna for 7, 21 and 144 MHz. It is 2.5 feet (75 cm) tall and is very thin and flexible. It can handle up to 5 watts. VSWR: < 1.5:1. 50 ohm. Black color. This antenna terminates to a BNC, and is shown left. This is a popular antenna for the Yaesu FT-817. 

On my FT-817 even with a counterpoise it didn't match on any band with power levels of 2.5watts and only came close on 21Mhz. I also tested it on my Rigexpert and a sweep didn't really see anything close to the bands advertised. It's sat on the shelf for ages and I hate to break or open things up but it didn't work as intended so I decided to find out what the guts were inside that low tube section.

Once I started to break away part of the fiberglass tube I noticed the whip section wasn't even soldered to the mysterious PCB, so that could explain the poor readings! I carefully removed the rest of the tube to find PCB with 5 toroidal's (3 black and 2 red) and two cermic capacitors.

Back to back view

One side has two red toroids, 2 capacitors and a insulated wire. Having a guess I gather the capacitor (5pf) and insulated wire is to bypass the coils of wire to allow it to work on 144MHz. The second capacitor is 12pf  which then connects to the the two red toroids, I need to remove the insulated wire to count the windings.

The opposite side has 3 black toroids, the bottom toroid looks like some form of balun that then connects to the two black toroids. I need to desolder what I think is a balun to work out the windings but the next one has 23 turns and the last one has 22 turns.  

 

I'm trying to work out what side work on what band but at a rough guess the red toroids are for 7Mhz and the blacks ones for 21Mhz but that balun is throwing me off. 

My plan is to see if I can modify it so it matches on the bands it was designed for. I'm thinking about removing the capacitors first and replacing them with trimmers to see what this does and then go from there.

  

FT-817 just arrived before Christmas

Today I received the FT-817 I bought recently, It's not actually in bad condition and considering the radio was not fully tested it has full output on all the bands and everything seems to function fine. It's a shame it didn't have the box and only came with microphone, battery, dry cell case and manual but most importantly it had the TCXO-9 and YF-122S. The seller also included 8 rechargable batteries.

I have now placed the TCXO-9 in my FT-817ND as this will get the most use where it matters.

Before

After

I have noticed two differeances between the FT-817ND's . My 1st FT-817ND is serial number starts 6L and is a 2006 version and the 817 that has turned up is a 6J and believe this to be 2016.

Well 2006 has a red connector on the key socket and was changed to black on the later versons. I have spotted two differences which are silly but I wonder why Yaesu did it?

1. LED charge indicator - On the older Yaesu's when you charged the battery the "Transmit/Busy LED would light up when charging and go out when complete. I have also found this to be handy identifer instead of looking at the screen.

Top 817 is the older with LED on

 

2. No S-meter reading on FM broadcast band. When doing a check over the 817 that turned up, I tuned across the broadcast band to check signal levels and noticed the S meter didn't move. I then compared it to my older 817 and the S meter works fine. I know its not faulty as I had the same thing with an FT-817ND before.

Both radio on Radio 2 with telescopic whips antennas

 

Yaesu TCXO-9 and extra FT-817 what to do!

After posting about the FT-817 I bought on ebay that had the optional extras and I was just after the TCXO! it got me thinking as I have a few items in the shack that I wasn't using. A Target HF-3 shortwave receiver that I bought at a rally to use as test receiver when I build things and the Anytone AT-878 handheld which I bought for mobile use.

The handheld ended up being a APRS tracker in the car as I'm not fussed on DMR and FM is quiet up here during the day. The HF-3 receiver got put on the bench and ended up listening to 1215KHz most of the time and as the receiver didn't have all the modes so it was limited, so I decided to sell them both and over the weekend they went quite quickly!

I've decided the FT-817 will replace both of them and can be used as my portable/mobile radio or as a bench receiver among other things. If it gets dirty or scratched I won't be to fussed I will get more use out of the 817 than I did of the handheld and SW receiver. 

Still do I keep the filter or let it go? I don't really have a need for it but will I kick myself later on which is more the question!

   

Yaesu TCXO-9

Since owning a FT-817ND again I have bought a few accessories for it. Peg-legs, 500Hz CW filter, crank knob and Andersonpole adapter. The one thing I wanted was the TCXO-9, I've hunted everywhere for one but every dealer in the UK and Europe are out of stock and a email to Yaesu UK where unable to help as Yaesu don't make it another more.

People have suggested the cheap chinese TCXO-9 on ebay. There are so many mixed reviews, with people saying they are great with others saying they increase the NF. I was on the fence and even though you could pick one up from £8 upwards, more than anything I believed I would be wasting my money!

I regularly check ebay for the TCXO and it's one of my "saved searches" but I've not seen anything for ages. A recent evening ebay trawl I saw a Yaesu FT-817ND with accessories, so I clicked on the item and looked at the pictures and description to notice it had YF-122S (SSB filter) and the TCXO-9 with the original part too. The 817 didn't have the box, antennas, charger but the listing was for 9 days so gave me plenty of time to think and watch the price.

How far, is too far for just "one" option extra?

I didn't want the radio itself and wasn't really after the SSB filter as I prefer to have the CW filter fitted instead. The amount of questions being asked to the seller was alot as they posted replies to the description so I knew it wasn't going to be cheap and it had a lot of interest.

Well did I bid?

Er yes!, The one part I wanted I couldn't let it go by and I paid the price, which in the grand scheme when you look at it wasn't to bad. £440

The way I'm looking at it is I'm happy to pay the original price of what the TCXO-9 was priced at (£70) then basically if I get £370 for radio and filter then I 'm covered.

Though I'm thinking do I sell the SSB filter for £140 as per the original price (as you can't buy the filter anymore and plenty of people want it) then sell the radio with the standard parts it comes with mic, battery, dry cell case and manual (somewhere) I have a spare car charger I can include for £230 then maybe a new person in the hobby gets a cheap radio???

Was this to far just for a TCXO? 

I haven't got money to burn but recently I sold my IC-7300 to somebody as I wasn't using it as I'm happy with FT-817 and IC-705 so the funds were there. 

Was I mad/foolish?

10M WSPR - Saturday

 Haven't done much radio today but left the W5OLF WSPR beacon on. Had a total of 70 spots, not to bad for 500mW and EFHW!

FR1GZ best DX 10011kms

KC2G - MUF site

 Today I came across a good site that displays a map with the MUF by KC2G.

 

 

 https://prop.kc2g.com/

10M WSPR with the W5OLF WSPR-AXE-CW

For most of the day I left the W5OLF WSPR Transmitter running. As many know this has a max 500mW output and had quite a few spots into the States using a halfwave endfed antenna.

 

WSPR Rocks map

 

Future of VHF/UHF ?

Today I went to Carter Bar which is a pass in the Cheviot Hills, the border between England and Scotland to meet a ham who purchased a radio from me. The weather wasn't great and it had a heavy dusting of snow.

Welcome sign!

Carter Bar has two layby's which alot of tourists stop off to take pictures and enjoy the views from the 411m elevation it has. 

Views towards the South after the fog.mist started to clear

 

Once I handed over radio to the new owner and he drove off, I dug out my FT-817 and magmount as I thought on the off chance due to the weather people might be at home and want the WAB and locator square. 

So I called CQ on the 2M FM calling frequency and straight away got a call from GM6CMQ who was 63miles away and pretty strong but I wasn't that strong considering I was using 5watts. We QSY'ed to 145.400MHz and had a chat. After we finished I called QRZ on there just incase anyone was waiting, nothing which I thought was strange so QSY'ed back to the calling frequency and called a further 4 times and didn't get a reply. I even went to the SSB calling frequency and tried plenty of calls again this ended with nothing.

Maybe that WAB/Locator has been worked heavily before?? I scanned around the whole 2M band and didn't hear one QSO. I know my antenna isn't great but I was able to work 60+miles so the system is working. 

Are WAB, SOTA, POTA prearrange on forums nowdays, does no one have a radio monitoring the FM calling freqencies anymore   

I'm starting to think what is the future of VHF/UHF bands well for FM, the amount of handhelds, mobile transceivers and VHF/UHF antennas that are sold by dealers, ebay and other sources what are people doing with it all as they aren't using them to talk on.  

Guarantee, I put out a FT8 transmission out I would of worked more than I did on FM.

630M - Another failed antenna set up

Everytime I decide to plan the set up my 630M (472KHz) antenna the weather decides to not play ball.

The last few times it's rained and this weekend we've had a dusting of snow! As I need to put some groundstakes in the ground it's going to very hard trying to hammer in them into the frozen ground.

Plus they are predicting more to coming in the next half hour!

Another cold -2 day

JS8CALL - a new mode to me but been around for awhile

JS8CALL has been around for awhile as I've seen many people talk about it on there Youtube videos but if I'm honest I thought it was another FT8 mode where signal reports are thrown around and you move on to the next person which I don't really enjoy. 

One of many things our hobby is about is to communicate and I find FT8 is more of a two way beacon/reporting system. Except for the report and locator I don't know the persons name or QTH of the station I've just worked?

After a while of using FT8 I feel I've tried it and thats it, sometimes I switch it on but within 10mins I either QSO to CW/WSPR or switch the radio off!

I've had JS8call installed on my PC for sometime but today was the first time I have given it try!

Screen shot of JS8call

Using my IC-705 and 5watts to a par end fed antenna, I had a QSO with YO3FVR who was using a FT-817, 5watts to a random wire. The QSO lasted approx 10mins and while I was in transmit I could carry on typing and it would send the message in the 15sec bursts. 

JS8 also allows for heartbeat where it's like a beacon which can be sent every 10, 15, 30, 60mins and you can get acknowledgments too.

It's a mode I will try more often and feel this brings back the communications side of digital modes. Think modes like this would be better for experimenting on 40MHz band.