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write your own review of the Yaesu FT-817.
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WB0FDJ
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Rating: 5/5
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Oct 23, 2008 19:34
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Fun little radio
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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This radio is the real deal. Yeah, it doesn't have every bell and whistle known to current technology and there are things that it doesn't do. But for a lot of us who enjoy QRP this is a staple in our diet. I think back to 1979 when my sole rig was a Ten Tec Argonaut 509. The two years I owned by 509 are the best of my ham radio experience. With it I discovered QRP and honed my operating skills. That radio had no options, no filters, no nothing. I turn on this rig and the options it DOES have take my breath away! It small enough that I can actually put this in some of my larger coat pockets. I have the 500 Hz CW filter and also use the SCAF filter made by Idiom Press. This is a good "all purpose" QRP radio. I have used it with a portable antenna, set up in a local park, to work DX. This summer I worked ME and OH running the full 5W to an indoor slinky on 50 mHz. I compare this to the old Jeep CJ's: not pretty, sometimes not comfortable but will always get you there.
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VK4KKD
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Rating: 5/5
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Sep 25, 2008 00:59
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exceptional rig!
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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This little gem of a radio has got to be one of the best innovations ever to come on the market.
I have used it far more than any other rig in my collection - it serves at the home QTH to drive my 2m SSB weak signal station (mind you weak signal and 2m SSB is an oxymoron) - the little rig is used to feed 5w into my TE Systems 2m amp for a massive 400w out - clean as a whistle.
It is used to drive my 1296MHz. transverter - 2.5w giving 20w into the 2.4m dish.
This great little rig has served to make contacts with virtually every country running 2.5w on PSK31.
But the crowning glory of all this is that the FT-817 does all of this for me when I am portable! (Yes I do take a 2.4m dish portable - along with 4 x 12el DL6WU type yagis for 144MHz. and 8 x28el DL6WU type yagis for 432MHz. for a portable station)
Using the rubber ducky on the front BNC mount I have worked surprising 6m contacts over good distances.
One thing that is a no-no is using "trapped" antennae with qrp rigs - the traps soak up too much of the small output. I find the very best antennae to use with it on HF DX are mono-band 1/4 wave ground planes - purely resonant - no tuners or transformers - just purely resonant antennae - I do this by have a basic 6m antenna and carrying a bag full of numbered lengths of aluminium tubing which are then used to make the antenna resonant on 10m or 15m or 20m. I also run LMR400 coax to make sure the max. amount of signal actually reaches the antenna. (I am of course not talking about using the radio as a simple little "backpack" bushwalker rig)
I have gone through several battery packs (mine is the older model with the rotten Ni-cad things) - but mostly I run two 10ah gellcells and they run the rig for a full two days at 2.5w.
Small yet functional - when one uses it within its limitations and accepts the small buttons and knobs it is impossible to give this rig anything other than a solid 10 out of 10. I have personally given this radio a FLOGGING - it has not been used so much as ABUSED - and it just keeps on performing flawlessly. But it is a Yaesu after all and to be totally honest I have not had a problem with any of my Yaesu radios in the 25 years I have been abusing them. Unlike the other "brand" rigs which have fallen over one after the other as they could not handle the problems associated with hard portable usage. Long live the fantastic FT-817!!!
73 - Kev.
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DL7ISA
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Rating: 5/5
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Jul 19, 2008 20:56
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It works !
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Time owned: 3 to 6 months
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My 817ND has the serial# 7xxxxxx, I bought it new. I dont find the Receiver not sensitive enough, although it cant beat the Icom IC-765 I had at all but that is not what the 817ND is made for anyways, I think.
I have build a short G5RV for using it on 40 and 20m and hanged it between 2 Trees on a Hill to work the Bands portable. Its exciting to work with this Radio portable on my self made Antenna and having QSOs even with only 5 Watts max. (if there arent to many high Power Stations with their Elbow Mentality).
The optional TCXO is not needed for me. On all Bands, including 2m in SSB the Frequency was not drifting.
The Reports I've got were always fine, even the Signal Strength was low because of the QRP. I think that's because the 817ND sounds smOOth, a bit more Bandwith would be even better. What I like VERY MUCH is the Menu to adjust the SSB receive and transmit Carrier Frequency +-300Hz, it realy makes a BIG Difference!
These are only few things I like about my 817, there are to many to mention here but I'll finish with this: The 817ND is not cheap nor easy build, its a quality product, complex, yet so easy to use and a Pleasure.
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KK8ZZ
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Rating: 5/5
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Jun 17, 2008 20:00
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Time tested, Great Radio !
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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OK, so it really isn't a PROII or an FT-2000 (or even a 450!) but it's a heck of a rig for the price. Admittedly, it takes a little patience to rig an antenna for QRP (I recommend any of the LDG models and a BuddiPole) -- and you won't BELIEVE what this will do with a 43 foot Zero-Five Vertical!) but the thrill of a QRP contact - 2.5 or 5 watts - from half-way around the world from your backyard is what ham radio is all about. I was lucky and got mine for $375 and for the price of a little time to repair a few simple parts. I'm having a great time with this little guy. Check out the Yahoo group for the 817 and find hundreds of guys and gals that work with this radio day in and day out and learn from them.. Cycle 24 is coming back (unless the dreaded Maunder Minimum returns, then Ham Radio really won't mean much anyway).. regardless, you can sign the final 73 with this little guy and not have any qualms about your energy consumption while the world fades away!
73... de KK8ZZ OH
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KI6JGH
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Rating: 5/5
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Mar 31, 2008 18:46
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The best qrp rig!
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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This is a radio that goes everwhere. It is my mobile radio, my portable radio, and one of my base radio's. As I live in California I can easily work Hawaii portable SSB on 20 and 15 meters. It is a pretty good contest radio to. I have no problem with the battery pack what so ever. I love it. But remember this is a qrp radio as such you should know what you are buying. 73's
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ZS5J
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Rating: 2/5
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Mar 27, 2008 00:29
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Could be better
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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I bought the FT-817 a few years ago, and would like to share my views on this rig. I hope Yaesu have fixed the finals problems - mine failed the first time I tried transmitting on this rig, and yes, it was into a 50 ohm load....and no modifications done to the rig - stock standard. Fortunately my dealer in the UK replaced the complete radio with a new one, thanks ML&S in the UK. Second gripe is about the battery - I feel Yaesu should have just given up the idea of using a built-in battery, and rather have used that space for having a built-in antenna tuner - as Icom have done in the IC-703. The battery does not last long at all, and, I am lead to believe, can cause the finals to blow if they are left to run down - the finals draw a small amount of current, even when the rig is switched off, and when the battery voltage gets too low, the transistors start to oscillate and can get destroyed (This can happen if the rig is left unused in a closet for several months, with the internal battery connected - which is what happened to mine). This might have have been corrected in the new 817ND, and there may be mods out to correct this problem in the older units. The good points....its compact, and does all the bands including vhf and uhf, reasonably well, but you will either need excellent antennas, or to be out of the sunspot minima, to work dx with ease. I am sure at the top of the sunspot cycle, this rig will be an absolute joy to use. But for now, my FT-817 remains in the closet....with the battery disconnected. I since bought an Icom IC-703, and find the Icom to be a way better QRP radio. The audio out of the bigger speaker is way better, it has the ATU built-in (VERY, VERY nice feature) and double the power out compared to the 817 - that could be the difference between contact or no contact. If I had to make the buying decision again...no, I would not buy the FT-817. I would rather buy the IC-703, and a decent 12v gel cell battery if I need to go portable. 73
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W4RIG
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Rating: 5/5
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Mar 1, 2008 18:28
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Fine QRP Rig
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Time owned: 6 to 12 months
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I've used my FT-817-ND for about 9 months and have nothing but good things to say about it. A friend did mess with the "hidden" controls and burned out the final, but it was repaired within a few weeks at a reasonable cost. Don't try to work with the options if the input power is lower than optimal - the FT-817 will try to recalibrate with very bad results. Normal operations as described in the manual are just fine - it's those hidden options that will come back to haunt you.
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PA3GQD
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Rating: 4/5
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Feb 23, 2008 14:37
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Update: Audio probs
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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I did write a review about this radio earlier and gave it 5/5. After using it for about two years I have to make an update and lower the score.
Don't get me wrong: My 817 is not for sale and probably never will be because it still is my favourite radio. Especially on trips and MM it is the radio for me.
However, Yaesu should design radio's which have nicer RX-audio. Not only does it distort on higher volumes by clipping, small sigs aren't clean as well. The RX is good for such a simple and small radio, but sounds nervous and noisy. I think Yaesu could have done much better in this department.
These radios are designed to be toys, good thing! But they shouldn't sound like them.
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G7IGB
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Rating: 5/5
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Jan 9, 2008 19:42
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As good as it gets...
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Time owned: 6 to 12 months
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I bought a second hand FT-817 for portable operation as an alternative to my FT-897, which was always too large for true portable work. The FT-817 was basically the same radio but in a smaller box, with the option to use standard AA size rechargeable batteries. I replaced the NiCad battery pack with the 8 x AA tray and high capacity 'NiMH' batteries, which extended the operating time by several hours. I also constructed a 'tank whip' HF vertical antenna which I could use on the front panel BNC, with the rear antenna socket switchable for my 'DX dipole' wire antenna. The ability to switch between front and rear antenna sockets is a real bonus, making band hopping quick and easy.
Transmitted audio reports were initially low, but this was quickly corrected by turning up the 'SSB MIC GAIN' level in the menu option. I can honestly say that I've never received a bad report on this radio, whether on 40m LSB or the local 2m FM repeater. The big surprise was on receiver sensitivity, as stations that I couldn't hear on my FT-897 just came alive on the FT-817. A friend of mine was so impressed by the RX front end that he borrowed the radio and compared it to his beloved FT-847, with some surprising results! My FT-817 was actually more sensitive on the HF bands than his FT-847, although selectivity wasn't quite as good. I've also compared the FT-817 RX to other multi band transceivers from Icom and Kenwood and this is about as good as it gets!
The FT-817 does many things and allows you to go portable on HF/VHF/UHF, but I'm giving it a '5' rating just for the amazing RX sensitivity on HF and 6m. I can't wait to get out on the road and go portable again this summer with the FT-817.
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KI6H
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Rating: 5/5
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Jan 4, 2008 12:35
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Love this radio
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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I bought the 817ND (my first and only HF rig) just as we sunk into bottom of the sunspot cycle and never looked back: eighteen months later I'm proud to display Worked All States #52,570, done entirely on SSB and an attic dipole.
It's easy to take along. I've used this while hiking at 10,000 feet; in snow; in the desert; in the middle of a a Los Angeles city park; on a freeway embankment; and even on the beach and had excellent luck every time. I haul it all around in a laptop computer backpack.
This 817 is a tough, resilient, capable radio. Over 18 months of working with it I still discover new capabilities.
I've pimped out my rig with the Yaesu SSB filter, an Elecraft T1 tuner, a Palm Radio portable key, a cheap pair of Radio Shack headphones and the Palm Radio peg leg. None of them are strictly necessary but all are beloved. (I guess I just like getting things for this radio. It's like people who buy birthday gifts for their dog: the dog doesn't know what's going on, but the owner just wants to express some of their joy.)
People are often surprised when I tell them, mid-QSO, that I'm operating on 5 watts and an attic dipole.
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