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Reviews For: Yaesu FT-817

Category: QRP Radios (5 watts or less)

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Review Summary For : Yaesu FT-817
Reviews: 297MSRP: 769
Description:
All band 160m thru 10m plus 6m, 2m and 70cm, all mode QRP rig with internal batteries. PL259 on rear, BNC on front.
Product is in production
More Info: http://www.yaesu.com/amateur/ft817.html
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
002974.6
KK8ZZ Rating: 2008-06-17
Time tested, Great Radio ! Time Owned: more than 12 months.
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
KI6JGH Rating: 2008-03-31
The best qrp rig! Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
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
ZS5J Rating: 2008-03-27
Could be better Time Owned: more than 12 months.
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
W4RIG Rating: 2008-03-01
Fine QRP Rig Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
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.
G7IGB Rating: 2008-01-09
As good as it gets... Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
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.
KI6H Rating: 2008-01-04
Love this radio Time Owned: more than 12 months.
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.
KR2Q Rating: 2007-12-21
a ton of fun Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I bought this radio new in Dec 2003. It was $569 from HRO and on top of that, Yaesu was giving a $100 rebate. I used the $100 to buy a cw filter from INRAD, based on the review in QST which said, "You need it." I'm glad I got the cw filter.

This radio has been, and continues to be, simply a ton of fun. I used it 99% of the time in the shack. I've worked lots of DX with it. I've won the Hudson Division in the 160m contest with it (I have a crummy antenna on 160 or I might have done even better).

It is a REAL radio. On the low bands, you have to crank in the IPO and possibly the ATTN also, but so what. With those activated, it hears real well under crowded contest conditions. It isn't an FT9000 or IC7800, but the front end is as good as or better than any serious contest radio from 20 years ago.

There is just something very special about using this very tiny radio to work anybody I can hear. Just this week, I used it to work an all time "new one" (FJ/OH2AM). Sure, it's close to NJ (not "real" DX?) but the pileups were huge. I got him very quickly...using the standard hand mike on 20 ssb. What a trip!

Around the time I bought it, lots of guys were complaining about "blown finals." Mine never blew...and I even used the wrong antenna on several occasions. I don't know what the problem was, but I don't have it.

I can't believe all of the features built into this tiny box. You can look them up, so I won't repeat them...but they are all very handy and WORK WELL.

I'd buy this radio again, and again, and again, and again. It is a total blast. I'll never sell it.

Other radios in the shack include: FT301S, TS940SAT, Elecraft K2 (I have a pair of K3's on order), MFJ 9020, etc. When I get the K3's, everything else gets sold...except the FT817.

de Doug KR2Q
KE7MU Rating: 2007-11-15
Good Choice Time Owned: more than 12 months.
First let me say that to rate a radio on attributes rather than performance is like buying a Yugo and complaining that it isn't a Mercedes!

Pro's
-Very good receiver as sensitive as my other Yaesus
-No observed intermod, birdies or images
-One of the lowest power consumption radios (assembled) on the market.

Con's
-Needs filters, but then all radios do (attribute)
-Needs more talk power (one big punch works great)
-Needs more power (ops that's an attribute)
-Needs larger display (attribute)
-Needs bla bla bla

If it doesn't have all the features you want, don't buy it, or purchase the add on options, by why complain about it. My sports car doesn't come with a winch or trailer hitch but I knew what I was buying. Yea the 817 doesn't have all the features of other radios, but then you won't be carrying a TT Orion around your neck.
72' KE7MU
ZS1TTZ Rating: 2007-11-15
Brilliant Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
Quite apart from it's excellent performance on the amateur bands, this radio is also a very competent performer on the SW broadcast bands.
The rig goes where ever I go, probably the best money I have ever spent.
K7LZR Rating: 2007-08-30
Wonderful little rig Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I use the FT-817 (non nd) along with a Timewave model DSP 9+ DSP filter, and a Kenwood AT-130 manual antenna tuner. These units are all very close in physical size, and so they stack together very nicely. A very portable ham/swl station indeed! As to performance, I am truly amazed. The FT-817 by itself has a great receiver, and it performs even better with DSP. I've also been using this radio to monitor several local FM repeaters and simplex channels, and it performs very good in that area as well. I'm usually more inclined to lean toward Kenwood equipment rather than Yaesu, because most of the past Yaesu equipment which I've owned has been problematic in one form or another. But I think that Yaesu hit the mark with the FT-817. All-in-all, its a wonderful little rig.