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Reviews For: FT-817 Commander

Category: Ham Software/Apps - Other than logging

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Review Summary For : FT-817 Commander
Reviews: 14MSRP: Free
Description:
The ultimate CAT program for the FT-817, and it's freeware!
Product is in production
More Info: http://www.hb9drv.ch
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
00144.9
K7LZR Rating: 2013-03-07
Must have for the FT-817 owner! Time Owned: more than 12 months.
This program is a must have for FT-817 owners. It greatly enhances the versatility of the rig and adds a very nice looking and customizable old school Sliderule tuning dial which I really like since I come from the Hallicrafters era.

Tuning is a breeze, as is band hopping. And if you add one of the available USB rotary control knobs such as the Griffen Powermate or similar, then you even have a "Real" tuning knob :).

I've been using Commander with my FT-817 for several years now and couldn't be happier. It is a solid, stable program which supports everything that you can do with an FT-817.

Fantastic job Simon and thank you!



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Earlier 5-star review posted by K7LZR on 2011-10-02

I've been using FT-817 commander for about 3 years now.

If you use a Yaesu FT-817, then you simply must have this program in order to take full advantage of your radio. This program and an interface cable should be included in the box with each new radio.

A very nice touch is the big sliderule frequency dial which adds a touch of nostalgia for those who remember Hallicrafters, National et al, and it is accurate and tracks nicely too :).

As someone said, the memory manager is priceless. Saves you a ton of time when programming memories.

FT-817 Commander is no longer supported, and many of its features have been incorporated into Ham Radio Deluxe. But HRD does not have many of the FT-817 features - no memory manager, no service menu, etc.

FT-817 Commander is still the best program available for controlling & programming the FT-817.
AE5J Rating: 2012-10-12
Great Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I've been using this software since Simon first released it. It has some advantages over some of the more exotic packages even today.

First, it does not require a brute force I-7 processor to run. It is quite happy on a simple little netbook. It makes QRP work in the field simpler as a smaller, lighter computer will run it very well.

Second, while it doesn't have all the features of the latest version of HRD, it has some features for the 817 that have never been implemented in HRD - mainly relating to memory management. It has no equal for setting up the 817's memories.

In summary, I will always keep 817 Commander on the computer as long as I have an 817.
LNXAUTHOR Rating: 2012-07-14
FB with OS X and CrossOver! Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
Using 2.2, build 739 under OS X 10.5.8 w/CrossOver 10.0. This setup, along with a USB FTDI chipset CAT cable (drivers easily installed - it's OS X, duh!), works just great for my non-ND FT-817.

No need to upgrade at all. Provides more features than flrig, which i like, but wish supported as many features as HRD.
VA3QRM Rating: 2005-04-16
mouse and keyboard easier to replace,,,, Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
The size and positioning of controls are no longer an issue with the FT-817 commander. By using the mouse and keyboard it eliminates button and dial problems that result in the need for service. The software is a no-brainer to download, install, and use. Highly recommended and it is FREE.
AB2EZ Rating: 2004-12-31
A great addition to your FT-817 Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
This software is great! It adds a lot of ease-of-use to the FT-817. Once you try this, you won't want to go back to using the front panel controls on the rig!

Best regards
Stu
AB2EZ
KC2HUX Rating: 2004-02-21
A Must Have for In home use! Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I recently set my 817 up with the commander. It is great. I can control everything right down to the display color all from the computer. Even better is by adding the Griffin Powermate Shuttle it gives the 817 a big rig feel and still allows it to be such a small package. The shuttle is just about the size of a normal tuning knob and can be setup to control just about anything. I have it setup to spin through the frequencies and also allow me to on the fly change the tuning step for a quick qsy. The commander is great to also watch how the radio is behaving while talking. It displays the modulation, power, ALC, and swr all at once while talking. It would be perfect if the connection was USB fast. The serial even set at 34K is just a little slow. But you can’t have it all. Overall I think this is the best way to control this radio! Compared to RATS this is a hands down winner@ and FREE!!!!!
N8SEX Rating: 2003-12-08
Awesome Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
I could see if you had to spend 500 bucks for some software you may have the right to nick pick about those DSP and Cross Band features that were selfeshly left out. Let me tell you something, this software is free, and it is one of the BEST integrated command software control packages for the FT-817 and other Big Name rigs as well (Ham Radio Deluxe). Simon, some of us here are just happy you have given us a wonderful program and have kept it free for amateurs to enjoy.

Oh, by the way, how about incorporating the playboy channel into this software, then I could see you getting a 5.

Best Regards
K6TLA Rating: 2003-10-02
Ultimate PC control Time Owned: more than 12 months.
FT-817 Commander is without a doubt the most innovative computer control software ever developed for a piece of ham gear. The ability to create and edit memory contents and then upload directly to the radio is priceless. Everything that can be done at the radio can be done within Commander including accessing and programming of the hidden calibration menus. Features abound and make the tiny FT-817 as functional as the largest most expensive rigs on the market today. Adding to the experience is the excellent PSk-31 deluxe which is included with the app. The rig, this software, and an antenna are all that is needed for all band, all mode operation from anywhere. I don't know how Simon does it for free but he does. Get this today!
KA7QOR Rating: 2003-10-01
satisfactory Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
For what this software is design to do, it works great! But I was hoping for more. Commander will "hot-rod" your FT817. I find that I am able to control the rig's functions much more quickly with the mouse than with the rig's knobs and buttons. Commander has very good memory features. But basicaly, commander does not do anything that the rig alone could not do without the software, I am left yearning for dual rig control, crossband repeater (using 2, rigs), and speaker/mic enhancement maybe DSP. I would like to use my PC to control the speaker and mic audio. I would like to record samples from on-air using commander etc.
N4EKV Rating: 2002-09-24
Don't use an FT-817 without this program! Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I'd owned my FT-817 for 3-4 months before I considered the idea of controlling it with my PC. Twenty-nine dollars later I had in my hands the Yaesu CT-62 interface cable and I was trolling the web looking for software. I located FT-817 Commander and also RATS FT-817 (see separate review on that). In short, the one you want is FT-817 Commander. It's a fantastic piece of UI engineering that transforms the FT-817 into a truly usable radio with impressive 'big rig' functionality.

Do yourself a favor and make sure your mouse has a thumbwheel.. it's the slickest (but hardly the only) way to QSY using this program! The screen on the FT-817 Commander is a work of art -- all the important options are now a mouse click away -- and the analog dial is a cool retro design that also supports lightning-fast QSYs into any band, onto any freq, with a single mouse click.

The user-programmable scans are fantastic. I set up one for '20 CW' ranging from 14.000 to 14.063 and can call it up at will to watch the band scope fill in as the little rig sweeps the 20M CW space. I have other scans for other sub-bands, and FT-817 Commander remembers all my associated settings like CW/CWR/USB, IPO, NAR, etc.

Memory channels are also a slick feature, and once programmed, FT-817 Commander can scan those much like your basic police scanner would, except at my station its scanning all the QRP and FISTS calling frequencies on ALL the HF bands.. too cool!

And it's free. And the author answers emails. Pinch me. Get yours today and find out what your FT-817 can really do!