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Reviews For: Yaesu FT-817ND

Category: QRP Radios (5 watts or less)

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Review Summary For : Yaesu FT-817ND
Reviews: 169MSRP: 589.00
Description:
The world’s first self-contained, battery-powered, Multi-mode Portable Transceiver covering the HF, VHF, and UHF bands! Despite its incredibly small size (5.3" x 1.5" x 6.5"), the FT-817 delivers big performance! Its next-generagion PA puts out five watts on all HF bands, plus the 50 MHz, 144 MHz, and 430 MHz bands, on all popular operating modes: USB/LSB/CW/AM/FM/Packet/PSK-31/RTTY. Now the 817 legacy is even better with the introduction of the FT-817ND, which includes coverage of the U.S. 60-meter (5 MHz) band, and it also includes a 1400 mAh NiMH Battery pack (FNB-85) and NC-72B Charger!
Product is in production
More Info: http://www.yaesu.com
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
151694.8
IZ0JGH Rating: 2016-05-07
it should has been improved Time Owned: more than 12 months.
They have had plenty of time at Yaesu to improve the FT 817 at least in the followings:
1- a bigger bay for the internal battery and an internal battery of significant more capacity;
2- the use of a standard power plug;
3- less power consumption;
4- a stronger front antenna plug (PL or mini UHF) to support longer whip antennas;
5- a waterproof protection for the front panel;
6- "opening stabilizing bars" at the RTX base, these could made in alluminiom and cut 1/4 long @ 430 MHz to be usable also as dipole elements.

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Earlier 3-star review posted by IZ0JGH on 2011-06-07

Elecraft is knoking at the door with an RTX that IMHO is far from perfection but still light years ahead of FT817.
Yaesu can improve the FT 817 or aproach a new project, in the first case they should provide us at least with the followings:
1- an external serious battery pack holding ten D cell for a long lasting 12V 10 Ampere power supply, it should be possible to securely attach this pack at the FT817 by military style locks;
2- the above mentioned battery pack should also be able to contain a small ATU like the elecraft.
3- reduced power consumption while in RX.
Joe Rotellini

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Earlier 2-star review posted by IZ0JGH on 2007-06-27

I have the FT 817 (not the ND version) , I used it for quite sometime and seems to me that after some years Yaesu should put some real improvement in this RTX.

1- factory available bases for two collins filters could be a nice improvement;

2- now LI-ION batteries 12V 6A are available at about 80$ each, YAESU could offer an "add on" (an "add below" i might say) container having the same shape of the 817 and lockable to the RTX base by some small device, this container could store one or two 6A batteries, a small circuit to stabilze the voltage and allow battery/ies charge and it could also have room for additional batteries or some small item like a little CW key;

3- RJ mike plug should be reinforced with a small additional retain device that improves the microphone lock to the RTX body;

4- to have some factory RTX "tropicalization" would also be nice.

The above mentioned improvements would really cost cents with the exception of the external battery pack, following there are some other improvements wich are more expensive but also very usefull.

Intermodulation continues to be the worst side of the FT817, I hope YAESU has used these years to study some improvement.

The success of small HF amplifiers is quite a demonstration that sometimes more power is really needed, this improvement would need the adoption of a serious external battery pack but a 20W FT817 would be very interesting.

A reverse polarity protection would be nice.

73
Joe Rotellini
IZ0JGH

SWL377 Rating: 2016-02-11
Best bang for the buck PERIOD Time Owned: more than 12 months.
This rig is a bargain considering all that it does. Being able to run it on internal alkaline or rechargeable AA cells is such a great feature. HF, VHF, UHF all in one nice small package. I own an Icom 703 as well. I prefer the FT 817. Easier on batteries and smaller too. There are many aftermarket upgrades for the FT 817, ranging from IF mech filters to mic compression amps, etc. The stock FT 817 does just fine for SSB. If you are a hardcore CW ham, it could benefit from sharper selectivity. I skydive with my FT 817. 14,500 foot antenna elevation for only $23 per jump. https://parachutemobile.files.wordpress.com/2015/09/all-marks-gear.jpg
2E0VOV Rating: 2016-02-11
brilliant Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Bought mine about 18 months ago and I've never looked back. Its an absolute bargain here in the UK £440 making it in a league of its own.
If you want to be picky, the standard mic is ok but can be improved on cheaply with an Electret insert. But on reflection if you bought a KX3 you wouldnt even get a mic , so thumbs up to Yaesu...
I have worked the world on my Ft817 and my best so far is 18780 miles longpath to JA with just 5w SSB
If you are thinking of buying the FT817, just do it!..
Search YouTube for my Callsign to see what DX this radio delivers with just a wire antenna. 73's Mark

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Earlier 5-star review posted by 2E0VOV on 2015-04-21

If I could only keep one radio .. this would be it!.

Very affordable compared to others on the market and with a 14+ year old well proven design , its still in production. That tells us how right Yaesu got it from the start.

Slap a decent antenna on it and you will be amazed what 5W can do. I regularly get nice comments on my strong clear audio. My radio has worked the world on 5W SSB and Stateside on 500mw..
Some people compare it to a "KX3", but that costs over double the price so hardly comparable! .. For portable work this is hard to beat..
My only gripe I have against the little FT817 is battery life.. But Battery technology has moved on a long way and the problem is easily resolved by fitting a 3S 2500ma LIPO battery intended to fit Futaba RC plane controllers.

Would I buy it again... You bet!!!
K2GK Rating: 2016-01-23
Love it, Love it, Love it Time Owned: more than 12 months.
If you have never owned or operated a Yaesu FT-857 or FT-897 this may not resonate with you but this radio my friends is a BIG DESKTOP radio in a small box. It has great reception, great talk and clarity in your broadcast audio, plenty of audio output that you will never have to turn it full open to make it louder.
This is so light and manageable. I take along an external alarm type battery if I plan to do hours of playing other wise the charged internal will last an hour or so.
The nice part is when you travel whether cruising the high seas, Hotels, Cabins, City parks or Grandma's house it will fit in your laptop bag and with a couple of accessories you are on the air enjoying your hobby away from home.
You can't go wrong with this choice. After you savor the beauty of this radio, you can always add another thousand or so and buy a KX3. For now be thrifty, be happy. 73

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Earlier 5-star review posted by K2GK on 2014-08-26

This should not be your first or primary station if you are out to keep score with the big boys. But if you have an appreciation for the "laid back" and the "art of the hobby", you will love this radio. It is a full desktop radio shrunken down to hand held size.
I take it with me on vacations and business trips. It has been on Cruises and many a hotel room. On a nice day, I and a couple of old dudes go to the local park and setup on the picnic tables and talk around the world.
Invest in some secondary power packs and a couple of different compact antenna types and you will have a ball all the time.
I promise you the "ND" stands for Nice Device. Buy it new if you can. K2GK
K1WJ Rating: 2016-01-07
Nice Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Cool little radio! QC seems very good. Replaced supplied hand mic with MH67 and seems to drive the radio better, but mic gain on ssb at 90-100%. IF shift works very well. Menu and options are easy enough to navigate.Some meter reading are a tad vague (SWR and ALC ). Made 1st 40m QRP QSO, reports were good. Audio with MH67 & mic gain cranked up, reported as strong punch. Strong stations within 2khz of operating freq. will make receiving difficult, optional ssb filter should help with that. Buttons are small and no stand to prop up radio are the downsides I see. So far so good ! Enjoying my 817ND ! 73 K1WJ
KB9ZTF Rating: 2015-12-12
the it works every thing rig Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
had the ft817 non nd and now have the new ft817nd dose every thing I want I can take it any where and work all modes all the bads and with the little laptop and the signal link it will work all the digital modes and the receive is great for this little rig Its not a ft300 or for that matter a ft1200 but with the rig stock it has good receive and with the op filters is very good this is the rig I take with me to the hotels and away from home places with the laptop and rig its like a shack in a bag and when I get bored I like to run this rig a home and do some qrping and for what it dose and all the bands you cant beat this rig for the price
GM3HNN Rating: 2015-12-04
You do get 5watts out! Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Just a quick 1 month owned review, you can actually get 5w out using the supplied battery pack it comes with, yes, battery life is only a couple of hours when using 5w, but many think you need external 13.8v or upgraded Ni Cad pack to get to 5w, not true, just adjust as per manual and it's there!

Great radio, I use it only portable with base loaded 20m/40m telescopic antennas, SSB, on first day test from Brighton beach, I hit Norway, Spain, Slovakia & Ukraine, all were impressed with the signal, and the audio on Tx/Rx is just superb, it's a wonderful all in one radio,

Now to try my CW on it!
WB0FDJ Rating: 2015-12-02
Everything you need! Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I've owned mine for 10 years, got it when I lived in an apartment. First time out took it to the local park with a simple vertical antenna and had 2 long winded stateside contacts, then worked Greece running 2.5 W.

Moved into my present home 8 years ago. This was my daily driver for about a year, hooked to a simple 33' wire. Made a lot of Q's and was able to get back into the hobby. Connected now to my Gap it just sings. If you understand QRP you'll know that 5 W is more than enough power.

I have a number of other QRP rigs but this is one that will NEVER leave the shack. I have the aftermarket internal battery and it's adequate for a back up station. I use it, connected to a dummy load, for calibrating the kit's I've built checking frequency and offset. My very first 6 meter QSO ever was made connected to an indoor slinky dipole, SSB into Maine.

It's nice to have a "do everything" radio handy. Did Yaesu make compromises here? Of course but then it's small enough to actually fit into my parka pocket and runs DC to daylight. It always gets the job done.



M0SAZ Rating: 2015-10-01
Best Radio EVER Time Owned: more than 12 months.
OK update on how I stand with this radio. I did sell it since my last review, went through a bunch more radios (some high end / expensive), and I have come straight back to the FT-817ND.

Overall, its the best radio ever produced. Think about it. It must be the most sold ham transceiver in history and there are tons of reviews on eHam and other sources that overall are excellent. Its a joy reading the eHam reviews – reading just how many people (like me) have an FT-817 as their only base rig and / or have sold a high end radio and are happier with the “lowly” FT-817 / FT-817ND.

The radio hasn't the receiver of the FTDX-5000 or the K3 but you can’t fit those in your pocket. It hasn't got the ergonomics of an FT-2000 or an IC-756 Pro III but you couldn’t get one new for under £500. It hasn't got a 400w PA like the FTDX-9000MP but with 5 watts and the same antenna, you would only be down several s-points and don’t need to worry about the electricity bill or causing interference.

This radio DOES work well as a shack radio - I am proof (see my QRZ profile / YouTube videos / Blog). It also works well in mobile and portable environments.

Using a TXCO, mechanical filter for your mode choice, headphones and / or external speaker, some bracket for raising the front of the rig up on the desk, a decent Mic, proper use of the carrier offset / IPO / ATT / RF gain, you have some cheap (and free) solutions to making this good radio, great.

As someone who has spent tens of thousands on rigs and sold them - the FT-817 puts the biggest smile on your face and is the ONLY radio you will ever need.

I have 2 - one for base and one for portable / spare.

Mike
M0SAZ
N0TES Rating: 2015-09-28
My list of requirements was long Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
My goal in getting the 817 was to have a packable radio. I wanted a rig that would work after I put in all of the effort needed to activate a summit for SOTA. I wanted a rig that could be paired with the 1.8 pound Magnetic Alpha Loop Antenna that could also be mounted directly on my Trekking pole. I wanted a rig that could operate off my Solar Battery. That's a lot to demand, and the 817 filled every aspect of that order. I am so glad I bought an 817!