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Reviews For: HIFISSB

Category: Electronic Component Suppliers

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Review Summary For : HIFISSB
Reviews: 1MSRP:
Description:
Seller of new and used Ham Radio components, boards, and parts.
Product is in production
More Info: http://www.hifissb.com
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
0011
AE6AC Rating: 2011-05-25
FT-1000D Controller Board Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I am posting my experiences with purchasing a board from Hifissb as an aid to others who may be considering a decision to repair or replace a problematic board in an older radio.

I was having trouble getting the CAT function to work on my Yaesu FT-1000D. Everything pointed to a bad UART in the HD64180R1F6 micro-controller part on the FT-1000D control board. The down side to this is that these parts are out of production, however, if you dig around these are available from a number of obsolete IC resellers. This IC is a 40 pin flat pack so it is also not a particularly easy IC to replace. I was contemplating trying to find one of these ICs and to replace it or to live with the non-functional CAT interface. (As a note, Yaesu Vertex Standard, no longer services the FT-1000D radio and they do not have these parts.)

While looking for the micro-controller I noticed a used FT-1000D controller board offered from Hifissb and Ebay and I purchased it for $175. The board arrived from the UK wrapped in bubble pack several weeks after purchasing it. Upon installation however, the replaced board did not work or perform the Las Vegas self test. I replaced the original board which still worked fine all except the CAT function.

I contacted Hifisbb by e-mail and explained the situation. They took the position that the board was fine as it came out of a fully functional radio and that I must have damaged it in installation, or via ESD. While this is always possible, I don’t think this is the case as I was careful in the installation process and used ESD practices. Hifissb agreed to allow me to return the board for their review. I returned it, however they claim the board was never received and who knows if it ever will be?

In hindsight, while it seems like an attractive solution to replace a problematic board with a used board, I would not purchase a used board from Hifissb or an international seller again. My money would have been much better spent at a known US repair facility such as Burghardt Radio Repair.