FT-817 "New" QRP Portable Rig?

About a year ago, I found online a Yaesu FT-817 on eBay. It had no microphone, no charger/DC plug, most concerning was that the seller had no way to know if it worked. I put a bid in for probably around $150, though I forget exactly what I bid, and won.

Great. I have a new radio; I hope it works. When it arrived, as advertised it did not have a charger/DC plug. I did discover, however, that it uses the same microphone as the FT-891 (which was my first HF radio that I still own). I searched and searched and somehow found a plug that would work for this radio. Low and behold: it powered up!

I put in an order with SOTABEAMS for a Power Poles connector to replace the barrel plug. When this was hooked up, I was ready to go... sort of. I tested it out on 2m CW with a member of my local club who is also a prolific CWer with more experience and who has a much better ear for the code than I have. We were able to make a contact and it went well except for the fact that this radio, like almost every FT-817, FT-817ND, and FT-818, did not have a CW filter.

As you may know, I am primarily a CW guy so this wide bandwidth just would not do. I ordered a LAZERBEAMS audio filter from SOTABEAMS (of course) and waited. It arrived and it sat and sat... and sat. I kept saying I would get to it, but I never did. I just happened to be searching eBay a few days ago for the YF-122C filter and I found one. You may know that these can be quite expensive and almost impossible to find, but this one was purchased for a mere 75 quid. Wonderful... another gamble on something far cheaper than it should be.

When the filter arrived, it came in the original packaging; that's a good sign! Everything looked to be in order. I opened the radio and installed the filter; while I was in there I noticed it had the TCXO mod installed already (sweet!). I fired it up, messed with the settings and found that it worked! My gamble on this radio has paid off now TWICE! I hopped on 40m and made a quick CW contact with another member of my club who is a fellow CWer and couldn't be happier.

If you're keeping track, I've probably spent somewhere around $300 on this radio in all. The filter alone can come in at that price sometimes so no complaining here. I have yet to use it in the field.

After the English Lighthouse Challenge, I found that I was a little disappointed in the Xiegu X6100 due to its poor receiver that just could not keep up with the calls that were coming in. It was just too easily that the receiver would be getting overloaded. I had a plan! I was going to sell it and some other items and buy an Icom IC-705. 

After thinking long and hard about it, I just can't justify that kind of money. So my next venture is to see if this cheap FT-817 can fill the place of the X6100 at half the price and one quarter of the price of the Icom. Stay tuned as I will be putting it to the test in the near future. 

Until next time, keep your batteries charged and your bags packed; you never know when the portable mood might strike.

de M0NZZ