YAESU FT-817 FT-818 CHEAT SHEET

FT-818ND ADAPTED CHEAT-SHEET

I found a rather useful "Cheat Sheet" on the internet today - it was designed by Arthur C Bross over in Arizona, USA and it was for the Yaesu FT-817. Since the Power Settings for the FT-818ND were slightly different, I altered the sheet and printed it off.

It folds into a very neat and handy little "concertina" arrangement which you can slip into a little pouch to keep in your rucksack close to the radio.

I was going to write to Arthur (KC7GF) to thank him for this very handy little page, but sadly, when I looked him up on QRZ, he was listed as a Silent Key :-(

The 818 version can be printed from the image below or you can (again) email me for a proper PDF version for printing.

RIP  Arthur (KC7GF)

ELAD DUO-ART FT-817 INTERFACE

ELAD DUO-ART FT-817 INTERFACE (NOT)

When I invested in the ELAD DUO-ART it was for a number of reasons and it was only the sum of these reasons that made me shell out for it....

1. I fancied a PANADAPTER that would work with my ELAD FDM DUO and with my YAESU FT-818ND.
    
2. I fancied an ATU that would work with my ELAD FDM DUO and with my YAESU FT-818ND.
    
3. I fancied an AMP that would work with my ELAD FDM DUO and with my YAESU FT-818ND so that I'm future-proofed if I upgrade my licence.

The DUO-ART rather uniquely met all the criteria, so I got one. Connecting the DUO-ART to my FDM DUO was a breeze and it all worked very well (once I'd done the FDM DUO updates). Everything pretty much worked as expected, apart from a slight issue of "tuning noise" coming through the audio of the radio - something I'm still working on to resolve.

So with the FDM DUO interfacing properly, I went and got my YAESU FT-818ND from my rucksack and switched the DUO-ART to "FT-817 INTERFACE" mode.

Sadly, it ended there, because I could find no interface lead to go between the DUO-ART and the 818. That's because the DUO-ART doesn't come with such a lead and after contacting ELAD, I was told that no such interface lead exists! Now that seems a bit ridiculous to me.

I asked ELAD for a very simple diagram to show me exactly which pins in the 818's ACC connector to connect to the DUO-ART's RS-232 connector, but I got very little useful information. I have ordered a YAESU CT-62 Lead from ML&S which is an 8-PIN DIN to RS-232 but of course that won't give me a connection to the PTT-IN on the DUO-ART.

SO VERY ANNOYING! Why design an FT-817 INTERFACE and even build it into the menu system if you can't also provide an Interface Cable. Or even provide a simple guide how to make your own!

I've asked for help on a few forums but got nowhere so far. As a newbie (Foundation Licence holder) I could 'experiment' but I don't want to end up blowing up my amp or radio! I've asked a few "G0's" but had no joy there either. I even wrote to TechnoFix UK to see if I could PAY to have a lead made up but they weren't interested either.

If I can't get any help soon, I guess I'm going to HAVE TO have a go!

  

UPDATE!!!!!!! 

I've managed to make an interface cable myself.

See HERE to see how.

ELAD SP-1A SPEAKER

MATCHING SPEAKER FOR FDM DUO

I've been using various speakers with the ELAD FDM DUO with varying success and so decided to get the proper matching component from ELAD. The SP-1A is an amplified speaker which takes its power from the ELAD DUO linear. It has decent power output (but it's not the loudest speaker in the world) and has a built-in 3-stage DSP circuit. Fits in very well and completes the station.

PC UPGRADE

It's never good when your PC starts to play up, but at least it motivates you to upgrade aging equipment! This weekend, the hard-drive in my PC started playing silly-buggers and so I started to look at updating the whole system. I built the PC way back in 2009 so it's getting a bit long in the tooth. Of course I've modified it along the way and even spent a few bob on it in March this year, but now it's time for a radical overhaul.

When choosing new system components, I was focused solely on making a CombatSim PC. I wanted something that would run DCS World 2.5 at ULTRA HIGH settings, with absolutely everything maxed out. Now that's a BIG ASK for any PC but if that's my goal, then whatever I can manage to build, it'll be the very best that I can currently afford.


The tower case (with fans) can stay and so too can the 850W PSU, but the rest has to go. I decided straight away to go for a Gaming motherboard because that's where all the bottlenecks tend to be. The mobo of choice is the ASUS ROG STRIX Z390-F GAMING and in the socket is a lovely INTEL i7 9700 CoffeeLake running at 5,000MHz.

The RAM is Corsair Vengeance LPX DDR4 3000MHz in four 8Gb modules, giving me 32Gb to play with. That should certainly help with the sims! The motherboard will take 64Mb and there's rumours that a future BIOS update may increase that to 128Mb!

The video card from the outgoing PC has been upgraded along with a 2560x1440 monitor. The GPU is an MSI GAMING-X GEFORCE GTX 1080 TI with 11Gb of DDR5X and in these new surroundings, it should make DCS World run like the wind with (hopefully) no stuttering even at the highest realism settings.

One of the biggest changes will be the Storage System. Although my old PC had an SSD drive, it also had a disc-spinner as the main drive. Well this time I'm forgoing that option and I'm going for two marvellous NVMe drives which are mounted directly to the motherboard! One is a Corsair 960Gb for the main OS and general software, and the other is a Corsair 480Gb dedicated purely to FlightSims and CombatSims. The Samsung 860 EVO 500Gb SATA SSD from the old PC will be used as a backup drive.

This machine should be LIGHTENING FAST!!!!

The only downside to all this is that I have to build it which is bound to be a pain in the ass, lol. The bit which gripes me the most is all the Windows updating that goes on during a new installation, then re-installing all the other software and then downloading digital copies of your licenced sims from one torrent or another. Thankfully, I've got Thursday and Friday off work, so it should all be done by the end of the weekend. Oh yeh, and then there's that software you bought, but cannot find the serial-keys GRRR!

UPDATE :
I stripped the old components out from the tower case last night and cleaned up the interior. I then installed the ram, the CPU cooler and the two M.2 drives, before putting the whole thing inside the tower case. I'd forgotten just how fiddly it was to connect all the cables to the motherboard - that power supply is like an angry octopus with all its legs fighting one another, lol.

Next up was the graphics card and reconnecting the 5 case-fans. Finally, I had to attach the 5 heat-sensors to the CPU, the M.2 cards, the Graphics card, the memory and one for the ambient case temperature.

Once everything was finished, I connected a monitor, mouse and keyboard and booted up from Windows DVD. The installation was surprisingly swift and the only unusual thing I had to do was attached a network cable to the broadband router in the lounge in order to provide an internet signal (my wireless wi-fi wouldn't operate at this point). Luckily, I have a very long CAT-6 cable.

So the first part went well and all that remains now is the installation of all my programs and sims. But first of all I'll carry out some driver updates and run some benchmarks to get a measure of the performance of the new beast.

UPDATE 2 :
Last night I started the downloading of the DCS WORLD files which took forever via a torrent and so it was extremely late in the night by the time it was finished. As I waited, I got around to installing a few other things including some benchmarking software. The results looked very impressive.

When DCS had finished downloading and unpacking, I ran the sim and set everything to MAX settings and went for a spin in an P-51 Mustang. It was amazing!!!  There was no lag or stuttering or tearing no matter what I did. Awesome!

Knowing that the sim was functioning superbly, I started the next laborious task of installing the aircraft and terrains that I have licences for. Again, it's a loooooong download, so I set it going and went to bed, but by now I was over-tired, lol, so I got back up and started reading through the Early-Release F-16C Manual. I don't find modern manuals very easy to read - they're just not entertaining enough, so I picked up the F-16 manual from Microprose's FALCON 4 sim which is a beautiful and thoroughly enjoyable printed book. It's obviously no good for the key-commands in DCS, but it's a fantastic resource for the F-16 generally.

This morning I got up and checked that the download had gone well - it had. The only one which wasn't running correctly was the A-10C Warthog but all I had to do was find the Serial Number and hey-presto, it was fine.

So I'm off to work now and can't wait to get back home to have a play. There's still all the setup of the Thrustmaster Warthog HOTAS and the CH Products MDF's, but at least I know it's all worthwhile when I jump into that cockpit!

CABLE ID TAGS

Identify That Cable!

As your shack grows, so too does the amount of cables, interface-leads, connectors, wall-plug PSU's etc, etc. It's difficult to know what belongs to what!! I started off with bits of masking-tape to identify things but it looked terrible and didn't stay attached. So next was a DYMO labeller but that wasn't suitable for every application, so I then found these Cable-ID Tags on Amazon and I've not looked back since. Functional and cheap!

YOUR FIRST RADIO!

Which Radio Should A New Ham Buy?

I've never been asked this question personally but I've seen it asked over and over on forums and Facebook Groups, so I thought I'd write about my own views on it - after getting it so wrong myself! In this post we'll look at the FT-818, G90, IC-7100, IC-705, KX3 and even the (tr)uSDX. All available new or used.

Before I start though - let's state the obvious - your very first consideration should always be your antenna! Spend the biggest part of your budget there and not on your radio. If you can't have a big multiband yagi because of local restrictions, then consider a wire dipole or an EFHW. If none of those options are possible, perhaps you could install a good quality vertical. Personally, I went for an EFHW and love it.

Some (ill-informed) people will come out with ridiculous statements like "QRP IS NO GOOD FOR A BEGINNER".  I can hardly believe the mentality of those guys - it just shows how little they have actually learned about radio.  As a beginner, your licensing conditions will probably insist that you use low power anyway, but even if they didn't, you will learn FAR MORE about radio using 5W than you will by using 500W!

Another piece of advice that you'll often hear is people telling you to buy an older radio (usually their personal favourite). If you have no other choice (due to a very tight budget), then go for it. But if you can afford to buy something newer, then please do, because that way you will have access to all the operating modes including the very latest digital offerings. There's a world of fun out there on digital and some old-school guys are loathe to even try it because it's "not proper radio" 😂

Anyway, let's move on. I should point out that I am from the UK and over here we have the "FOUNDATION LICENCE" which is the entry-point. Thankfully, it allows you to go on pretty much all the bands, giving you HF, VHF and UHF. There are very few restrictions and you can use up to 25W power. Other countries might have much tighter restrictions.

If your licensing conditions don't allow you access to the HF bands, then some of these radio choices may not apply.

When I got my Foundation Licence , I convinced myself that I needed a big HF rig and a great handheld. I actually ended up buying a Kenwood handheld and a Yaesu base-station.  Then I added an RSP1A for a panadapter display.

I tried allsorts over the coming months and wasted some money swapping and changing.

It wasn't until i bought a Yaesu FT-818 that I realised I should have bought a QRP shack-in-a-box right from the get-go!  Originally I had searched for a used FT-817 but soon realised that there's thousands of them out there, but A) they're quite expensive and B) they're quite old!

What's the difference between an FT-817 and FT818? Well they're almost identical but the newer 818 has 20% more power output, an accurate TCXO and a much better internal battery. Additionally, it has better internal shielding and bonding. Some 817 owners were very disappointed when Yaesu introduced the 818, hoping for a radically new radio, but instead they got an improved version of what was already a fine rig. As a result, you'll hear some foolish claims that the 817 is a better radio, lol, such is their disappointment in not getting something altogether different. The simple fact is, the 817 is a great radio and the 818 is greater.

So in the end I bought an FT-818ND. It's a beautiful little thing and it feels amazingly rugged and reliable. There's nothing flimsy about it and it very quickly feels like your old mate! When it's tucked away in your rucksack waiting for the next outing, you kind of miss it - even though you might have a fancy-schamncy base station in the shack - this lil gal keeps on calling your name.

So, for a newly licenced ham who is on a fixed budget, I would strongly recommend an FT-818 as your first and only radio. Update: Since writing this review, Yaesu announced that the radio was being discontinued. A buying frenzy then ensued and people queued to buy the last remaining stock for £625 each, such is the love for this amazing little rig.

With the FT-818ND, you can operate on HF 1.8 MHz - 54 MHz, VHF 2M, UHF 70cm. You have 6W output power and can easily connect a linear amplifier to increase power when you become licensed to do so.  Although you may think 6W is a bit limiting, believe me, many QRP operators (yes, you are a QRP operator whether you like it or not) reach amazing distances on 6W and less! 

The 817/818 not only allows you to work all the bands, but it also let's you work them in any mode you like too - CW, AM, LSB, USB, FM, PACKET. You can get up on your local hill or maybe get to the beach and make some amazing contacts in your log-book on minimum power. There's no better feeling than breaking through a pile-up with a couple of watts (or even milliwatts).

Just a note here for the newcomers - when calling CQ it's always worth mentioning the fact that you are using low power - QRO operators always seem keen to help out low-power users. My CQ-Call goes like this....

CQ CQ CQ, this is QRP station M7MCQ, I repeat QRP station, Mike Seven Mike Charlie Quebec calling CQ and standing by.

Not only are you identifying yourself as a humble little QRP'er but you're also extending your call that little bit longer to perhaps be spotted on a waterfall. Don't be afraid to extend that call even further. The longer your call (within reason), the more chance you have of someone hearing you or seeing you on the panadpter and applying their filters to pull you out of the noise.

Whilst on holiday in the county of Northumbria, I had a few SSB QSO's on 2.5W using the FT-818 and a SotaBeams Linked dipole. Two of the chats were with American operators KE5EE and WD4NGB. KE5EE gave me a 'genuine' 55 report and he was 7,000km away - that's 2800km/W. 

2.5W into the USA from Boulmer Beach, UK

The radio itself is very straightforward to use and although it's menu-driven, it only takes a week or so to become totally comfortable with it. If you're a bit of a luddite and against menu systems, then don't bother with an 817/818. In my opinion though, you'd have to be pretty dumb not to get along with the radio's way of operating. After all, the most important things like tuning, switching bands, switching modes, etc, are all on the front panel.

The receiver isn't super sensistive, but hopefully, you'll be sat on a high hill or at another great take-off point when using this radio - not using it at your home QTH.

Although the 818 comes with an internal Lion battery, I would recommend that you invest in a nice little LifePO battery around 4800mAh if you want to spend the whole day TXing in the hills. It's a very worthwhile investment!

Another great investment would be an LDG Z-817 or Z-100 PLUS ATU... 

With one of these you can use a random long wire or an End Fed Half Wave which covers multiple bands. The Z-817 is designed specifically for the little Yaesu, whereas the Z-100 PLUS can be used with virtually any radio and it can handles 100W, despite it diminutive size.

There's nothing much that the little 817/818 can't do and as an owner, you are in the company of many others who've gone down this path. Owning an 817/818 at one time or another has almost become part of the hobby, lol. You'll have great fun with it at a variety of locations and events, including your shack. A small amp will permit the use of your full 10W and a bigger amp will give you room for growth if you decide to upgrade your licence.

  

So there you have it. A true shack in a box - in a neat, compact body. Tough as old boots, reliable and functional on almost all the amateur bands. Get a "handbag" case for it and you can take it anywhere with you. 

And bear in mind that if you decide you want a big radio in a few months time, you can always sell your 818 and often get decent money for it! They really do hold their value.

Enjoy!

ALTERNATIVELY....

A lot of folk can't afford to splash out so much on a shack in a box (mortgages, kids, etc) and seek a cheaper alternative. To those operators, I would suggest considering the purchase of a Baofeng UV-9R dual-band HandHeld to cover 2M/70cm and then look at a cheap Xiegu G90 for HF. I have both these radios and there's simply no denying the amazing bang for the buck! Especially the G90 - WOW!

If money isn't an issue, you might want to consider the top-shelf ELECRAFT KX3 fully loaded complete with internal tuner and 2M transverter could cost you as much as £2800 :-O  

Or for half that price, consider the ICOM IC-705. I recently switched to a 705 and I have no regrets at all. In fact, if you have a budget that reaches this level, I'd recommend the IC-705 all day long! The more time I spend with this radio, the more I absolutely LOVE IT but of course £1400 is a lot of money. At the time of writing, this is the most advanced QRP radio in the world.

Then there's the amazing ICOM IC-7100 which is probably the only radio in the world which gives you HF, 6M, 4M, 2M & 70cm. I just love these radios. And you can get hold of a mint one for as little as £650. 

💗 ELECRAFT KX3 💗

💗 ICOM IC-705 💗

💗 ICOM IC-7100 💗

If you're on a very tight budget for HF, you might want to consider the utterly amazing (tr)uSDX QRP transceiver. These can be purchased from as little as £83 as a kit or pay a little more and get it pre-built, ready to use. They include a speaker, a microphone and even a morse decoder!!  I like them so much, I got two!

STEVE NORMAN from the Facebook Group - Amateur Radio UK - suggested an FT-857 or FT-897 as a first radio, saying it's all-band, all-mode, 5-100W and therefore future-proof. That's a good point. I've had the FT-897D and it was a cracking radio but you can't buy them new any more and need to keep an eye on the age of second hand units, for fear of buying an ancient rig. They're not very portable either - well you're certainly not gonna chuck it into your rucksack, lol. The 857 is kind of in-between the 817 and the 897 in size. Again, 100W but more suited to a car. 

NIGEL BROOKS from the Facebook Group - Amateur Radio UK - suggested an FT-840 which obviously suits his interest in HF, but it doesn't operate on VHF or UHF. And it's pretty much limited to home use, being a base station.



SO IN SUMMARY, based on price alone....

1. (tr)uSDX 💗 with a complimentary Baofeng for VHF/UHF
   
   
2. XIEGU G90 with a complimentary Baofeng for VHF/UHF
    
3. YAESU FT-818 💗
    
4. ICOM IC-7100 💗 
    
5. ICOM IC-705   💗 💗💗 
    
6. ELECRAFT KX3 with 2M Module 💗 💗

IF YOU'RE NEW TO RADIO, it might be worth your while reading my NEWBIE POST. It's a long post, but it's full of useful info and tips for a beginner.

Thanks for visiting - please take a minute to leave a comment below 

73, Tom, M7MCQ.

QSO RECORDING

QSO RECORDED BY M0XMX

Last weekend I had some great SSB contacts and unknown to me, one of them was being recorded by Mike Lewis (M0XMX). He posted a link to the YouTube recording, allowing me to hear myself on-air for the first time ever. I need to lose that Bolton accent, LOL.

Ray was transmitting remotely from New York, but his shack is in Maine. He was using a HUGE triple-stack antenna which was no doubt why I was able to get through to him so well. He gave me a generous 59 and said I sounded like I was local to him! Testimony to his equipment more than to mine, hahaha.

Anyway, thanks for the recording Mike!