When I’m using my 817 couple months old, I keep getting very low reports and that’s all the time
Is their someone can go through the settings I should have and their values for optimum performance
Maybe even a qso while adjusting settings would be good
I have a standard mic and a M0UKD modification mic and I’ve tried both
thanx
Iain
Hi again Iain,
Please excuse my stupid question but are you saying you are getting bad reports on transmit while receive seems OK - then my first question would be what power output do you have set?
Remembering that if you are using the internal battery pack by default the 817 restricts itself to 2.5 watts maximum output but you may have it set at 0.5 watts. You can see from the display (it’s like the signal bar indicator on old mobile phones) what power level you are on and believe it or not when there’s nothing showing on the display, that’s full power (go figure). You can also override the settings so that even when on internal batteries the rig will give 5 watts out.
Oh I should have asked HF or VHF bands?
73 ED.
Have you set the power correctly as per the instructions on page 28 of the handbook?
IMHO, you really need an external speech processor to get good SOTA SSB performance with the FT817.
Barry N1EU
Receive is fantastic output “well I need to say everything half a dozen times”
So I’d say audio is the prob
It’s on hf the problems “Ed”
I speak to a couple doods on vhf and on position A, modified mic seems good on fm
But A and B must be very poor on hf, so I swap to unmodified mic and don’t get any qso,s
“I thought the modified mic was supposed to give the audio more punch
I think the best way to try the mic is with a qso, but it’s a chore, trying to get heard, “no-one has got time for me with the poor report!
Power out must be fine
I qso,d with Canada today from the banks of the Caledonian Canal Inverness, and again a very poor audio report
Iain
I have not found this to be the case, but it depends on your voice register and delivery - also setting the switch on the back of the mike to position 2 is essential. Set the ALC to give no more than a couple of bars display when speaking, zero bars will sound very weak but more than a couple of bars will make your signal spread. The other possibility is a high SWR reducing your output but the display will show “SWR error” if the SWR is too bad so you will have noticed if it is that.
I have not found this to be the case, but it depends on your voice register and delivery - also setting the switch on the back of the mike to position 2 is essential. Set the ALC to give no more than a couple of bars display when speaking, zero bars will sound very weak but more than a couple of bars will make your signal spread. The other possibility is a high SWR reducing your output but the display will show “SWR error” if the SWR is too bad so you will have noticed if it is that
Cool, what’s alc The swr is great on antenna I always take my Vector analyser with me, that’s the first thing I always plug in, let’s me know if any probs
I’m using a linked end fed half wave and all is well with it
Hi Iain,
a simple question : how about the reports in CW ?
Getting detailed reports over the air is really useful. If (when) someone gives me a “poor audio” report, I ask for a more detailed appraisal to help work out what is wrong.
On SSB, the RF output follows the waveform of the audio input, so it isn’t really possible to have a “strong signal but low audio”. A report like that hides more detail - maybe the mic frequency response is poor, or maybe your speech pattern is not great for SSB.
If you are softly spoken, it could be that sibilants are giving peak output, but much of the rest is very low level…
Haven’t tried cw, I’ve let that slip since the cw academy,
The thing is “Not many people have time to waste on a MM6 with poor signal and awful audio, who is trying their best to rectify his portable station
I can call cq and have done for an hour or more with no replies, so my audio must be nearly nil
I don’t know about mic frequ response or my voice wave pattern for ssb
All the Scottish operators sound good on ssb that I’ve heard,
Ah! ALC is automatic level control for your modulation, turn to page 28 and follow the instructions for “basic setup/operation”!
Ok il try that now thank you
Hello,
I remember an activation in CT where I was using a LW antenna.
For some particular reasons inherent to the way I set up and placed myself for the operation from that summit, it turned out that the hand mike cable of my FT-817 got traversed by the thin wire of my LW antenna.
I got bad reports of distorted modulation on HF SSB and after a quick visual check, I noticed the fact of the antenna wire crossing the Mike cable. As soon as I corrected that wire crossing situation, the modulation turned back to correct.
When you are activating, make sure your EFHW antenna wire is not too close to your mic.
GL & 73,
Guru
My alc output varies, from 7 bars to no movement at all
Most of my words and number I say into mic are not moving my alc meter
Ssb mic set to 50
So the alc meter doesn’t like this weegie then 
Nah, no alc would DARE to dislike a Weegie!
Try to identify the sounds that cause the big spikes in alc, then speak into the mike while avoiding them, and increase the mike gain gently until you are getting about two bars of alc indicated. Don’t forget to press and hold in the F button to save the new mike setting. You will produce the occasional high spike on the alc with normal use but with 5 watts of output this is unlikely to annoy your neighbours on the band. Also check and make sure the switch on the back of the mike is set to position 2, position 1 favours oriental voices.
The problem with running your legal power levels is that you might be putting a perfectly acceptable S7 signal into someone’s receiver, but the neighbour may be putting in an S9 noise signal from his BT internet ADSL which is four times your signal and you won’t be readable. This is a cross most of us have to bear nowadays.
I would have been happy to make a sked with you to help with setting up, but I am in Birmingham and I think the distance is too great. You need to find a helpful local - try going to a local club and bribing someone with a half and a half!
When signals are weak, effective compression makes the difference between your signal being read and not being read.
Hello Iain,
I got my first Yaesu FT817ND in 2006 and I still have that radio today. My qrz page shows my shack photo. Also I have programmed many friends 817’s and more recently a 818.
Try these settings, they work fine with the standard MH-31 mic that’s supplied with the 817…
Menu number 29 FM Mic 80
Menu number 46 SSB Mic 80
HTH
73 Chris M0RSF
Hi Iain,
Another question - what antenna are you using - I’m thinking you may be getting RF back to the rig which is causing you problems. Especially as you say VHF (with the supplied rubber ducky I suspect) does not have the bad audio report.
Ah yes switch the meter in the 817 to SWR (check manual to find out how) and see if that’s swinging over rather than only just moving, when you whistle in the mike - if the SWR is high, you have an antenna or connector problem.
73 Ed.
Ok thanx, I’ve adjusted my alc levels to show at least a couple bars on meter at my words it previously didn’t hear
I’m listening on 7.183.50 if any one has time to try and hear me
I’m not getting any answers to calling
Many thanks
Iain
MM6IXE