Has anybody experienced the following symptoms on their ft 817 and have a fix?
Display flashing on and off like a heartbeat and TX error when keying the mic.
Tried a reset with no luck,
73
Adrian
2M0ETR
In reply to MM6ADR:
A few things to check and ponder…
Is this on batteries or an external supply?
Batteries charged?
Is the voltage correct?
Is the supply capable of enough current?
Same fault on all powers?
Same fault on all bands?
Same fault on all modes?
Fault present when txing into a dummy load?
Is everything else working correctly?
Some answers to the above may help diagnose the issue.
Andy
MM0FMF
In reply to MM0FMF:
Is this on batteries or an external supply? BATTERY (LiPo and SLAB available) But i havent tried it with my PS yet will try it tommorow
Batteries charged? YES
Is the voltage correct? 12V
Is the supply capable of enough current?
Same fault on all powers?
Same fault on all bands? YES
Same fault on all modes? YES
Fault present when txing into a dummy load? NO DUMMY ATM INTO 2M ANTENNA
Is everything else working correctly?
I should have said previous, the fault started when i plugged in the LiPo just after charging it…related or not i dont know.
In reply to MM6ADR:
And the answers to the questions?
EDIT: Ok I see the answers now… :-o
Does it go away when you remove the LiPO?
Andy
MM0FMF
In reply to MM0FMF:
Same fault using different batteries, ive been making up leads this evening with non-reversible connectors etc so havnt got round to doing the one for the external power supply yet, but will do it after work tommorow. Went round all the leads checking polarity “just in case” but all are good. I had the lipo plugged into the radio before charging it for around 5 mins or less just to see it power up and all appeared ok although i didnt tx at all. Charged it using my balance charger, once it finished i plugged it back in and since then ive got this flashing display and TX error. Tried different batts, tried resetting etc and not finding much on google at all.
In reply to MM6ADR:
I put “FT817 flashing display” into Google and it came up with this
http://forums.qrz.com/archive/index.php/t-118503.html
from 2007. From the description there, I assume you mean the backlight is flashing rather than the digits etc.
As they note in the comments there, you get “TX error” if you try to transmit out of band with an unmodified rig.
W1GUH found a few power cycles fixed it.
Sorry, I’ve never seen this with mine.
73
John GM8OTI
In reply to GM8OTI:
Hi Jihn, yes thats all i could find on it aswell, the backlight stays on but all the numbers/letters on the display flash on and off in a heartbeat style. When keying the mic i can hear a relay energise and the led goes green then red then off all in a split second.
Thanks
Adrian
In reply to MM6ADR:
W1GUH found a few power cycles fixed it.
This has happened a few times with my 817-ND and cures it.
Not sure what causes it and mine has either been connected to an external power supply or cigar lighter in the car.
In reply to MM6ADR:
Yes, I have experienced this on the first day out with my 817ND on top of Cadair Berwyn, Xmas day some years ago! I was very miffed that my brand new all-singing, all dancing radio had a “fault”. Frank G3RMD worked tirelessly in Cheltenham to try to help me out, walking me through things on 2m SSB with my FT-290.
It also happened a bit later on. IIRC it had something to do with external batteries too. My diagnosis (based solely on conjecture) is that there is a bug somewhere in the 817 firmware, I think this because the flashing screen seems to have the same period as the flashing of the power level indicator in 5W mode on internal batteries. I think it gets mixed up. But like I say, no actual evidence.
Try power cycling, it sorted it for me. Failing that, there are different type of reset you can do, google is your friend. Work through them in order of severity!
Good luck sorting it out.
73,
Dave MW0MYA.
In reply to M0MYA:
Try power cycling, it sorted it for me. >
Im sure this is a stupid question but when you are talking about power cycling do you simply mean turn it on and off a few times in quick succession?
Another ham i work with thinks a PLL fault.
Thanks
Adrian
In reply to MM6ADR:
I think he means to let the batteries run down then to recharge them. I heard a number of people talking about something similar a while ago. They seemed to think there was a bug or two in the firmware. I would suggest removing the internal batteries for a few minutes and replacing them. It is a bit like fixing a computer crash by turning off and on again. Simply turning the rig off may not solve it as the front switch is probably not isolating anything, just like putting the TV in to stand-by some of the circuits are still live.
Good luck Steve GW7AAV
I think I can replicate the fault…
With the internal batteries depleted place the rig on charge for 8hrs.
After approximately 4hrs remove the radio from the mains charger, turn off the rig but don’t reset the charging mode.
Connect a external battery such as an 11.1v LiPol or a partially discharged SLAB and try to transmit.
The rig will transmit okay until the external source is at a lower voltage than the internal batteries at which point the rig sees a charging fault and you get the flashing and TX error messages. This is not reset until all power is removed including the removal of the internal batteries. Even when removing the internal batteries the fault may remain if the internal batteries are not fully charged and the charging cycle completed, hence the recycling advice.
In reply to GW7AAV:
Soome good info there Steve, i will try that out tonight.
Thanks
Adrian
In reply to GW7AAV:
The fault appears to have gone TX is fine and no flashing.
The cure…all i did was charge the internal batteries, turn the rig on until the batteries “died” power the rig up with 13.8v power supply and hey presto.
Thanks for all your help gents.
Adrian