I think the general view seems to be that the case is poorly designed. It’s a shame that after 20+ years they didn’t do a better job. If I was in that sort of business it might have been something that I would have looked at addressing.
Despite the success of the radio, even the updated model 818 still did not have any microphone processing, a tilt bail or similar method of protecting the radio when used in a portable setup (one of the advertised and actual uses) and no decent protective case as discussed here.
I think one wing of the design team saw it as a replacement for the *90 series (FT290 etc) so thought of it as a handbag radio. The design elements that contradict that is the inclusion of the HF bands and the rather advanced IF filter plug in options (using the best available 455 khz filters).
I wonder how many they would sell of a multimode radio with 2m, 70cm and 23cm in the same size and shape of the FT817/8.
The digital voice division of Yaesu would require it to include SF options.
Conjecture is free but almost pointless.
Ignore the above.
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Not that much. I remember making a standard QSO with an Italian station on 6m with my FT-817ND at 5W and that rubber antenna on a magnetic base on the roof on my car while in a pit-stop during a journey from Madrid to Navarra.
73,
Guru
When I bought mine in 2003 my previous rig had been an FT290 and I, too, thought of it as a replacement handbag rig. Until later that year my license was restricted to 6m and above, when HF became available to me I bought one of those whips with a tapped coil and attempted fruitlessly to use it as an HF hanbag! Incidentally, I used SSB a lot on VHF and had considered getting an SSB filter for the rig until a friend showed me that they were of little benefit. Anyway, I think of it not as a replacement for the x90 series but as an extension of the concept, and possibly that is the way they thought of it, too. It remains unique in that respect, the partially competing KX rigs don’t make good handbags!
I exaggerated a little, Guru, but I once did a comparison between the rubber duck and a quarter wave telescopic whip on 6m and the whip was about 4 S points better - but I didn’t dare use it much because I felt that it could put too much strain on the BNC socket.
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I always fancied the products from Portable Zero, in the US.
When I last looked, even with postage to the UK, the products seem well priced:
Chris
Thanks. While the products look pretty, I am not sure that they would be very practical for many SOTA activators. An ordinary rucksack is far more useful. What might be useful is a padded protective sleeve of some sort. I wrap my radio in a tea-towel and put it in a drybag…
Richard,
You might like this zipped bag a few of us in VK purchased from an outdoor/camping chain called Kathmandu. I visited their London shop in 2016 but I think they closed their UK outlets.
The bag was probably intended as a camera bag. Camera bags from photographic shops are still a good source of padded bags, even those intended for GoPro type video cameras.
It is big enough for the FT817, a small battery, a Pico keyer (memory keyer with speed control on the front panel), the microphone and compressor. In the top cover section there are the ft817’s antennas, a Rite in the Rain logbook and a few spare pens.
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That’s quite funny, Adrian!
But it may be that bags intended for toiletries are another option as well as camera bags. Some are fairly compact, about FT817 size, but there are others intended apparently for better equipped campers, which would carry much more. Some have mirrors but I haven’t figured out a use for the mirror.
You mean you don’t take a transmitter for the 400nm-700nm band (350THz-750THz) with you on activations.
I have this one for when I expect to LOS to another summit for an S2S.
It should be good for 20km or so contacts.
(RAF survival kit c. 1941)
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What about the BOG roll !!!
Unnecessary if there is any sphagnum moss around - and its softer than cushelle!
I use a light and cheap electronics gadget case from a China shop and impregnate it from time to time with water repellent. This case is carried inside my backpack. The 817/818 fits perfectly inside, along with the microphone, headphones and some small utility items:
View from outside:
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Sorry to part ways with Andy @MM0FMF on our poly bag solutions - mine served its purpose well but is looking a bit tatty after some years. As I’m likely to be taking the FT817 to the hills more often [rather than the default rig, the KX2] for working 6m, I thought it was time for a bag upgrade.
No doubt you’re thinking this bespoke waterproof carry bag with plastic zip opening for my FT817 costs a small fortune. In fact it’s a cut-down antenna bag with gorilla tape reinforcement (cost £0).
I don’t worry about padding for the 817 [it’s survived ~20 years without incident in my rucksack] but when I’m paranoid I put it / carry bag in an air-filled dry bag as described above.
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