Anyone spent time with a Yaesu FT-897d?

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Looking for a “shack in a box” to do HF to 2m /70cm that I can use anywhere from my living room, to a park bench, to outside my small RV trailer when camping with the family... So, sometimes of fan outlet in the house, trailer, truck. Sometimes Off a battery or maybe even internal batteries if a possibility.

Interested in CW (learning on my phone)
Studying for General

Don’t love any current offerings for what I’m looking for.

Ham Radio has a used FT-897d loaded up with batteries, charger, 120v power supply, antenna tuner. Not cheap at almost $1k but it has everything I think I want

Anyone?
 
It has the identical (identical) innards to (my) FT-857D mobile HF rig.
Everyone who bought one had a thought bubble over their head
of making QSOs by sitting at a picnic table.
They should have given out discount picnic table coupons.

Solid rig, but previous generation so AF DSP - not modern IF DSP.

Compared only to FT-857D:
Pro:
  • Slightly roomier panel.
  • Can contain internal battery(s) and/or power supply and/or battery charger.
Con:
  • Can't detach front panel for mobile use.
  • Paying for compartments for internal battery(s) and/or power supply and/or battery charger.
Note that using internal batteries limits power out to 20W (by design).
(No problem running 100W if cabled to giant AGM boat batteries).

Which antenna tuner - Yaesu or LDG?
LDG tuner can handle 10:1 mismatches.
Yaesu tuner can only handle 3:1 mismatches.
If you throw a wire into a tree for a field expedient antenna,
or just abuse a commercial doublet away from its intended bands,
you're not gonna like the Yaesu tuner.

I haven't logged a flea market price since 2015,
but a kilobuck is mid-range.

Be sure to turn it on and verify that none of the pixels are knocked out
in vertical stripes. That's a progressive failure and requires expensive display replacement.
index.php


Also research the Ceramic Filter corrosion disease.
From that one article a symptom is static crashes
when the antenna isn't plugged in,
but I don't know if that's guaranteed to be a symptom.
Cheaper to fix perhaps, but I wouldn't buy a used rig without checking for it.
=====
ETA: Strictly speaking, I own an FT-857/vanilla w/ factory DSP daughter board.
But no 60m. (BFD)

FT-857 : FT-897 :: FT-857D : FT-897D
 
Last edited:
It has the identical (identical) innards to (my) FT-857D mobile HF rig.
Everyone who bought one had a thought bubble over their head
of making QSOs by sitting at a picnic table.
They should have given out discount picnic table coupons.

Solid rig, but previous generation so AF DSP - not modern IF DSP.

Compared only to FT-857D:
Pro:
  • Slightly roomier panel.
  • Can contain internal battery(s) and/or power supply and/or battery charger.
Con:
  • Can't detach front panel for mobile use.
  • Paying for compartments for internal battery(s) and/or power supply and/or battery charger.
Note that using internal batteries limits power out to 20W (by design).
(No problem running 100W if cabled to giant AGM boat batteries).

Which antenna tuner - Yaesu or LDG?
LDG tuner can handle 10:1 mismatches.
Yaesu tuner can only handle 3:1 mismatches.
If you throw a wire into a tree for a field expedient antenna,
or just abuse a commercial doublet away from its intended bands,
you're not gonna like the Yaesu tuner.

I haven't logged a flea market price since 2015,
but a kilobuck is mid-range.

Be sure to turn it on and verify that none of the pixels are knocked out
in vertical stripes. That's a progressive failure and requires expensive display replacement.
index.php


Also research the Ceramic Filter corrosion disease.
From that one article a symptom is static crashes
when the antenna isn't plugged in,
but I don't know if that's guaranteed to be a symptom.
Cheaper to fix perhaps, but I wouldn't buy a used rig without checking for it.

Wow, thank you very very much.

Tuner is the Yaesu, not the LDG. I’m going to go look at it, but I’m not sure a potentially 15 year old radio is the way I want to go.

I really don’t want to have to buy another vhf/uhf rig and a HF rig... I know what’s going to happen if I do that and it’s going to be a Elecraft KX3, and I’m going to drop $2500 to do it
 
Tuner is the Yaesu, not the LDG. I’m going to go look at it, but I’m not sure a potentially 15 year old radio is the way I want to go.
Not trying to induce prospect-avoidance (the pre-purchase version of buyer's remorse).
Not trying to sneak up there and buy it out from under you.
Just trying for a balanced overview from cruising altitude.
 
Not trying to induce prospect-avoidance (the pre-purchase version of buyer's remorse).
Not trying to sneak up there and buy it out from under you.
Just trying for a balanced overview from cruising altitude.
Went up and looked at it today and passed on it.

Don’t have my General yet, so I decided to just get a VHF / UHF setup for the living room / RV and will decide on HF later

Liked the 991a, but the 7300 was a beast for $1100
 
Hope the trip was still worth it.
The last I heard, the 7300 is all the rage.

Actually yes. I’m new and don’t know any other Ham’s so some hands on time with gear and talking to people was helpful. I played with the 991a and 7300 for a good long time while listening in on a contest or special event station out of PA on 20 meters. Was my first time ever even listening on HF and I thought it was pretty cool. Now I just need to study for the General and then I’ll spend some money on HF gear (again, I really really want the Elecraft KX3 “shack in a pack” but my wallet is terrified of heading down that road)
 
I’m new and don’t know any other Ham’s so some hands on time with gear and talking to people was helpful.
(Pardon if someone has said this at you in some other thread, but)
you really, really, really need to attend some club's Field Day.

Especially since in the depths of the Cruel New England Summer,
hamfests are thin on the ground. So it's not only an inherently great way
to meet people, see some gear, and compare notes -
depending on where you live it's one of the few opportunities for months.
They won't try and jawbone dues out of you while you're on your hind legs,
but club membership is a real force multiplier for new hams.

They'll even accrue points if they've got a Get On The Air station position
and talk you into operating the GOTA station. (Fear not, they'll have a
General or better as control operator).
Hell, they may have trouble prying you out of there;
that's the goal anyhow.

(Next big opportunity will be Boxboro just after Labor Day).
 
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