Hello folks,
New to the forum.
I just purchased the FT-857D and did the frequency expansion mod to see what this radio could do on the bench. What is interesting is, when putting the radio on a dummy load and meter, I see that the TX power drops off fairly fast when you get above 463Mhz to around 3 watts output at 467Mhz. The same occurs when you get much lower than 430Mhz.
Additionally, on VHF it will do the same, albeit the bandwidth/range seems wider. Is this what you are all seeing? Have not tested HF output yet...
I assume this is a limitation of the PA and filters which are tuned for HAM band only. Or do you know if the drive is microprocessor controlled which is limiting PA as you drift outside of designed frequency range?
I don't plan on using the radio for anything outside the band, as I have type accepted radios for business band I'm licensed for, etc. It was primarily for *just in case* emergency and the idea of seeing what this radio can really do.
At any rate, I'm curious to see what power output you're seeing in a dummy load on the test bench to see if this is expected behavior.
Thanks,
-J
