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I own both an FT897D and an FT857D.? I have three power plugs that are supposed to be for the connectors on
the FT897 and 857. All three work perfectly well on my FT897. However,
none of the three will fully seat on the connector that is on the wire on the FT857.
I have a hard time plugging any of them in on the FT857. Have any of you encountered this? I haven't been able
to figure out WHY the connectors won't fully seat on the FT857
connector.
73, Zack W9SZ
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Check that the sockets in the connector have not been pushed back preventing the connector to be fully seated with the pins on the radio side. ?
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From: [email protected] < [email protected]> On Behalf Of Zack Widup Sent: Sunday, June 27, 2021 10:14 AM To: [email protected]Subject: [FT-857] FT-857 power connector ? I own both an FT897D and an FT857D.? I have three power plugs that are supposed to be for the connectors on the FT897 and 857. All three work perfectly well on my FT897. However, none of the three will fully seat on the connector that is on the wire on the FT857. I have a hard time plugging any of them in on the FT857. Have any of you encountered this? I haven't been able to figure out WHY the connectors won't fully seat on the FT857 connector.
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No, they are OK. Like I said, all plugs work fine with the FT897D. I suspect something with the pins in the connector on the FT857D. Something doesn't look right about them.
73, Zack W9SZ
On Sun, Jun 27, 2021 at 9:30 AM Jim Kennard < kennard@...> wrote: Check that the sockets in the connector have not been pushed back preventing the connector to be fully seated with the pins on the radio side. ? ? I own both an FT897D and an FT857D.? I have three power plugs that are supposed to be for the connectors on the FT897 and 857. All three work perfectly well on my FT897. However, none of the three will fully seat on the connector that is on the wire on the FT857. I have a hard time plugging any of them in on the FT857. Have any of you encountered this? I haven't been able to figure out WHY the connectors won't fully seat on the FT857 connector.
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Could it be that the connectors on your three cables and the connector on the 897 are not original? I know some time back when these rigs were new there were complaints that Molex connectors would not fit and that was because the original connectors were NOT made by Molex but by some Asian company.
Why not just cut them all off and use Anderson connectors, frustration eliminated.
I have an FT-857, bought new, it is nearly twenty years old now, it has had no issues whatsoever, it has been a desktop rig, a mobile rig (two different cars) for several years and a portable rig and I'm not gentle with it.
John VE7KKQ
On Sun, Jun 27, 2021 at 7:13 AM Zack Widup < w9sz.zack@...> wrote:
I own both an FT897D and an FT857D.? I have three power plugs that are supposed to be for the connectors on
the FT897 and 857. All three work perfectly well on my FT897. However,
none of the three will fully seat on the connector that is on the wire on the FT857.
I have a hard time plugging any of them in on the FT857. Have any of you encountered this? I haven't been able
to figure out WHY the connectors won't fully seat on the FT857
connector.
73, Zack W9SZ
|
Definitely replace the "Molexes" or add Andersons if they are
okay.? It's a common problem and I left the original connectors
when I bought mine, but cut the lead short and added Andersons
when I bought my 857.? I used to work commercially on equipment
that had Molexes? on the power supply units and I suspect those
aren't intended for frequent plug/unplug, only when a power supply
was faulty and needed replacing (only once in several years).
Stu (G3OCR)
On 27/06/2021 04:38 pm, John wrote:
toggle quoted message
Show quoted text
Could it be that the connectors on your three cables and
the connector on the 897 are not original? I know some time
back when these rigs were new there were complaints that Molex
connectors would not fit and that was because the original
connectors were NOT made by Molex but by some Asian company.
Why not just cut them all off and use Anderson connectors,
frustration eliminated.
I have an FT-857, bought new, it is nearly twenty years old
now, it has had no issues whatsoever, it has been a desktop
rig, a mobile rig (two different cars) for several years and a
portable rig and I'm not gentle with it.
John
VE7KKQ
On Sun, Jun 27, 2021 at 7:13
AM Zack Widup < w9sz.zack@...> wrote:
I own both an FT897D and an FT857D.? I have three power
plugs that are supposed to be for the connectors on the
FT897 and 857. All three work perfectly well on my FT897.
However, none of the three will fully seat on the
connector that is on the wire on the FT857. I have a hard
time plugging any of them in on the FT857. Have any of you
encountered this? I haven't been able to figure out WHY
the connectors won't fully seat on the FT857 connector.
73, Zack W9SZ
--
Sty Nutt, G3OCR
|
I haven't had the radio open yet, but if it's not too difficult, I could unsolder the wires to the connector and replace them with wires ending in Powerpoles (which is what I planned on using, anyway). Thay way, if I want to sell the radio, I can just swap for the original connector again,
73, Zack W9SZ
On Sun, Jun 27, 2021 at 10:51 AM Stu Nutt < stunutt@...> wrote:
Definitely replace the "Molexes" or add Andersons if they are
okay.? It's a common problem and I left the original connectors
when I bought mine, but cut the lead short and added Andersons
when I bought my 857.? I used to work commercially on equipment
that had Molexes? on the power supply units and I suspect those
aren't intended for frequent plug/unplug, only when a power supply
was faulty and needed replacing (only once in several years).
Stu (G3OCR)
On 27/06/2021 04:38 pm, John wrote:
Could it be that the connectors on your three cables and
the connector on the 897 are not original? I know some time
back when these rigs were new there were complaints that Molex
connectors would not fit and that was because the original
connectors were NOT made by Molex but by some Asian company.
Why not just cut them all off and use Anderson connectors,
frustration eliminated.
I have an FT-857, bought new, it is nearly twenty years old
now, it has had no issues whatsoever, it has been a desktop
rig, a mobile rig (two different cars) for several years and a
portable rig and I'm not gentle with it.
John
VE7KKQ
On Sun, Jun 27, 2021 at 7:13
AM Zack Widup < w9sz.zack@...> wrote:
I own both an FT897D and an FT857D.? I have three power
plugs that are supposed to be for the connectors on the
FT897 and 857. All three work perfectly well on my FT897.
However, none of the three will fully seat on the
connector that is on the wire on the FT857. I have a hard
time plugging any of them in on the FT857. Have any of you
encountered this? I haven't been able to figure out WHY
the connectors won't fully seat on the FT857 connector.
73, Zack W9SZ
--
Sty Nutt, G3OCR
|
Why would you open the rig to replace the power leads???
Just cut the connector off and crimp on the Andersons, you are making more work for yourself and you will need a high wattage soldering iron (don't use a soldering gun, high current magnetism could damage or destroy components within the rig) to unsolder the power leads.
John VE7KKQ
On Sun, Jun 27, 2021 at 12:23 PM Zack Widup < w9sz.zack@...> wrote: I haven't had the radio open yet, but if it's not too difficult, I could unsolder the wires to the connector and replace them with wires ending in Powerpoles (which is what I planned on using, anyway). Thay way, if I want to sell the radio, I can just swap for the original connector again,
73, Zack W9SZ
On Sun, Jun 27, 2021 at 10:51 AM Stu Nutt < stunutt@...> wrote:
Definitely replace the "Molexes" or add Andersons if they are
okay.? It's a common problem and I left the original connectors
when I bought mine, but cut the lead short and added Andersons
when I bought my 857.? I used to work commercially on equipment
that had Molexes? on the power supply units and I suspect those
aren't intended for frequent plug/unplug, only when a power supply
was faulty and needed replacing (only once in several years).
Stu (G3OCR)
On 27/06/2021 04:38 pm, John wrote:
Could it be that the connectors on your three cables and
the connector on the 897 are not original? I know some time
back when these rigs were new there were complaints that Molex
connectors would not fit and that was because the original
connectors were NOT made by Molex but by some Asian company.
Why not just cut them all off and use Anderson connectors,
frustration eliminated.
I have an FT-857, bought new, it is nearly twenty years old
now, it has had no issues whatsoever, it has been a desktop
rig, a mobile rig (two different cars) for several years and a
portable rig and I'm not gentle with it.
John
VE7KKQ
On Sun, Jun 27, 2021 at 7:13
AM Zack Widup < w9sz.zack@...> wrote:
I own both an FT897D and an FT857D.? I have three power
plugs that are supposed to be for the connectors on the
FT897 and 857. All three work perfectly well on my FT897.
However, none of the three will fully seat on the
connector that is on the wire on the FT857. I have a hard
time plugging any of them in on the FT857. Have any of you
encountered this? I haven't been able to figure out WHY
the connectors won't fully seat on the FT857 connector.
73, Zack W9SZ
--
Sty Nutt, G3OCR
|
I want to be able to restore the rig to its original condition if I sell it.
73, Zack W9SZ
Why would you open the rig to replace the power leads???
Just cut the connector off and crimp on the Andersons, you are making more work for yourself and you will need a high wattage soldering iron (don't use a soldering gun, high current magnetism could damage or destroy components within the rig) to unsolder the power leads.
John VE7KKQ
On Sun, Jun 27, 2021 at 12:23 PM Zack Widup < w9sz.zack@...> wrote: I haven't had the radio open yet, but if it's not too difficult, I could unsolder the wires to the connector and replace them with wires ending in Powerpoles (which is what I planned on using, anyway). Thay way, if I want to sell the radio, I can just swap for the original connector again,
73, Zack W9SZ
On Sun, Jun 27, 2021 at 10:51 AM Stu Nutt < stunutt@...> wrote:
Definitely replace the "Molexes" or add Andersons if they are
okay.? It's a common problem and I left the original connectors
when I bought mine, but cut the lead short and added Andersons
when I bought my 857.? I used to work commercially on equipment
that had Molexes? on the power supply units and I suspect those
aren't intended for frequent plug/unplug, only when a power supply
was faulty and needed replacing (only once in several years).
Stu (G3OCR)
On 27/06/2021 04:38 pm, John wrote:
Could it be that the connectors on your three cables and
the connector on the 897 are not original? I know some time
back when these rigs were new there were complaints that Molex
connectors would not fit and that was because the original
connectors were NOT made by Molex but by some Asian company.
Why not just cut them all off and use Anderson connectors,
frustration eliminated.
I have an FT-857, bought new, it is nearly twenty years old
now, it has had no issues whatsoever, it has been a desktop
rig, a mobile rig (two different cars) for several years and a
portable rig and I'm not gentle with it.
John
VE7KKQ
On Sun, Jun 27, 2021 at 7:13
AM Zack Widup < w9sz.zack@...> wrote:
I own both an FT897D and an FT857D.? I have three power
plugs that are supposed to be for the connectors on the
FT897 and 857. All three work perfectly well on my FT897.
However, none of the three will fully seat on the
connector that is on the wire on the FT857. I have a hard
time plugging any of them in on the FT857. Have any of you
encountered this? I haven't been able to figure out WHY
the connectors won't fully seat on the FT857 connector.
73, Zack W9SZ
--
Sty Nutt, G3OCR
|
It's your rig, carry-on...
John VE7KKQ
On Sun, Jun 27, 2021 at 1:55 PM Zack Widup < w9sz.zack@...> wrote: I want to be able to restore the rig to its original condition if I sell it.
73, Zack W9SZ
Why would you open the rig to replace the power leads???
Just cut the connector off and crimp on the Andersons, you are making more work for yourself and you will need a high wattage soldering iron (don't use a soldering gun, high current magnetism could damage or destroy components within the rig) to unsolder the power leads.
John VE7KKQ
On Sun, Jun 27, 2021 at 12:23 PM Zack Widup < w9sz.zack@...> wrote: I haven't had the radio open yet, but if it's not too difficult, I could unsolder the wires to the connector and replace them with wires ending in Powerpoles (which is what I planned on using, anyway). Thay way, if I want to sell the radio, I can just swap for the original connector again,
73, Zack W9SZ
On Sun, Jun 27, 2021 at 10:51 AM Stu Nutt < stunutt@...> wrote:
Definitely replace the "Molexes" or add Andersons if they are
okay.? It's a common problem and I left the original connectors
when I bought mine, but cut the lead short and added Andersons
when I bought my 857.? I used to work commercially on equipment
that had Molexes? on the power supply units and I suspect those
aren't intended for frequent plug/unplug, only when a power supply
was faulty and needed replacing (only once in several years).
Stu (G3OCR)
On 27/06/2021 04:38 pm, John wrote:
Could it be that the connectors on your three cables and
the connector on the 897 are not original? I know some time
back when these rigs were new there were complaints that Molex
connectors would not fit and that was because the original
connectors were NOT made by Molex but by some Asian company.
Why not just cut them all off and use Anderson connectors,
frustration eliminated.
I have an FT-857, bought new, it is nearly twenty years old
now, it has had no issues whatsoever, it has been a desktop
rig, a mobile rig (two different cars) for several years and a
portable rig and I'm not gentle with it.
John
VE7KKQ
On Sun, Jun 27, 2021 at 7:13
AM Zack Widup < w9sz.zack@...> wrote:
I own both an FT897D and an FT857D.? I have three power
plugs that are supposed to be for the connectors on the
FT897 and 857. All three work perfectly well on my FT897.
However, none of the three will fully seat on the
connector that is on the wire on the FT857. I have a hard
time plugging any of them in on the FT857. Have any of you
encountered this? I haven't been able to figure out WHY
the connectors won't fully seat on the FT857 connector.
73, Zack W9SZ
--
Sty Nutt, G3OCR
|
Howdy!
I've got an 857d, and the connector on the radio side of my power plug had a similar issue; turns out that the metal pins inside the plastic connector weren't fully seated because they'd worn into the plastic and didn't allow for a solid connection.?
I cut the 'molex' connector off, installed an Anderson Power Pole connector using the ARES standard, and haven't had any issues with power connections since.
I've also been using APP connectors for more than a decade on various other DC powered equipment in my vehicle, office, and shop without any issues.
If you want to go the 'long route', you could check/verify the issue is the pins in the power connector (again, radio side, not the power connector side that connects to other radios fine), and just replace the external section of the molex plug. If you do this, i'd urge you to spend the money to buy the better quality one so you don't have this issue again.
73, de KI4WIN
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One has to wonder why the connector is made and broken apart so much that this wear takes place. Andersons were installed at the opposite end so that there was minimal need to make and break the original connector. In my vehicle, there is a heavy power lead with Andersons on the end, want the rig in the car, pull apart the shack Andersons, connect to the car Andersons, simple.
That "Molex" type connector on the 857 can be a bit of a PIA to disconnect but not near as a PIA as the one on the FTdx3000.
John VE7KKQ
Howdy!
I've got an 857d, and the connector on the radio side of my power plug had a similar issue; turns out that the metal pins inside the plastic connector weren't fully seated because they'd worn into the plastic and didn't allow for a solid connection.?
I cut the 'molex' connector off, installed an Anderson Power Pole connector using the ARES standard, and haven't had any issues with power connections since.
I've also been using APP connectors for more than a decade on various other DC powered equipment in my vehicle, office, and shop without any issues.
If you want to go the 'long route', you could check/verify the issue is the pins in the power connector (again, radio side, not the power connector side that connects to other radios fine), and just replace the external section of the molex plug. If you do this, i'd urge you to spend the money to buy the better quality one so you don't have this issue again.
73, de KI4WIN
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On 2021-06-27 07:13, Zack Widup wrote: I own both an FT897D and an FT857D. I have three power plugs that are
supposed to be for the connectors on the FT897 and 857. All three work
perfectly well on my FT897. However, none of the three will fully seat
on the connector that is on the wire on the FT857. I have a hard time
plugging any of them in on the FT857. Have any of you encountered
this? I haven't been able to figure out WHY the connectors won't fully
seat on the FT857 connector.
73, Zack W9SZ Hullo Zack, Most interesting. I've read the suggestions posted thus far. A thought, simply because a connector works on the FT-897 you have, and works with one doesn't mean that it hasn't adjusted itself. It may not be the functional standard there. <g> Have you more samples of this type to try it with, friends or locals perhaps? I have the FT-857D and there is a fine match between it's connector, the stock one for my Kenwood TS-440Sat, and the spare I bought for the latter for mobile installation back in the day. All will fit either radio, and power it. All I can offer for the moment. 73, John -- J. D. Erskine VA7OTC/VA7RCN Victoria, BC
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I don't understand how the plug that came with the FT857 and two others on cables I have purchased elsewhere can all have faults. As I mentioned, all these plugs fit just fine on the FT897D and the Kenwood TS850SAT I have but none of them fully seat in the connector on the FT857D. I would have to assume a fault with the FT857D connector. I don't know what the problem is, though.
What I ended up doing was unsoldering the power cable inside the FT857D and replacing it with another 3 foot length of # 12 gauge cable pair (with red and black insulation). I did this because, if I choose to sell the radio at some time, I want to be able to restore it to its original state as I got it. I put an automotive fuse holder with a 30A fuse in each lead. I put an Anderson Powerpole on the other end (which is what I wanted in the first place). It works fine. Voltage drop displayed by the radio is about 0.2 volts under hard key-down under full power. This is acceptable to me.
It was recommended that I do not use a soldering gun with a loop-type heating element because it produces magnetic fields that could affect components in the radio. I have a Weller GT soldering gun that does not produce magnetic fields. It is a 150W soldering gun with a ceramic type heating element. I have used it to solder pipe cap filters onto pc boards.
73, Zack W9SZ
On Tue, Jul 6, 2021 at 1:10 PM VA7OTC John Erskine < va7otc@...> wrote: On 2021-06-27 07:13, Zack Widup wrote:
> I own both an FT897D and an FT857D.? I have three power plugs that are
> supposed to be for the connectors on the FT897 and 857. All three work
> perfectly well on my FT897. However, none of the three will fully seat
> on the connector that is on the wire on the FT857. I have a hard time
> plugging any of them in on the FT857. Have any of you encountered
> this? I haven't been able to figure out WHY the connectors won't fully
> seat on the FT857 connector.
>
> 73, Zack W9SZ
Hullo Zack,
Most interesting. I've read the suggestions posted thus far.
A thought, simply because a connector works on the FT-897 you have, and
works with one doesn't mean that it hasn't adjusted itself. It may not
be the functional standard there. <g>
Have you more samples of this type to try it with, friends or locals
perhaps?
I have the FT-857D and there is a fine match between it's connector, the
stock one for my Kenwood TS-440Sat, and the spare I bought for the
latter for mobile installation back in the day. All will fit either
radio, and power it.
All I can offer for the moment.
73, John
--
J. D. Erskine
VA7OTC/VA7RCN
Victoria,? BC
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Jim Kennard
Daniel
John D Erskine VE7MHI VA7OTC