Re: Yaesu FIF-232 Available at Cost
I would love to grab that off you, been after one for ages now, Post Code is IM4 7BL, Isle of Msn, UK.
I can sort out funds via PayPal if that is helpful.
Being Hopeful
James
MD0MDI
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Yaesu FIF-232 Available at Cost
I picked up a Yaesu FIF-232 at a local hamfest for $10. It comes with the box and instructions, but not the adapter cable (you'll need to supply your own). I purchased it up thinking someone in the group can use it.
This is the RS-232 CAT Interface adapter for the FT-980. Just add an RS-232 to USB converter and plug it into your PC.
You can buy cheap CAT cables on eBay ... so why use a FIF-232?
1. It matches our rig (paint color and everything)
2. It is opto-coupled and galvanically isolated (reduces PC noise coupling into your rig or antenna system). The eBay cables are not.
3. It has an on-board regulator AND serial converter to provide the correct voltages to both sides (+/-12V for the PC, 5V for the FT-980) instead of relying on blocking diodes and ballast resistors.
It is yours for the same $10 plus shipping cost. First come first serve ...
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-Mat Breton, N8TW
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Re: A rather Tatty Beginning
Hi James,
For the battery, yes, that is how Yaesu did it. I have long since replaced it with something a littler sturdier ... the original was old and not seating the batteries properly.
The bulb may be replacing F01, which is the RX (in) "lamp-fuse". The original is a small "grain of wheat" filament bulb of about 8V, 100mA. This same concept/bulb was used in other Yaesu rigs of the day such as the FT747/FT757. The exact replacement is a?BQ041-22803A. It looks like whoever "fixed" it found something in his box and put it in ... but it is much larger than the original.
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-Mat Breton, N8TW
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James Sawle (MD0MDI) <james@...> added the album MD0MDI's Yaesu FT-980: This is a very Sad looking FT-980 which has maybe had too much attention over it's hard life and is going to take quite a bit of work to get her looking pretty again.
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Re: A rather Tatty Beginning
I have finally gor around to playing with the radio a little more, and as expected I have a number of bedges to sort out along the way and a few things that people here may be able to point me in the right direction with...  Please Ignore the 'Green' stuff around the terminals, I will sort this out later, but is this the actual way that Yaesu did this? I would have though a neater solution may have been in the radio, but if this is correct I will try and purchase a neater option when I get around to this.   Certainly looks as though this has been bodged, not investigated much but anyone have any ideas as to why this would have been cut and as to the mess going to the earthing point? I will clean this up later but it does not feel like a Yaesu fitting.  Using a bulb as a resistance...? emmm, again does not have the feel of Yaesu....  The fitment of this capacitor just looks wrong as well... Not too sure if all of these are bodges, not played around with this era of Yaesu kit before, I know 101's of old and FT-950's and FT-2000 and non of these would be seen in those items, but I do know that things were not as sweet back then, so if anyone can give me any pointers I would be much appreciated. Items that I really could do with getting hold of if anyone is selling:
- A Complete set of Original Case Screws.
- Carrying Handle (Complete) with all fittings.
- Original ATT Knob.
- Top and Bottom Cases (Clean and Tidy Ones).
I will create a Gallery and upload a load of photos, maybe someone will see other things that I have missed. Cheers James MD0MDI
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I'd take the comments of that particular station with a grain of salt.
What was the VE7 using for a receiver? Was the noise blanker, DNR or other noise-fighting features enabled - and possibly mis-configured?
Our 980s have a relatively good noise blanker - few other rigs can extract a signal from man-made QRN as well, at least in my experiences. It's entirely possible to mis-adjust the NB Level control and make an otherwise clean-sounding station sound like garbage but this is relatively easy to verify from a glance at the controls. A late-model menu-driven rig might not be so intuitive; I know of one recent occurrence with a friend and his 7300 which resulted in this exact scenario.
The old OO program was also replete with people who IMNSHO had absolutely no business commenting on a signal's characteristics, as they had limited understanding of how their receivers worked. Fewer still had lab-quality receive measurement equipment at their disposal to properly qualify a suspected "problem".
If you have a doubt regarding your station's spectral purity and linearity, trap-display monitor scopes and HF spectrum analyzers are getting to be commodity items these days. Pretty much anyone can afford them.
73 - Fred, N8YX?
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It is very possible the problem is on his end, not yours.
One interesting way to "listen to yourself" is to use WebSDR (). Find an open SDR with an appropriate freq range and antenna, tune it to where you'll transmit and listen (or record) while you send. Of course, you can always call a friend to listen as well ... but that is less techy :)
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-Mat Breton, N8TW
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Wald,
Thank you for the info. I suspect my two AA batteries, both of which were reading 0.75V no load, were the culprit. This is the second set I have put in during the 25 years I’ve had it. No other maintenance has been done and it works flawlessly. What an amazing radio. Thanks again. ?
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On Feb 8, 2022, at 10:43 AM, Wald N4PL via groups.io <n4pl@...> wrote:
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Hi Brian,
1).? The only time I saw the frequency control going the opposite direction was when a friend of mine gave me his modified radio to repair.? The previous owner swapped the outputs from the dial direction sensors, on purpose.? So I had to reverse that? and the radio is back in service.? No issues reported since.
It may be difficult to replicate your problem now, that you power-cycled the radio.? But take a look at the schematics.? The knob direction sensors are located on two identical boards PB-2377.? The outputs, Φ1 and Φ2 are passed to the Dial Unit PB-2386A where they are processed to produce the Up/Down data.? It exits that board via J1303 (pins 3,4) and goes to the microprocessor.? Try reseating J1303 and maybe check for cold solder joints on that board.? Also, check the RAM battery, just in case.
2).? Here is what I have in my notes on that topic:
12v 100mA axial leaded filament lamp bulb measure 0.16"(4mm) diameter by 0.8"(20mm) long fits FT102 , FT-ONE and FT-980 radios. Also fits FL-7000 amplifier and FRG-7700 receiver.
In absence of known sources of the replacement parts, I modified my radios with the white LEDs.? Take a look at photos posted in the folder that has the Meter Lamps in the name (cannot access groups.io right now).?
73, Wald N4PL
On Tuesday, February 8, 2022, 10:23:22 AM EST, Brian Harris via groups.io <cosmophone@...> wrote:
Yesterday I was in a 40 meter QSO and we needed to move up in frequency a bit. I noticed when I turned the VFO clockwise the displayed frequency decreased and, conversely, when I turned the dial counter-clockwise the displayed frequency increased.? I don’t if the operating frequency did the same.? I changed to several different bands and it behaved the same so I shut it off and went to my backup rig, a B&W 5100B.? When my QSO ended I turned the FT-980 on again and all was normal. This transceiver has never had a thing done to it except battery replacement and that was years ago. I’m an experienced electrical engineer and technician so I am not afraid to delve into it but was curious if anyone observed this behavior before and, if so, what was the cause?? I figure a loose or dirty connection is likely. Also, what’s a good source for the panel lamps?? The one in the S meter is out. Thank you, Brian Harris WA5UEK
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A VE7 reported I was slightly over driving my amp with my 980 on 2 SSB.? I have always set my drive to between 90 and 100 watts and used the compressor set to 1 o'clock.? It sounds fine in the monitor.? I turned down the power to 60 watts then turned off the processor and used the mic gain,? He told my no matter what I was over driving.
?
I use a nice Heil Boom Mic set with HC4 element and never had any over drive reports.
I had several USA contacts and 2 European calls and all said I sounded fine with great audio.? I don't want to get a pink slip report from the new ARRL volunteers on this.
?
73 Dave K4JRB? A FT-980 user since 1983?
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Hi Brian,
1).? The only time I saw the frequency control going the opposite direction was when a friend of mine gave me his modified radio to repair.? The previous owner swapped the outputs from the dial direction sensors, on purpose.? So I had to reverse that? and the radio is back in service.? No issues reported since.
It may be difficult to replicate your problem now, that you power-cycled the radio.? But take a look at the schematics.? The knob direction sensors are located on two identical boards PB-2377.? The outputs, Φ1 and Φ2 are passed to the Dial Unit PB-2386A where they are processed to produce the Up/Down data.? It exits that board via J1303 (pins 3,4) and goes to the microprocessor.? Try reseating J1303 and maybe check for cold solder joints on that board.? Also, check the RAM battery, just in case.
2).? Here is what I have in my notes on that topic:
12v 100mA axial leaded filament lamp bulb measure 0.16"(4mm) diameter by 0.8"(20mm) long fits FT102 , FT-ONE and FT-980 radios. Also fits FL-7000 amplifier and FRG-7700 receiver.
In absence of known sources of the replacement parts, I modified my radios with the white LEDs.? Take a look at photos posted in the folder that has the Meter Lamps in the name (cannot access groups.io right now).?
73, Wald N4PL
On Tuesday, February 8, 2022, 10:23:22 AM EST, Brian Harris via groups.io <cosmophone@...> wrote:
Yesterday I was in a 40 meter QSO and we needed to move up in frequency a bit. I noticed when I turned the VFO clockwise the displayed frequency decreased and, conversely, when I turned the dial counter-clockwise the displayed frequency increased.? I don’t if the operating frequency did the same.? I changed to several different bands and it behaved the same so I shut it off and went to my backup rig, a B&W 5100B.? When my QSO ended I turned the FT-980 on again and all was normal. This transceiver has never had a thing done to it except battery replacement and that was years ago. I’m an experienced electrical engineer and technician so I am not afraid to delve into it but was curious if anyone observed this behavior before and, if so, what was the cause?? I figure a loose or dirty connection is likely. Also, what’s a good source for the panel lamps?? The one in the S meter is out. Thank you, Brian Harris WA5UEK
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Yesterday I was in a 40 meter QSO and we needed to move up in frequency a bit. I noticed when I turned the VFO clockwise the displayed frequency decreased and, conversely, when I turned the dial counter-clockwise the displayed frequency increased. I don’t if the operating frequency did the same. I changed to several different bands and it behaved the same so I shut it off and went to my backup rig, a B&W 5100B. When my QSO ended I turned the FT-980 on again and all was normal. This transceiver has never had a thing done to it except battery replacement and that was years ago. I’m an experienced electrical engineer and technician so I am not afraid to delve into it but was curious if anyone observed this behavior before and, if so, what was the cause? I figure a loose or dirty connection is likely. Also, what’s a good source for the panel lamps? The one in the S meter is out. Thank you, Brian Harris WA5UEK
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Re: NO RX on my new to me FT-980
Wow great information guys …thinking I’ll make a decision on the memory battery tonight…if I have the required transistor …for sure I have the resistors.
I’m a casual contestant into CW ONLY… I have an external SGC?ADSP2?DSP AF Filter that I could attach to the FT-890 ACC?it would properly work well, and see how that goes for now.
For a keyer I was looking at the Winkeyer external or maybe the chip and internalize it??
I’m terrible at logging and often do not bother at all; I keep a paper log and don’t QSL as my card design sucks!
I’m probably close to WAS and provinces, and?I have several DX countries as well.
?I’m all over the map right now…want to do POTA, AM satellites… as well have a FT-101 to restore.
I have several other boat anchors.. 3 350 SWANS and Collins 30-L Linear, Globe Sidebanner, antenna plans.
I love this hobby but I’ll have to make a schedule or project plan list.
I think my wife doesn’t mind as long as I get chores done etc
So my immediate priority is get my shack cleaned up and get back on the air..with the FT-890
…man this rig is big!!!?
73, Dave VE3DPC?
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Re: NO RX on my new to me FT-980
If you are doing contesting, the CW Filters will help. I use the FT-980 during contests, and the narrow filter certainly helps with strong adjacent signals: it isn't as good as a selectable narrow roofing filter (like the FT-DX101), as long as the nearby signal doesn't desensitize the receiver it can clean the audio. That being said, you can still do a lot with the APF feature, and the notch ... even though these are still in the audio portion instead of the RF portion of the signal chain.
The FT-980 is one of the first production rigs with a "roofing filter" ... back before they were called roofing filters. This was likely directly influenced by Bob Sherwood's experimental work with the Drake 4-Line (adding a roofing filter). The fixed 15-Khz 6-Pole really helps with non-adjacent strong signals. The biggest issue with this architecture (my opinion) is that since it is a VHF up-conversion first-IF (at 47.055MHz), it was hard to get anything narrower than 15kHz, and the skirts fall off less sharply (by Hz, not decade) than a lower-frequency down-conversion filter.? And of course ... this was a loooong time before electronically selectable roofing filters :)
Note: In-rad offers a better XF-1001 replacement (supposedly): details can be found in the files section. But ... it is pricey.
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-Mat Breton, N8TW
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Re: NO RX on my new to me FT-980
David,
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Congratulations?on finding the bad connection.? I have been a FT-980 user since 1983.? Back then big rigs like the FT-980 and Kenwood TS-940 had problems with loose and poorly soldered connections.??
?
As to CW I am friends with Chip K7JA who was the USA VP for Yaesu USA and a top notch CW operator.? He said the single 600Hz CW filter and using?the notch and audio filter worked well for him.? Please don't try to use the internal Currtis CW keyer as I never could get the spacing right even though I had a great CW paddle caled l the Pro-fi from Germany.? Use an external keyer or Wald can tell you about the keyer kit he put in place of the Yaesu supplied optional keyer.
?
Be sure to get the Yaesu Tech Supplement which is the technical manual for the 980.? I see them on EBAY and my friend the manual man in New Jersey has them.? If you want to maintain the 980 this is a great addition to have.? All of the schematics and how to align the 980 are in the Tech Supplement.
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73 Dave K4JRB?
-----Original Message----- From: < [email protected]> Sent: Jan 20, 2022 10:42 AM To: < [email protected]> Subject: Re: [Yaesu-FT-980] NO RX on my new to me FT-980
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Thank you Wald and the group!!! I'm not a big memory guy but looks interesting...may try it at some point...if I remember. I do not have any CW filters installed...so what would be the "band width" of a CW signal on either setting (CW-W /CW-N)with no filters installed? Are Filters available for purchase? I have an external audio DSP that I use but that is more equipment to lug I do not have a Keyer board either...are they available? I did a quick search ...down a couple rabbit wholes. 73, David VE3DPC
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Re: NO RX on my new to me FT-980
Hi David,
Your rig will always start from 7.000 MHz and will not remember the last used frequency unless you install the AA batteries... which last not that long.? F5RCT mod extends the battery life significantly.? But if you do not mind the fresh start every time - it is OK.
If you are a CW guy, you will be disappointed with the FT-980 original keyer.? It employed the Curtis IC that was not very user friendly.? I personally could not use it and built my own keyer.? I assembled it on a Vector board so it does not look too pretty, but uses the P98 and works very well.? I had plans to lay out a board for it and have some made but... it became a back burner project.
At some point I did a research on Yaesu optional keyers and noted that a similar design was used in other models i.e. FT-ONE.? It may be worth looking at.? Or, maybe someone on this list has better insights on the keyer compatibility with other models.? BTW, at some point Yaesu quit on the Curtis design and used another IC.? Hopefully that fixed the problem...
With no CW filter installed you will have the same BW as in SSB mode.? Width/shift may help a bit but not much.? The CW filters are rare but show up on eBay once in a while.? swap.qth.com or qrz.com are also good places to look at.? You may post a WTB messages there.
One thing you may want to take care of is to set the LIN AMP in OFF position.? I had issues with slow leading character ramp-up when this switch was ON (and no PA).? The first CW character was severely truncated and stations replied to me as II4PL? HI.
GL and 73, Wald N4PL
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Re: NO RX on my new to me FT-980
Thank you Wald and the group!!!
I'm not a big memory guy but looks interesting...may try it at some point...if I remember.
I do not have any CW filters installed...so what would be the "band width" of a CW signal on either setting (CW-W /CW-N)with no filters installed?
Are Filters available for purchase?
I have an external audio DSP that I use but that is more equipment to lug
I do not have a Keyer board either...are they available?
I did a quick search ...down a couple rabbit wholes.
73, David VE3DPC
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Re: NO RX on my new to me FT-980
Congrats David!? Finding a cold solder joint is usually very tricky.? Well done.?
You are right about the FT-980 RX quality.? The low noise floor is the most notable parameter.? The selectivity and IMD are not as great but acceptable.? You will definitely enjoy this rig, especially if that cabin is an RF quiet location.
One important mod that I would recommend while you have the radio on the bench, is the memory battery backup circuit., authored by F5RCT.? This file is in the mods.dk repository but if you want I can send it to you directly.
GL and 73, Wald N4PL
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Re: NO RX on my new to me FT-980
FIXED!!!! Cold solder joint on back of the APF switch PCB where the resistor (R2302) resides.
I was probing around and pushed on solder board heard it come thru speaker .... knew what to do but took a few tries with 740 degree Weller iron.
I have to redo the tie wraps and lashing of several cables/wires bundles and put it back together.
Spent at least 5-6 hrs but well worth it.
Can't wait to get to know the radio..even though I have a nice icom-7300 .....I can bring this rig up to my island cabin on Papineau Lake and leave it there operate on weekends etc
Thanks guys I learnt a lot probing around and looking thru schematics...to be honest I did not know what a MARKER signal was or APF circuit
Funny I had a nice FT-990 but sold 3-4 years ago but really enjoyed this one
I have a very nice FT-101 to work on next maybe next week...at least I know what a MARKER does ...but not a CLARIFIER?..yet
73, David VE3DPC
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Re: NO RX on my new to me FT-980
Oh I do see it on the PCB...... page 138 of the Technical Supplement so I'm hoping I can get to it?
73, David VE3DPC
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James Sawle (MD0MDI)
Mat Breton N8TW
N4PL