Mike ordered and was shipped a finals board from Yaesu US recently, as noted here -?/g/ft817/message/115294
Please, describe exactly what you asked for and who you asked for, for example:
I called <Yaesu US or Europe> and asked for <FT-817 or FT-818> finals board and I was told ______
I think asking for FT-817 finals gets the 'unavailable' response, asking for the FT-818 finals gets you a replacement finals board that can replace the FT-817 finals.
YES, Yaesu should offer the FT-818 part when you request the FT-817 part, but that may not be happening, based on some anecdotal stories here.