Hello everyone, like some others here, the FT-301 line was an object of desire early in my ham life. I owned a FT-101E at the time (still do), but the FT-301(D) always was the best looking radio - black+gold trim - really (my Alma mater's colors). IMO, the 301 line is better than the Collins "Gold Dust twins" :). I was drawn to it because of its unique time in history, first 100% solid-state amateur transceiver, it had the modularity of the 101 line (unlike the FT-101Z - what was Yaesu thinking?), the availability of analog and digital readout models, modular power output models (S - series), all thru-hold devices and nice matching accessories. I <think> that this line also pre-dates RoHS (2002), so that's a plus as well, IMO.
The above is probably not news to anyone in this group :)
Over the years, I've collected a lot of the series, some working, some not. My goal is to put together the entire line - similar to what Fred_N8YX has done. I even have a FP-301D in reasonable condition, I too would like to get the CWID working, but I have some different ideas for how to do that. I have 301, 301D(x2), FP-301, FP-301D, LL301, FC-301, YO-301, the infamous relay box. I also have a FT-221 and FT-221R (both currently broken and sadly, neither have the Mutek frontend). Some spare parts that I've run across over the years. I have 1 AM filter + CW, SSB filters..
What I don't have is the base microphone for the rig, I have not been able to determine what was appropriate base mic at the time - was it a YD-844 or a UD-844 or some other model?
I also haven't been able to determine if the clock was available at that time.
It's a shame that they didn't make a matching 160-10 amp for this line, if they did, it would have been complete.
I guess the only real "problem" with these rigs (from what I've read) is that the output finals are very sensitive to high SWR and the protection doesn't work all that well, so blown finals can happen if not careful.? The display LEDs also overheat and die on the D model. As with most vintage gear, parts are an issue (TIL devices, output transistors and the usual stuff). So I have 1 rig that's likely going to be a donor rig, if needed (half of the display LEDs segments are gone).
Over the next couple of years, my plan is go through and get everything working, aligned and enjoy it. I do dable with DDS for my Drake stuff (SPR-4), so a DDS, general coverage receiver in an FT-301 box would be really cool. But the effort is low hours right now, due to still working for a living.
Kudos the guy changing the IF of the rig! That's going deep.
Keep 'em alive guys! At some point (maybe we're already there) most operators won't even understand the basic concepts of how these old rigs work or how the new (SDR) rigs work. (or how anything works.. ( - watch if you can, you'll laugh and shake your head at the same time)
Jim (NO2P)
