I bought a new Yaesu FT 857d today and am eagerly awaiting its arrival. I've had my general for quite a while and finally saved enough to buy an HF rig. If anyone has any tips for the radio or has had experience with it I would love to hear about it.
I don't know anything about the radio, but congratulations on getting one now! We have a base unit in the house and my husband and I each have portables. Lots of hams on here, be patient, they'll throw in their two cents pretty quick!
I like those radios. The smell of a tube type radio warming up is something every ham should experience. I have a friend who refuses to use any radio that doesn't have tubes.
Well I got the radio today and played around with it some. I didn't make any HF contacts yet but played with it on UHF/VHF and called cq on 20m a couple times with no answer. But I have the rest of the week to play with it every chance I get and experiment.
Well it must work because yesterday I worked IW6DRH in Italy mobile to mobile. I'm impressed so far with it. More to come later as I get more time to play with it.
Unfortunately those kits are not produced any more. Went the way most kit electronics did after the influx of relatively cheap mass produced ready made units became available. Every once in a while you can find them on Ebay... heathkit radios items - Get great deals on Electronics, Collectibles items on eBay.com!
Any Freebanders here? Any freebanders here? If anyone want to have a meet up? Thanks Dan Visit placeofrefuge2012.com
The FT-857D is a really nice rig......... One recommendation... Have a Auto Tuner like the LDG series of tuners. The FT-857 has some very impressive features and is a great little contesting radio.....
But the question remains... What happens when the tubes stop reproducing and you can't get a twin to replace it????
My first post here. The FT-857 is a pretty good radio. I've had one for about 5 years now. Currently I have it installed in my PU truck with a Comet dual band (2 meter, and 70cm) antenna and a Little Tarheel II for HF. I have the remote mic with mine which makes it easy to control the radio while I'm mobile. It definitely helps me pass the time on my hour commute to/from work!! The only thing I don't like is the teeny little display. It's very hard to read in the vehicle with my "aging" eyesight!!
Oh if I could afford a tube radio. Got my tech. Now working on my General. I have a goal of getting my General and Extra in the next 6-months.
