Yaesu FT 897 Question

[Frogeye]

Hey guys, I've recently added a base station at my home. I'm using a Yaesu FT 897 with a Diamond Antennae. I'm starting to get more familiar with the 897 and its settings. I do have one question that I can't figure out though and need your help if you know this unit. Can it do 220mhz? I can't seem to find that band. I've been able to find everything else (almost). Ty in advance.

[hmfigueroa]

There are not many current radios that support 220.

Pretty much the only ones that will do it are specific 220 radios such as the Alinco, or some multiband handhelds, but only at milliwatt power levels.

You may be able to recieve, but will not be able to transmit.

[cruiserlarry]

I'm not sure if any of the HF radios support transmission on 220mhz...

You'd probably have to pick up a Kenwood TM-742 tri-band uhf/vhf radio and add the 220mhz module to it (or find one that's already had one installed). These are great radios, but are always in demand, so they still command a high price used...

[DaveK]

Short answer is no for transmit. You can monitor though.

It may be worth a call or two to see if there are any "tweaks" that can be made to the radio to alter this.

[Frogeye]

Thanks all. I was sort of guessing that the 897 couldn't do it out of the box. No biggie. I'm loving this radio.

Now I need to get another antennae (HF) for the house. I don't need the best one but one that will do the trick. I think I need to study for my General now? Or can Techs work HF? I should know this info I know, but I don't. Anyone have some antennae recommendations?

TY!

[DaveK]

Thanks all. I was sort of guessing that the 897 couldn't do it out of the box. No biggie. I'm loving this radio.

Now I need to get another antennae (HF) for the house. I don't need the best one but one that will do the trick. I think I need to study for my General now? Or can Techs work HF? I should know this info I know, but I don't. Anyone have some antennae recommendations?

TY!

Chris:

On the antenna question, how much room do you have, are you constrained by CCRs or other homeowner restrictions, will neighbor complaints be likely and are there any other members of your family (wife) whose opinion might affect what you buy? Cost obviously is also a factor but to some degree you can work around this by looking for good condition used equipment. These days, good deals are plentiful.

On the HF privledge question, the answer is that you do have some limited HF privileges as a tech. The door opens up almost all the way for HF with your General ticket, however. If HF is in your future, you may want to give serious thought to an upgrade.

[Frogeye]

Thanks for the 411 Dave. After asking this question regarding antennas, Ollie informed me that I could use my existing Diamond antenna for HF by adding some kind of magical box to the 897. This being around $200. Sounds like a much better idea to me since I don't want to spend big bucks right now. So given that I'd spend $200 or so what would you recommend?

ty

Thanks all. I was sort of guessing that the 897 couldn't do it out of the box. No biggie. I'm loving this radio.

Now I need to get another antennae (HF) for the house. I don't need the best one but one that will do the trick. I think I need to study for my General now? Or can Techs work HF? I should know this info I know, but I don't. Anyone have some antennae recommendations?

TY!

Chris:

On the antenna question, how much room do you have, are you constrained by CCRs or other homeowner restrictions, will neighbor complaints be likely and are there any other members of your family (wife) whose opinion might affect what you buy? Cost obviously is also a factor but to some degree you can work around this by looking for good condition used equipment. These days, good deals are plentiful.

On the HF privledge question, the answer is that you do have some limited HF privileges as a tech. The door opens up almost all the way for HF with your General ticket, however. If HF is in your future, you may want to give serious thought to an upgrade.

[DaveK]

Thanks for the 411 Dave. After asking this question regarding antennas, Ollie informed me that I could use my existing Diamond antenna for HF by adding some kind of magical box to the 897. This being around $200. Sounds like a much better idea to me since I don't want to spend big bucks right now. So given that I'd spend $200 or so what would you recommend?

ty

Thanks all. I was sort of guessing that the 897 couldn't do it out of the box. No biggie. I'm loving this radio.

Now I need to get another antennae (HF) for the house. I don't need the best one but one that will do the trick. I think I need to study for my General now? Or can Techs work HF? I should know this info I know, but I don't. Anyone have some antennae recommendations?

TY!

Chris:

On the antenna question, how much room do you have, are you constrained by CCRs or other homeowner restrictions, will neighbor complaints be likely and are there any other members of your family (wife) whose opinion might affect what you buy? Cost obviously is also a factor but to some degree you can work around this by looking for good condition used equipment. These days, good deals are plentiful.

On the HF privledge question, the answer is that you do have some limited HF privileges as a tech. The door opens up almost all the way for HF with your General ticket, however. If HF is in your future, you may want to give serious thought to an upgrade.

Froggie:

Sorry for the delay in getting back to you - Christmas came first.

If I am reading you right, it sounds like you are opting for some gear for your mobile to make it HF capable as opposed to something for the home. I am not sure which gizmo Ollie is recommending, but there are almost limitless products that you can buy. Ollie has a great setup in his vehicle for HF and if you haven't looked at it very closely, you should.

I have a different setup for my mobile HF rig and it is also worth a look. I will warn you in advance however, it is a slight bit more costly than the $200.00 price range you have specified (but not by much).

From all of my research, including conversations with the boys at HRO and Jun's as well as all of the equipment reviews that I could get my hands on at E-Ham and other places, the Hi-Q antennas are among the very best for mobile applications. They have a complete line of mobile antennas including some mongo units that look like they weigh more than the vehicles to which they are attached.

On the other end of the spectrum, they have a very small unit that, even with the whip, is about the same height as my 2M/440 antenna. The model is the Hi-Q 2.5/80 RTS and can be seen at http://www.hiqantennas.com/ . It covers 6 - 80 meters which should be more than enough for your mobile needs. It can accept a tuner which will allow you to tune the antenna, from inside the cab, so as to suit your desired frequency. For off roaders, one of the most important assets of the Hi-Q antenna is that there are no exposed moving parts that are subject to damage from dust or moisture. The very best part of this deal is that Charlie, W6HIQ, the owner of Hi-Q, is in Orange County and will help with your installation. He knows his stuff and makes exceptional quality antennas.

I am welding another mount to my roof rack for this antenna and will have an A/B switch in the cab to change from HF to VHF/UHF. As soon as time permits, I will do a post on the install.

[taugust]

Dave,

If you are installing this antenna in addition to your 2M antenna, you won't need an A/B switch. The radio had seperate antenna connectors for vhf/uhf and for HF/6M.

[DaveK]

Tim:

Thanks for the heads up. I have two radios however, and need the switch to move back and forth between the two.