Hi everyone,
as my Setup with my TS-480 works excellent and having the opportunity to remount some 6m,2m and 70cm antennas at my parents german QTH,
I wonder if somebody has already tried to detach the Frontpanel of the Yaesu FT-897D which lays around and would fit good for that use.
Why do I ask this question which seems stupid at first look? - FT-857 and 897 are quiet identical on HW side, except for the battery part.
When you open up an FT-897D you will find most likely the same wireing for Display and MIC present on the mobile rig FT-857.
A quick look at the Service manual confirmed this. So purely theoretically spoken why not dismount/detach the FP of the FT-897
, build some adaptercabling for MIC and display cabling and building a metal plate to cover the lack of HF closed housing on the 897?
The only "excess cables" are those from the Battery management of the rig, which are not important while on remote.
So why don't i use it simply with HRD or any other CAT software? Because I want (a display and) a big knob to turn
.
Dont know about quality or if the vfo feeling can be simulated with one of those USB 3D Mouse turning knobs ( anyone tried?) but I feel more
comfortable by using a knob to turn VFO on the faceplate. For the rest I dont care - I just want the VFO feeling wich is not possible with a PC mouse.
Especially on the Yaesu I dont care for buttons which would be easier to press on a PC than on the Rig
So, as I assume I'm not the first person with that silly idea of detaching the faceplate of the FT-897D, does someone have some more infos , maybe from other forums/ discussion groups etc..?
I remember having read some years ago on I think it was a yahoo group about that case but cannot find it again.
Maybe display protocol on 897 differs - I don't know and I don't have knowledge / equipment to check that - but maybe you have infos that could help
seeing wether or not this uncommon "project" is feasable or not.
Waiting for your input now ;-)
Many thanks
Félix
