Radio Rework

I have found that Yaesu no longer sells any knobs for the FT-100 and FT-100D, Icom also no longer sells any knobs for the 706 Series. I confirmed this by a phone call to their respective parts department.  So if you want to not pay an arm and a leg for knobs for you FT-100 or Icom 706 Series radios. I modeled up some compatible knobs for each radio. I have a 706MKIIG but I am pretty sure all the 706 series use the same kind.  I currently have for the FT-100/D: Volume, RF gain/ Squelch, and Select knobs IC-706 series: Volume, Shift, M-CH, and RF/Squelch knobs  If you need some, please send me an email to Contact@radiorework.com

I was able to get a FT-7100 on eBay for a somewhat reasonable price and it came with a bracket for the detachable head. I was able to make a replica of the original bracket. It fits exactly like the original. The FT-7100 doesn’t need a special separation cable. It just needs a 6p6c cable terminated with RJ-12 male plugs. The microphone connects at the head unit so it doesn’t need a microphone extension cable.  If you would like one, to make an order please email me at contact@radiorework.com

 I have been working on a separation kit for the Yaesu FT-90. It’s very small and has been a challenge. The biggest issue it really the size. Finding four conductor cables with a sufficiently small diameter has been hard. I have been trying to make it fit the original form factor. I think I am pretty close to having one complete. I have had a few functional prototypes but the wire size remains an issue.  I have tried using the wire from a TRRS extension cable and that seems to work but the conductors which are really just headphone cables seem pretty delicate.  I may make a version that abandons the size and uses a 4P4C RJ type jack. It would not need to be too much larger. And all my other kits use them, I think it might work by adding a little depth to the head bracket to be able to use a RJ-12 or similar size jack. If you are interested in getting one of these once I have finished creating them. Send me an email to contact@radiorework.com to get on the mailing list of ...

 My newest project has been a separation kit for the Yaesu FT-900. This kit is a little different, it uses 8 contacts, I was able to use the same basic design as the other Yaesu separation kits and the same Ethernet connectors. I was able to modify the FT-100 head bracket model so I did not have to start from nothing. The brackets are compatible with the AMPS standard holes, ie, the hole pattern that is  on a 38mm x 30mm rectangle. Theses are common for attaching a LIDO mount, or RAM ball.  If you would like your own, please email to Contact@radiorework.com

The FT-100D which I bought last week “for parts or repair” has some issues. I documented those issues in the last post. I have sone some work and have halfway fixed one problem. There was a short which was drawing around 8 amps continuously, all signs pointed to a problem with one of the final transistors. There was a part which had been soldered to the ground plane near the SRF7043 VHF/UHF final amplifier. When I desoldered it, I could see the surface of the SRF7043. After a little cleaning I noticed the dreaded cracking which has happened to a lot of FT-100D radios. I researched and asked in a FT-100 owners group about this and decided to remove the SRF7043. Once I had removed the final amplifier I put power back to the unit and now I no longer have a continuous 8 amp draw. There are no more SRF7043s easily available as replacements. There is a guide by VK3BKC on replacing the SRF7043 with the MRF1570N. The MRF1570N is not a drop in replacement the width of the device is about t...

 I just purchased a "for Parts or repair" FT-100D, from the estate of a silent key. There are some things immediately identifiable as problems.  1. The Microphone cord rubber has completely disintegrated. This is super common, it seems pretty much all of them do this. All that should be needed is a replacement cord. 2. The fans are tied together and connected to a 12V cigarette light plug. So the radio has either no fan or full power fan all the time. It's quite loud. 3. On power on, the unit draws 8 amps all the time. 4. There does not seem to be any transmit capability on any band. The most concerning thing at the moment is the 8 amps on power on. I don't want to further damage the unit. I need to find the source of the short soon. While opening the unit to inspect it one of the screws stripped and I could not remove it. Come in the reverse direction drill bits. They are very useful and have helped me remove a few very stripped out screws. I first drill a small hole...