Date: Mon, 2 Sep 2002 18:42:32 -0700 (PDT) From: John Kalotai Subject: Unit won't turn on, The plot thickens! Well I've narrowed down the problem a bit. The radio will work with the internal battery pack but not the external cord. Getting power at the plug end of the cord and I've tried another known good cord. Anyone have the power jack on the 817 go bad? John N1OLO ________________________________________________________________________ Date: Tue, 3 Sep 2002 00:39:28 EDT From: kc3vo@aol.com Subject: Re: Unit won't turn on, The plot thickens!-(The Fix) It is not unusual for the solder connection to open on the BOTTOM of the main board, causing failure to conduct power from the external jack, ESPECIALLY if mechanical sterss has been applied in a sideways direction to the power cable/plug/jack. To repair it, the entire board has to be (Very Carefully) removed, and the connector re-soldered. It can be COMPLETELY removed an d VERY CAREFULLY glued to the board with epoxy before re-soldering, which will make it much more tolerant of slight abuse.---73, KC3VO-Bob Curry ========================================================================= Date: Tue, 12 Oct 2004 15:43:30 +0100 From: John Stratfull Subject: Re: Ground connection problem power plug? Garry My FT817 also would not function unless I connected a wire from the battery (or other power source) to the chassis. This happened immediately after the positive terminal of an external haywire collection of cells, brushed against one of the rear panel projections. A visual check revealed an smd (testing open circuit) tacked alongside the power jack, between the negative input jack pad and the perimeter ground plane. Also, the negative track between T1035 and the input jack, had been cut just past C1452, so disconnecting the EMI components and ground from the jack (is this possibly the ?burned? trace you repaired?). It is to be assumed that the smd is an undocumented fuse; touching the positive battery lead to the rear panel placed the full voltage of the battery across the smd. I believe the solution is to bridge the break in the negative track to the power socket, and ensure that an inline fuse is fitted to the positive side of any power lead plugged into the radio. 73 John G3IJS ============================================================================= Date: Sun, 11 Sep 2005 16:55:39 -0400 From: Jeff Lane Subject: Re: Re: 13.8 Volts Yeah, but the 817 steps down output power if you are using less than 13.8V. If you are running on the internal 9.6V pack, you can only expect 2.5 - 3W out max. This is from the specs in the manual: Supply Voltage: Normal: 13.8 VDC +- 15% Negative Ground Operating: 8.0 - 16 V, Negative Ground FBA-28 with 8 AA Alkalines: 12.0V FNB-72 NiCD Pack: 9.6V option RF Power Output: 5 W (SSB/CW/FM), 1.5W (AM Carrier) @ 13.8V Adujusting the Transmitter Power Output Four power levels are available ont he FT-817: % watts, 2.5 Watts, 1 Watt, and 0.5 Watt. When using Alkaline batteries or hte optional FNB-72 Ni-Cd Battery Pack, the microprocessor, detecting internal battery use, automatically sets the power level to 2.5 Watts... I have found through my own observations that I get about 2.5W out on any battery pack, including my 12V Gel Cell packs. The only time I get a full 5 Watt output is when I have it connected to a 13.8V wall wart. Cheers, Jeff W4KDH ============================================================================= ============================================================================= ============================================================================= ============================================================================= ============================================================================= ============================================================================= ============================================================================= ============================================================================= ============================================================================= ============================================================================= ============================================================================= ============================================================================= ============================================================================= ============================================================================= ============================================================================= ============================================================================= ============================================================================= ============================================================================= ============================================================================= =============================================================================