Holy Cow Buddy! I didn't realize you were working on my 902! I've been studying for my Extra and your video came up on the side list. Great diagnosis Dr. Buddy. KB7HFS
Buddy, if you need parts...and I doubt you will, but...I picked up a bunch of 902 'cards and stuff at a Kinston hamfest a couple years ago. Happy to donate to the 'cause of bringing this oldie but goody back to running shape! 73 from KN4HGI Alan
Intermittent contact on crystal display PC board. Like your simple solution with reheating the solder joints. Nothing worse than trying to fix a problem caused by someone else. Got to go through everything sometimes just to fix their mistakes . Hope there will be a part two on this unit. Steve
Please do a part two showing the full alignment procedure. I think many would benefit from seeing a step by step alignment on a rig from the 80's. 73 de K1WW
Nice work Buddy. Always liked the look of the Yaesu FT 902DM. My uncle who is a silent key had one. I had the Yaesu FT-101EX. I kept asking him if he would like to trade and he would just look at me like I was crazy hehe. One day if I run across one at a good price I will grab it. Stay safe and stay warm. 73 Joe
Hi Buddy, Definitely a Part 2. I have a 901DM that I need to lube the VFO as it's getting stiff. I also bought a capacitor kit to replace all the capacitors. Would be nice to see how you perform an alignment on the 902. Stay safe. 73 WJ3U
Would love to see a part 2 on this radio. I am about to put my grandpa's old FT-901 DM back into service. Brought it up on a variac recently and when I get some free time, I am going to get it hooked up on the bench and fully test and tuned. Thanks for all your videos! They helped a lot with his old FT-101B I am restoring. I will be recapping it here soon as well. 73 & 75 AE7WY
these are the best videos out there part 2 would be most welcome for us Ireland users who have no tecks like you and when you ring the shop they have no clue cheers man once again
Good to see you. I myself have gotten into some radio repair here locally. I have had others want to ship me radios but I have declined simply cause of that reason. No matter how much you pay or how well you pack it, the package will not be treated with respect, especially by conveyor machines.
Yep I saw those bad solder joints before you put em on the scope...... Lots of white stuff and cold down here in Southwest Louisiana the last 2 days and freezing cold, I might be able to turn my water back on Wed. PM...........
Wow I had a FT-902DM with all the accessories except the RTTY unit. Great radio after cleaning all the board connectors and recap job. The radio and all pieces that went with it was too much for my small radio shack/work shop so had to sell the whole works. Still have it's brother the FT-901DM here that needs work. My wife said to get rid of that old junk but as a true old ham radio buff it is hard to do. Sold that radio and brought home 2 FT-101ZD to play with. I wonder when it will ever end. HIHI Please upload another video on the FT-902DM alignment. Thanks again for the great videos that bring these treasures of old to life again. What else do you when we have 2 weeks of -30 C
Awesome channel Buddy. Entertaining but educational too. You always get some really nice gear in. It's really good you're so careful and fussy with your work. True professional.
Can you please send me some of your rain and 30 degree temps Buddy? We've had about 2 feet of snow in the past week and temps in the teens and low 20's here in southern NY. Stay well. 73 Doug.
The reason that the vertical row of pushbuttons get stuck is not because the board that holds them is mounted wrong. The problem is that you reassembled the diecast front bezel without the four washers in place that align the bezel slightly higher in position, so that the buttons can move freely. You probably did not notice these four washers (a stack of two on each side) when you removed the bezel from the radio; they have a tendency to fall out without one noticing it, especially if they fall on the ground instead of on the work bench. Put these four washers in place when mounting the bezel (2 x 2 washers), and the switches will move freely. Another tip: Replace the light bulbs (two in the meter and two behind the analog dial) with soft-white bright LEDs. It will appear exactly the same in color and brightness as the original bulbs, without the heat, and they will last forever. You need to put a 680 ohm resistor in series with each individual LED to make them work on the 12V that supplies them, and make sure the LED polarity is correct before you re-assemble. Because especially the two in the meter are difficult to reach. How do I know all of this? I just restored a FT-902DM myself. A great radio worthy of preserving.
Definitely would like another session on this radio- I have a FT901D with a few issues - sticky vfo/backlash to start with. Just getting the VFO out in the first place was no easy matter- wish you showed how you did that! Your videos do motivate me to roll up the sleeves and have a go. BTW- its +95 F the next 4 days in Vk5 so a little hot for the shed bench!
30 is cold? man you southern people don't know what cold is, its 10 here and we waiting for about a foot of snow then some time below zero! Part 2 be good.
Hi there, fantastic video, learnt a lot by the way you just work you're way through the process. I have that model myself and it has a few similar bugs, but now feel a little more confident to have a crack at trying to fault fine the problems... Don't know if you checked the earlier part of the video, about 6.35 min but both the dial and meter lamps were working plus the Tune LED didn't seem to work either... so would love to know what you found... Kind regards
The tune LED is difficult to relocate in its appropriate hole when reassembling the diecast bezel as a whole. It is easy to misalign it, then the LED won't be visible any more. Or even worse, the thin red plastic rod (like a light pipe on the LED) might have broken off during the re-assemble process. I assume one of these issues is what happened here.
I have a FT901DM that always worked well. Sadly it doesn't work anymore and I gave it to a local ham who kept it for years and finally I got it back in the same condition - obviously he wasn't up to the task... I feel it should be repaired and not left it in a corner to collect dust - but I couldn't find someone capable ...could you possibly give a chance to repair it? Thank you
Great video, I've just acquired one of these but want to check the AC plug on the back. Would you know where I could get the pin out configuration for this at all ?
I always find it fascinating how similar all the different brands of radios were in their time, as they continue to be today. Put that Yaesu side to side with a Kenwood 520, Not too much different!
