Available as a set of 3 from Technofix UK. £10.92 for the set. Scroll to end of ceramic filters section to see filter sets. FT897 is listed. Thank you very much Mr Radio Mechanic! Bang on as always.
Thank you, Sir. I am new to Ham radio and just picked up the "Shack" contents of a recent Silent Key via Craigslist. One of the items a Yaesu ft-990 which had so much static noise that is was inoperable due to s9+ static crashes. I found the problem. It was my bug-zapper, of all things - lol! Another item is a Kenwood TS-450 and everything seems to work except the main dial VFO does not tune at all - it's like off. Should I do a A+B, on Master reset or a VMO reset - I'm stumped. Thanks for you channel - I learn so much!
@@markh.2899 You've probably already got this fixed, but the obvious issue would be the lock button. Many people use it so they don't "bump" the VFO knob and turn the radio off frequency. I use it on my Kenwoods all the time, not so much on my FT-897.
Thanks Mate for doing all the reading, as it would have taken quite a lot of time that you were not paid for, but it is a good lesson to learn. Thankz Richard vk2ual
Awesome video. Well explained too - debug like this is rare these days, i tip my hat well done and thank god that there are still radio engineers that do the business.....
DC bias on these filters IS a problem. The plastic housing absorbs water, which is not a problem by itself because this water does not permeate into the ceramic material (Barium Titanate or lead-zirconate-titanate). Applying a DC bias however, will cause electrolysis of that water and the resulting hydrogen molecules permeate the ceramic material and changes the dielectric properties of the ceramic material. The mechanical Q factor is decreased dramatically while the dielectric losses increase considerable.
I'll be tackling this exact problem on my FT-897D within the next month. I was running my ICOM (normal base) and switched over to the Yaesu (it has an LDG antenna tuner, better than stock ICOM) and I find that my FT-897D is deaf. It takes around -49dBm for S9? Yep, it is deaf. Thank you for posting this.
Brilliant Video for me to learn all about these ceramic Filters that have just recently gone in my FT.897 so many many thanks for this particular Item. Anne 2E1GKY.
I won't argue with you, I'll agree with you. Had a very similar experience with a Yaesu FT-1802M that a friend gave me when it went deaf on him. It had all the same symptoms you showed in this video, including the moisture beads and salt crystals. It cost me $3.67 shipped to get new OEM filters directly from Yaesu. Much to my surprise, the guy who gave it to me didn't want it back when I offered to return it to him, so I ended up with a good 2m rig for less than $4 and about an hour of my time.
Stick with your instincts as far as DC blocking is concerned. I think the moisture sweating out of the filters tells its own story. Very good video. Karl
HI Karl. The DC current may cause some electrolysis. But the moisture starts the whole process and failure is inevitable with or without DC. No sense hacking up a board to fix a moisture issue.
Yours sounds like a reasonable theory. Strangely also everyone appears to replace the AM filter only (CF1005). In my case all three filters were covered in this salt residue. I am sure all three will look the same inside. Well made video, thanks for sharing your insights!
When I pulled mine out I baked the new parts only with a halogen lamp for 3 days then l lacquered. will see what happens over the years also in my radio I have gel packs
Absolutely a great video, gave me insight of doing my own. Ordered the filter trio from Hong Kong should be here in a couple weeks. I have taken the PCB out for further inspection. It came apart nicely. However the fine ribbon cable has me a little spooked when it comes due for re-assembly. What is the best way? Is there a special tool? Seems so fragile... Thanks
Great video. I like your vidoes. Right to the point. I have the same radio. I get noise when I use the add on power supply (FP-30). On battery the noise seems to go away. Would these filters help with that? The filters look new. No sweat or salt crystal. How can I check them to see if they are bad. Thanks
great video which for someone who had to be dragged to collage on RAE course night and seriously our lecturer made me feel like he 2MICKY FINN2 me, i was grilled to the real world of what we pay £££££££££££ hard earned money and wow, those ceramics , speechless. one thing bud, can you help, im seeing this radio at great prices, i have seen "wide banded rigs" for sale and then the horror stories of " post wide banding", im not an 11 mtr user, but i live a long way from Manchester, uk, airport, even my Yupiteru scanner with a great roof top antenna just gets the Approach, 119.400mhz or sorry poss 118.625, now a radio pal said he thinks with my antenna for my HF sets tis would esp on weekend/DX peditions are great for aircraft. any advice, buy a non wb 897d, or stay factory untouched , thank you sir
OK, I'm no expert on filters or anything radio TBH but I'll go with this theory on filter degradation simply because it sounds the most plausible. 👍 I bought a used 897D a while back which is working fine and I've noticed only one of the filters (for AM/USB) is a Toko. The other two are also very slightly physically smaller so I'm guessing they've been changed out at some point although why you wouldn't change all 3 while you're in there escapes me. The remaining Toko filter has some minute white specs on the case but no moisture, you have to look real close with a magnifying eye piece to see them so I guess the clock is ticking on that one. I might just buy a new set of 3 while they're still available for future use. I've been working on SMC boards for years, mainly on fax machine repairs, so I've no inhibitions about tackling the job myself.
I hope you can offer an opinion. I have an FT-857D, original owner, never used outside my home shack, but that's in a basement that's dry but with higher humidity than the rest of the house. First symptom was that the switching power supply I was using blew it's internal AC-side protection fuse. That might be unrelated, as all of this equipment is about 16 years old. I was able to rule out power connections all the way up to the radio with a different supply; as long as the radio isn't connected, that supply and everything else connected to it runs fine. As soon as I *connect* the radio - not even powered on - the power supply shuts down and tries to start up about once per second, at which point I turn it off to prevent harm. Opening the case on the radio, the only thing that caught my eye, visually, is that one of those IF filters is completely covered in a tan- or off-white-colored powder (salt is exactly the description I'd use). It's only one of the three (the G filter), but that one is far more covered in it than the ones in your video. I'd post a picture if there were a way. You mentioned these filters shorting to ground. My question is - would you think there's any way this could explain the power problem? As an aside - the VX-7 handheld also uses Toko filters, and I did see a data sheet that does talk about the need for blocking caps. At the moment I don't have any references but those are a known failure point in that radio and Yaesu's decision not to include that are considered to be the cause. If interested, have a look at pages.cs.wisc.edu/~timc/e/vx7r.html, particularly the footnote from VK3ZGW. Apples and oranges possibly, I just thought I'd mention it. I'm only enough of an engineer to be a danger to polite society.
I' m presently in Thailand for the next 6 months. Without having a schematic in hand I can only offer some suggestions based on other similar failures. Some radios ( I don't know about yours as I do not have access to schematics here) have/had the finals directly connected to the incoming DC Bus and turning off the radio only shut down all the control circuitry. Another common failure is there usually is a protection diode across the incomming DC to protect against reverse polarity, and these can fail shorted. You didn't mention if the radio fuse blew also. I would order a service manual and get out the ohm meter.
@@theradiomechanic9625I appreciate your reply! Does Yaesu sell service manuals to the public? The protection diode makes some sense, since the problem occurs instantly when connecting the unit to power, without even turning it on. Maybe it’s just time to send it to California. Thanks again.
Are you familiar with a problem that happens with the FT-857 display maybe FT-897 too. I have read it described as a zebra display effect. Vertical lines of missing segments. Something to do with the method the LCD display is connected to the board. Have you worked on one with this problem and what was your fix. Thanks, Ken
I have exactly the same issue, except mine is deaf on 2m. Same crystaline buildup on the filters. however, I have a new set, but I don't have the equipment to desolder the old ones and install the new ones. What do you charge for doing this?
Anyone in the plastics industry knows that plastics absorb moisture, some types have to be put through a dehumidifier dryer before they can by processed otherwise it causes issues with appearance and mechanical properties.
Hey, I have the same radio and I believe it has the same issue. Are you still performing these kind of repairs and if so would it be possible for me to ship and pay you for these services?
I just cracked my radio open and nothing is showing on the filters. my radio is a FT-897 (no letter). so might have been made long before this problem happened.
Yaesu never labelled the D radio as a "D". The only difference between the D and the Mk1, was the addition of a filter, which was optional on the Mk1. The D also gave access to an extra set of frequencies only used restrictively in the US.
As Wolfgang (played by Arte Johnson on Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In) used to say "verrrry interesting". I have three Kenwood mobiles that are among the models that allegedly have the IF filter problem. One of my radios is definitely getting deaf, but the others seem to be doing OK. Your explanation about moisture being the problem and not DC bias certainly has some merit. Thanks for the video. BTW, the video title pushed one of my buttons. I've never understood why hams can't spell the name "Yaesu". It's right there on the radio. It's like people who used to sell Cameros in the local trader paper. It's right there on the side of the car--"Camaro". ;)
Great repair video ... question though. my radio has same problem however also no or almost no output on ssb cw and am. was the symptoms here the same as mine?
Likely the same issue. This radio was as deaf as a stump. Two of the filters are am/ssb and one is for F.M. Pretty simple repair and the parts are cheap.
Hi, not sure if anyone is out there to answer this,,,, as for a homebase use radio which i'd use it for being disabled, could anyone tell me if this is a better approach to hf than a icom706mk2g ///////////?????? Thanks
Have you run across an issue with the audio on the FT-897D dropping off? It seems only on 10m.. occasionally, SSB signals (audio and s-meter readings) are greatly diminished. If I key and then unkey the radio, the audio and s-meter readings return to normal. Issue comes and goes.. may be good for 2 minutes, 2 weeks, or 2 months before it happens again. Possibly a filter issue? Radio is ~20 years old and I am the original owner. I see no direct contact method on your RU-vid channel. The radio, otherwise, appears to be fully functional.
Not familiar with that radio. However I am willing to go out on a limb and say that it uses a relay in the T/R changeover. Your symptom is the exact one that occurs when relay contacts begin to age. It may even use relays to switch band filters. Time to get a service manual and start checking the receive path.
You're all wet!!! I am a self-taught-google-university weekend electrical engineer and let me tell you just how wrong you are about filter perspiration! j/k excellent video! I work for a phone company, and I've noticed a few times small puddles of bright green sticky liquid that leaks out of older telco equipment/circuit boards.. always wondered what the hell it was.. and after watching your video I think its related to what you described with those filters.. copper, ceramics, silver and condensate ... thanks for that.
Hello, I have a yaesu FT 897, If it works on HF with USB, LSB, AM Mode the output power is only 4 Watt, but if it works on FM mode the output power is 100 Watt, on VHF and UHF works very well and no problems. I would be very happy if someone gave me an idea.
How is it that an alternative solution to hygroscopic plastic has not been implemented? It seems kinda... pointless...(?)... less-than-ideal...(!)... to replace them with the exact same part. It's a weak-point. It should be IMPROVED. No?
