I've read conflicting reports on the net about modding the FT-857D. Some say with the new 857Ds (post 2005), the jumper mod no longer works. I've seen guys claim it bricked their radio. Others claim they only had the HF ham bands after the mod (lost VHF/UHF). And I've seen TWO people claim it actually worked.

That part scares me, as these radios aren't new, and there are so few people out there talking about the mod. I'd expect to see 50+ threads discussing the 857D, as there are at least that many I came across discussing the original 857.

Thanks,
H.

To me it isnt worth it.

Could end up getting a person in trouble too.



I bought a radio that was modded and ended up sending it in to get repaired because it

finally died.



YMMV

It is difficult to know for sure what will happen, unless you really need to go out of band it may not be worth the risk.

My IC-706 was modded before I got it, that was mainly for operation on 60m, I never needed to transmit outside the bands until recently when I joined MARS.

Trust me, I know how it is wanting the capabilities to be able to for emergency's, but it may not be worth it in that case.

Your best bet is registering at mods.dk, and seeing what info is posted there.

Did they "Un Mod" the radio?

My FT-7900r was sent back to yaesu because the problem with the receiver, I was expecting them to un mod it, but they left it alone and fixed the actual problem. I was some what surprised.

I dont recall if I told them to or not.

The inability of my radios to work out of band kept me out of trouble when I was first starting this endeavor.

There's plenty of frequencies in the ham bands, no need to go out, even in "emergencies".  Who would you talk to "out of band" anyway?

Best leave it as is.  I will say this, I've turned down some otherwise good deals on radios when I found out they were "opened up".  I won't buy an modded rig.

I did the mod when I first received my new 857D. I don't recall where i came up with it exactly, I think I followed the pics from this thread Here
Along with other text which I can't recall where.

Right or wrong I did the mod. I have no regrets. The only real use to me now for the mod id I currently have it as a
mobile, so I don't have to have another rig for 11 meters. But for the record I have never used it on 11, it is just a option.

The only other interesting use for modding is if you use it to SWL and have an auto tuner then the TX mod is the only way to get it to tune up.

I suppose I would do it again if given the option, if for any other reason than the nagging little voice "what if?"

JB

Do you remember what solder pads yours had? I've seen two variants. Some have a blob of solder on JP1006, and the newest ones do not. My radio was manufactured in 2011. All solder pads are open on mine, except JP1002 and 1001 have an surface mount "0 Ohm resistor"

I appreciate the comments from the others here regarding "who will you talk to'" out of band, or that you'll get yourself in trouble.. True, unless you have a plan, or you transmit wherever/whenever, then yes, you're opening yourself up for trouble.

I look at it this way - its an artificial limitation to control your behavior. You should be disciplined enough to not transmit there under normal circumstances. An old boat anchor doesn't tell you "TX error" when you're out of band.

Remember this question from your tech lincense:

T2C09 (B) [97.403]
When may an amateur station use any means of radio communications at its disposal for
essential communications in connection with immediate safety of human life and
protection of property?
A. Only when FEMA authorizes it by declaring an emergency
B. When normal communications systems are not available
C. Only when RACES authorizes it by declaring an emergency
D. Only when authorized by the local MARS program director

This ham forum is on ar15.com. A forum that has a "be prepared" slant to it. If/when S does HTF, I want the ability to use my rig on FRS, GMRS, MURS, and CB. If a disaster strikes, you never know who you may need to communicate with, and an artificial limitation flashing "TX Error" on my screen when my or my family's lives are on the line is BS.

H.

For 144/430MHz expansion only, remove the jumper at JP1002, leaving the other jumpers alone. For complete expansion per the above listing, place jumpers at JP1007/1008/1009, and remove the jumpers at JP1001/1002/1003/1004/1005 (leave the jumper at JP1006 in place). NOTE THE UNUSUAL SEQUENCE FOR THE NUMBERING.



This was the mod that I used. My rig was manufactured in 2009 per the serial number. It gave me full HF/VHF/UHF coverage. Extreme magnification and a steady hand is very important. This should not be done unless you have the right tools and skill set. You can certainly harm your radio if you don't have the skill to do this.

I did the mod on both my HF radios plus both my 2 meter radio's for the same reason's.

Bottom line is, if you are not prepared to accept the collateral damage to your radio then don't do it!

Even the best doctor loses a patient now and then.

Yeah. That's why I was trying to find out who had modded their radios with success here on this forum. My radio did not have a pre-existing solder blob on JP1006, so it makes me wonder if the mod still applies or not, as my rig was made in 2011, and is much newer than I've been able to find out about online.

H.

Same mod I did. I have two 857's, so not sure of the exact dates off the top of my head.

No problems thus far.

My rig was different than all these.. However, I broke out the soldering iron today, and modified mine like shown on this site: http://www.worldwidedx.com/yaesu/28511-yaesu-yaesu-857d-yaesu-897d-857-897-frequency-modification-expansion.html

That is how my radio looked, before and after the mod. The reset procedure for my radio though was not [home] + power. Mine was [<]+[>]+[V/F]+ power, and that worked. Worked fine into a dummy load. I did lose the automatic repeater offsets, but that's not a big deal. I did lose the 60m memories though. That was kind of annoying, but I can program them back in by hand.

So, if anyone has a really new 857D, that procedure worked for me.

H.

Can you program in and save the repeater offsets with programming software maybe?

Posted Via AR15.Com Mobile

Yes. I bought the FTBasicMMO package, and using it to put my local repeaters back into the radio worked perfectly. As well as the 60m memories, although the radio doesn't make a distinction about a 'special' area for them anymore, and they occupy part of the normal radio memories now.

H.