26Feb01
Cloning or Saving Radio Configurations
There has been a lot of activity on the Bulletin Board lately regarding the ability to save your radio configuration
on a PC file and to be able to restore it later. This would be very handy for the inevitable RESET, and you could
then reload the memories like you had them without having to enter them one at a time.
The FT-847 is capable of cloning itself to another FT-847. See p. 92 in the Operating Manual for how to clone.
Since most of us don't have access to more than one FT-847, or if we did, it's unlikely we would want an identical
setup on both, the cloning feature by itself is not very useful. But the capability to clone, with some clever
decoding, does allow us to "clone" our radio's setup to a PC file instead of another radio. I call the
cloned information a "configuration," or configuration file. It would be a record of all your memory
settings, and likely other setup preferences.
A clone file contains a wide variety of information about the radio it came from. It contains at least the following:
the memory channels 1-78 (including offsets, splits, mode, etc.),
the satellite memory channels (including tags),
the home channels,
the band stacking registers,
the status of the buttons on the front panel (ATT, AGC-F, PROC, MONI, etc.), including DSP buttons, and
the values of all the menu selections.
This means that you can save the "state" of your radio at any particular time and restore it at some
future time. It also means that you can save multiple "states" and have a choice for reloading.
The first step in manipulating a configuration is the ability to save it on disk and then reload it to the radio.
Mitch VE6JTM, Eddy F5EZH, and Gary N5IXI (and others, I expect) have been able to save and reload a configuration.
Eddy F5EZH, has a program called Edit which allows you to 1) read your radio's data, 2)
manipulate the 78 main memory channels, and then 3) reload the edited configuration back to the
FT-847. This neat feature means that you can create different configurations for your FT-847 and then download
whichever one you wanted, a la ADMS software. Click here to read the FAQ on
Available software and where you can get Edit and other software.
Gary also relayed to me his finding that reloading a configuration to the radio requires that both the configuration
file and the radio have the same "country" identity. (Click here to read about
the solder pads and country identity.) What this means is you can only reload a configuration if the radio has
the same country identity. (The "country" is changed by modifying the solder pads on the rig). If you
save a configuration, then you will only be able to successfully reload that configuration to an identical radio.
In this way, the FT-847 is behaving identically to the FT-50R; it rejects configurations that do not match its
identity.
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A moment of panic sometimes arises when the FT-847 appears to be locked into transmit, the control panel is locked, the VFOs don't work, there's no TX audio from your mike, and you might have an "Error" on the display that you can't clear. Do not panic. Yet.
What has happened typically is that you have managed to turn on the PTT for the Data In/Out port, and this control has some strange properties. This happens when you have connected some kind of interface to the rig for, say, PC controlled digital operations like PSK31, RTTY, SSTV, and the like. But not always--read on. Digital interfaces between the rig and the PC must have a way to turn on the PTT when you want to send data. On this rig and others, you must assert PTT via the Data In/Out port if you want to send data via that port. When you use the port to assert PTT, your mike audio is disabled. Conversely, if you press PTT on the mike or use MOX, typically the rig will not pass the TX data coming in the Data In/Out port. The data PTT is often asserted by using one pin of the COMM port, typically the RTS or DTR pin. Much of the digital operations software for the rig uses this method of keying the rig.
When your PC is first turned on, or when a program first runs that uses the COMM port that's connected to your rig, it will often pull the COMM port control pin (typically either RTS or DTR) low. In most interfaces, this will assert PTT via the Data In/Out port on the back of the rig. Usually, this will clear after a few seconds and things will be normal again. If you are having a port conflict or other problem, though, the rig might stay locked into TX mode until you pull the plug from the COMM port or the Data In/Out port. Sometimes a quick press and release of the MOX button will "release" the PTT situation.
This problem doesn't always have to come from the interface. One fella relayed to me that he had accidentally plugged his external speaker into the Data In/Out port and then found that his TX was locked on but he had no TX audio. Something to watch for, since the plugs are the same size.
One other "feature" of this problem (and a good clue) is that your mike audio is cut off. If you key the rig via the Data In/Out port, then the mike audio is disabled (and vice-versa; if you key with PTT, MOX, or the External PTT on the back of the rig, the Data In/Out port is disabled).
29Jan00 Update: Three hams have reported that their mike audio is not disabled when transmitting via the Data In/Out port. Mine is fully disabled. We're still trying to get to the bottom of this. Stay tuned.
Updated 10Jan01
Yaesu appears to use the following format for serial numbers on their amateur products:
Year of manufacture-Month of manufacture-Production Run-Individual Unit number, where the month of manufacture
is offset by 2, so "C" means January, "D" means February, "E" means March, and so
forth.
Example: 8G051234 = 1998, May (fifth month, or "G"), Production Run 05, unit #1234 in this run.
One key serial number range is 8G05. This seems to be the point at which Yaesu had corrected the bi-directional
CAT issue and made some other improvements. This version was made in May 1998. Later serial numbers (e.g.,
8L09nnnn) all seem to have incorporated the earlier improvements plus new ones.
Thanks to Barry W4WB who wrote in with the correct information.
There is an error regarding setting the output power for AM Operations.
Click the link to read about it.
Another error is on p. 90 where the manual discusses op codes. The Receiving Mode Status, accessed by sending 00
00 00 00 E7 to the radio, returns information about the S-meter reading, CTCSS & DCS status, Discriminator
centered or not, and squelch status. The manual refers the reader to "Note 1." Note 1 is labeled "Receiver
Status," but the description of the returned byte is actually for transmit, not receive. The same is true
for the Transmit Mode Status. To make sense out of this, simply "move" the byte explanations from one
Note to the other.
On p. 92, discussing Transceiver-to-Transceiver cloning, the manual says Menu #96 is SEND CLN and that Menu #97
is RCV CLN. This is incorrect; the correct menus are Menu #95 SEND-CLN and Menu #96 RCV CLN. The discussion of
the menu features on 81 and 88 are correct.
12/29/99 Update: There appear to be multiple editions of the Operating Manual. Mine has a code of E11791001 (9803Z-AK). Alan WA4SCA reports that his manual discusses op codes on p. 92 and the cloning information on p. 90, the reverse of mine. Go figure.
Update: If you can receive a repeater on your HT, but can't hit it well enough, then you can set up your FT-847 for what I call "semi-duplex crossband." You have to set up your HT with RX on the repeater output, and TX on another band. Set up the FT-847 to receive on the "another band" and to TX on the repeater input. To do this, the FT-847 must be in satellite mode.
Memory Backup Battery Replacement - New 26Feb01
The FT-847 uses a small button battery to retain the memory and other configuration settings of the rig. Now that the rig has been out for nearly three years (as of Feb01), people are starting to post comments regarding replacing the battery.
The battery is held in by a strap that's soldered to the AF-CTRL board, so to exchange it, you'll have to unsolder the strap. This is close quarters. The battery is a simple CR2016, available from Radio Shack and probably most drug and hardware stores. The service manual shows that the battery lies on top of one of the big ICs on that board, so be careful.
My review of the schematic suggests that, whenever 13.8 volts is supplied to the rig's power jack, a circuit provides the memory backup current, even when the rig's "off." If you remove the power from the rig's power jack (e.g., shutting off the power supply along with the radio or shutting off the radio with the power supply instead of the rig's power switch), then the battery will have to provide the memory backup current.
Perhaps some enterprising ham will, when changing the battery, find a way to put a battery carrier in there so the next replacement could be simply sliding out the old battery and sliding in a new one.
Mobile Mount Information - New 26Feb01
Jason W1WOW, in response to an inquiry about the size of the mobile mount, reported as follows:
"Well, I just went out to the Jeep Cherokee to measure the FT-847 in its factory mobile bracket. I noticed that the FT-847 in its mobile bracket is no wider then the width of the carrying handle and the little "feet" on the other side...(this includes the four screws that hold the mobile bracket on) Its about 10.5 inches..."