August 2003 QST Product Reviews and Short Takes
Contents
1. Product Review and Short Takes from QST Magazine August 2003 Product Reviews Yaesu FT 857 MF HF VHE UHEF Transceiver ICOM IC R5 Hand held Receiver Short Takes Mix W Copyright 2003 by the American Radio Relay League Inc All rights reserved PRODUCT REVIEW Yaesu FT 857 MF HF VHF UHF Transceiver Reviewed by Rich Arland K7SZ QST Contributing Editor When I was asked to do a review of the new Yaesu FT 857 transceiver I thought What timing I had been look ing at both the FT 857 and its bigger brother the FT 897 for several weeks trying to decide which one to buy Out of the box the first thing I had to tackle was mounting the front panel to the main portion of the radio Thumbing through the manual I found on page seven exactly how to do that The detach able front panel has become an industry standard with small mobile transceivers In order to remote the control head you need to purchase the optional YSK 857 Separation Kit It is very handy to be able to bury the main box of the radio under a seat or in the trunk in a mobile installa tion and have just the small front panel control head mounted on the dash It s a convenient space saving idea with the added benefit of being easily concealed when you leave the vehicle On the surface the newest addition to the Yaesu HF portable transceiver line looks a lot like an FT 817 on steroids That is where the similarities end frequency m2. 1 for the complete test results Quirks and Annoyances No rig is perfect and the FT 857 is no exception Here are a few thoughts on how Yaesu could improve the package A set of laminated plastic cards listing the 91 different menu system items and the 17 different multi function options would be useful as a field guide Having a set of small readily available cheat sheets would make life a whole lot easier on the user and save valuable space and weight by not having to carry the entire manual around Then there is the dc power cord which ought to be redesigned Many manufac turers use no 10 or 12 AWG red black zip cord for dc power cabling Yaesu decided to use separate red black wires with a plug on one end and in line fuse ICOM IC R5 Hand held Receiver Reviewed by Brennan Price N4QX Assistant Technical Editor The past few years have seen the introduction of a number of hand held receivers Some have more fea tures than others and buyers have a wide range of options to choose from A few of the more sophisti cated models even have the ability to receive the most popular Amateur Radio HF operating modes single sideband and CW Some amateurs findcarrying a comprehensive hand held receiver useful While many transceivers have multiple watch functions and multiple VFOs some times they are poor substitutes for a completely separate receiver As a result a number of amateur manu facturers have added hand he
3. 6 5 MHz 0 32 uV 5 118 MHz 0 2 uV 118 247 MHz 0 18 uV 247 330 MHz 0 2 uV 330 470 MHz 0 18 uV 470 1000 MHz 0 28 uV 1000 1310 MHz 0 35 uV FM wide sensitivity 12 dB SINAD 76 108 MHz 0 89 uV 175 222 MHz 0 71 uV 470 770 MHz 1 0 uV FM adjacent channel rejection Not specified Measured in the ARRL Lab Receive as specified As specified 0 15 A max volume no signal tested at 6 0 V dc AM test signal modulated 30 with a 1 kHz tone 10 dB S N N 1 0 MHz 1 1 uV 3 8 MHz 0 58 uV 53 MHz 0 4 uV 120 MHz 0 46 uV 146 MHz 0 41 uV 440 MHz 0 6 uV FM narrow 12 dB SINAD 29 MHz 0 17 uV 52 MHz 0 14 uV 146 MHz 0 15 uV 222 MHz 0 14 uV 440 MHz 0 2 uV 906 MHz 0 23 uV 1270 MHz 0 28 uV FM wide 12 dB SINAD 100 MHz 0 84 uV 20 kHz channel spacing 29 MHz 56 dB 52 MHz 57 dB FM two tone third order IMD dynamic range Not specified Squelch sensitivity threshold Not specified Audio output 0 1 W at 10 THD into 8 Q IF audio response Not specified Spurious and Image rejection Not specified 146 MHz 51 dB 222 MHz 49 dB 440 MHz 53 dB 906 MHz 57 dB 1270 MHz 49 dB 20 kHz channel spacing 29 MHz 48 dB 52 MHz 49 dB 146 MHz 47 dB 222 MHz 50 dB 440 MHz 47 dB 906 MHz 55 dB 1270 MHz 49 dB 10 MHz channel spacing 52 MHz 57 dB 146 MHz 69 dB 440 MHz 59 dB At threshold FM 29 MHz 0 34 uV 52 MHz 0 38 uV 146 MHz 0 34 uV 222 MHz 0 38 uV 440 MH
4. Finally the FT 857 has a Priority Channel scan mode whereby the priority channel memory channel M 001 is periodically checked with the transceiver in the VFO or Memory mode Once activity on M 001 is detected the transceiver will pause on the priority channel The CAT s Out of the Bag Yaesu s CAT System provides a method of controlling various aspects of the FT 857 via your computer By using third party software packages like contest logging software your computer can communicate with the FT 857 without any redundant operator intervention making contesting areal pleasure In order to use the CAT System you ll need the optional CT 62 cable which interfaces your computer s RS 232 port to the CAT Lin ear jack on the rear apron of the FT 857 From August 2003 QST ARRL Figure 3 Worst case CW keying waveform for the FT 857 showing the first two dits using external keying Equivalent keying speed is approximately 60 wpm The upper trace is the actual key closure the lower trace is the RF envelope Horizontal divisions are 10 ms The transmitter was being operated at 100 W output at 14 2 MHz ference Level 60 dBc Hz rtical Scale dBc Hz 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 Frequency Sweep 2 to 22 kHz from Carrier Figure 4 Worst case spectral display of the FT 857 transmitter output during composite noi
5. From August 2003 QST ARRL S MW button again The receiver makes efficient use of the limited controls it has Listening to the R5 is pleasant The prominent speaker cranks out 0 125 W at 8 THD into 8 Q according to ARRL Lab test results The sensitivity measurements meet and in some cases exceed what one would expect from a handheld receiver in this price class and the dynamic range measurements are about as expected All VHF and UHF stations that I expected to hear from my location were indeed heard by the R5 and I was pleasantly surprised with its HF performance See Table 2 for the ARRL Lab s measurements The R5 comes with a SMA threaded rubber duck antenna Of course such an antenna is ideal for use at higher VHF and UHF frequencies Only the strongest meduimwave and shortwave stations can be adequately detected by this antenna but shortwave listeners know that a substan tial external antenna is imperative for re ceivers even hand helds Nevertheless I received Hartford area AM broadcast ers and even transmissions from Radio Canada International s Sackville New Brunswick facility with no difficulty The IC R5 is a solid offering easily re ceiving strong broadcast signals and rap idly scanning standard or user designated band segments Its portability and price are attractive and hams unwilling or not need ing to spend the money for additional modes may find the R5 a useful accessory Manufac
6. System requirements Pentium 166 or faster PC running Windows 98 ME NT 2000 or XP with a 16 bit SoundBlaster compatible sound card bs WHBIMY Current log mbat 2 log klix lis dt cce Uptere vem ferfeurs io Ela ln a ets iena hh le Bie Bye aad zZ k zdle Drei aitine to han hi tht a uill say 73 you gi U Y ale Ine p and will be Le X KING for ou again here on ithe frendly node WRSHCZ iE BUTE sk sk lit Frea SFT EF zl i i ej B Wy F x P Wnh Sp 6S H Fa EL FEUL C2200 32 03 11 e T E E Figure 2 WA9HCZ and K5WTA enjoying a Hellschreiber QSO JSF Steve Ford WB8IMY QST Editor sford arrl org From August 2003 QST ARRL
7. more MixW will function as a voice keyer for contest operating It can grab spots from your local DXcluster via packet radio or the Internet MixW will even monitor and decode the NCDXF IARU CW propagation beacons your PC needs to have a very accurate clock for this function to work properly On the Air with Mixw After two months I am still exploring the features of MixW but what I ve seen so far is impressive With the selectable wa terfall spectrum and tuning displays MixW is quite easy to op SS LIL Ual E Stl f k al_tsi Ta PES x trv Ww Perae 33 JJ Zoe ft AEA famosas San fear a Try 40001 O22 2 33 TESTED a SRP RSE SAU UY dee TD T A A jo Dig 980 774 Lag Your niece vias raceives vacy viell nave desn Wa ter wo Het wan aw y pic Pic 157x2C4cGrso I hope vou veceryed sy pic cx Walter 2m0 Wauler PYT du ULL FAQTCH pse ka kna tr pas BES E aS otis eee ae uh E eh CAC 1 4 p 5 CE a00 23 99 LC e 22820 a 4 j Q aE MEE Dura lagi Figure 1 PA WCH sends a picture of himself while making an MFSK16 contact with PY7MG erate regardless of mode Even digital modes as notoriously dif ficult to tune as HF packet and MFSK16 yielded quickly to MixW Speaking of MFSK16 one of the new aspects of this mode is the ability to send images at any time during a QSO The practice is controversial among US amateurs because depend ing on how you interpret Part 97 transmis
8. scanning can be performed in VFO and memory modes United States television audio fre quencies and weather frequencies are preprogrammed and have special displays Both the input and the output of an Ama teur Radio repeater or any other repeater can be monitored through the receiver s duplex operation feature Briefly this is accomplished by setting the offset en abling duplex mode and pressing the SQL button to monitor the repeater input di rectly The actual procedure for setting the offset and turning the duplex mode on is somewhat convoluted there are eight steps of button pushing and DIAL turning between the setting of the output fre quency and when the input frequency can be monitored at the touch of a button Also of interest to amateurs is the R5 s ability to detect and decode CTCSS tones and DCS codes Particularly useful is the manual s fre quency table which lists the audio frequen cies for television channels in the United From August 2003 QST ARRL LELY ICOM IC R5 serial number 0601263 Manufacturer s Claimed Specifications Frequency coverage Receive 0 15 822 851 867 896 1310 MHZ Modes of operation FM WFM AM Power requirements 0 17 A max audio 6 V de Size HWD 3 4x2 3x1 1 inches weight 6 5 ounces AM sensitivity 10 dB S N 0 5 5 MHz 1 3 uV 5 30 MHz 0 71 uV 118 136 MHz 222 247 MHz 0 56 uV 247 330 MHz 0 71 uV FM narrow sensitivity 12 dB SINAD 1
9. 0 51 uV For 12 dB SINAD Preamp off Preamp on 29 MHz 0 51 uV 0 26 uV 52 MHz 0 35 uV 0 18 uV 146 MHz see note 2 0 19 uV 440 MHz see note 2 0 21 uV Blocking dynamic range 500 Hz filter Spacing 20 kHz 5 kHz Preamp off on Preamp off on 3 5 MHz 109 106 dB 94 90 dB 14 MHz 109 105 dB 94 88 dB 50 MHz 108 102 dB 88 86 dB 144 MHz note 2 102 dB note 2 83 dB 432 MHz note 2 96 dB note 2 79 dB Two tone third order IMD dynamic range 500 Hz filter Spacing 20 kHz 5 kHz Preamp off on Preamp off on 3 5 MHz 88 88 dB 67 66 dB 14 MHz 87 86 dB 66 65 dB 50 MHz 88 85 dB 67 65 dB 144 MHz note 2 83 dB note 2 63 dB 432 MHz note 2 84 dB note 2 64 dB Spacing 20 kHz 5 kHz Preamp off on Preamp off on 3 5 MHz 9 2 1 7dBm 18 25 dBm 14MHz 4 1 5 4 dBm 23 31 dBm 50 MHz 0 1 7 1 dBm 25 33 dBm 144 MHz note 2 8 8 dBm note 2 37 dBm 432 MHz note 2 6 9 dBm note 2 34 dBm Preamp off 69 dBm preamp on 66 dBm modes along with CTCSS information The regular memory storage area is where you would also load any special net emergency frequencies split frequencies for DX op eration as well as any nonstandard repeater splits Any frequency stored in one of the 200 memory slots can also be tagged alpha numerically to aid in identification From August 2003 QST ARRL The FT 857 incorporates the Smart Search feature from Yaesu s VHF UHF mobiles In this mode the rig searches above your current operating frequency and lo
10. cates any active frequencies stor ing them in one of the 50 Smart Search memories These memories are consid ered soft memories because any stored information will be lost if you initiate a subsequent Smart Search or go into the VFO mode The traveling ham can make great use of this feature to locate repeat ers while driving Can See Clearly Now The FT 857 also incorporates a Spec FM adjacent channel rejection Not specified FM two tone third order IMD dynamic range Not specified S meter sensitivity Not specified Squelch sensitivity SSB 1 8 30 MHz lt 2 5 uV 50 54 MHz lt 1 uV 144 148 420 450 MHz lt 0 5 uV FM 28 30 MHz lt 0 32 uV 50 54 144 148 430 450 MHz lt 0 16 uV Receiver audio output 2 5 W at 10 THD into 4 Q IF audio response Not specified IF rejection 60 dB image rejection 1 8 30 50 54 MHz 70 dB 144 148 4380 450 MHz 60 GB Transmitter Power output HF and 50 MHz SSB CW FM 100 W AM 25 W carrier 144 MHz SSB CW FM 50 W AM 12 5 W carrier 430 MHz SSB CW FM 20 W AM 5 W carrier Spurious signal and harmonic suppression gt 50 dB on HF gt 60 dB on VHF and UHF SSB carrier suppression gt 40 dB Undesired sideband suppression gt 50 dB Third order intermodulation distortion IMD products Not specified CW keyer speed range Not specified CW keying characteristics Not specified Transmit receive turn around time PTT release to 50 a
11. d Specifications Frequency coverage Receive 0 1 56 76 108 118 164 420 470 MHz transmit 1 8 2 3 5 4 7 7 3 10 1 10 15 14 14 35 18 068 18 168 21 21 45 24 89 24 99 28 29 7 50 54 144 148 430 450 MHZ Power requirement Receive 1 0 A transmit 22 A 100 W output Modes of operation SSB CW AM FM Receiver SSB CW sensitivity bandwidth not specified 10 dB S N 1 8 30 MHz lt 0 2 uV 50 54 MHz lt 0 13 uV 144 148 430 450 MHz lt 0 13 uV AM sensitivity 10 dB S N 0 1 1 8 MHz lt 32 uV 1 8 30 MHz lt 2 uV 50 54 MHz lt 1 uV 144 148 4380 450 MHz not specified FM sensitivity 12 dB SINAD 28 30 MHz lt 0 5 uV 50 54 144 148 430 450 MHz lt 0 2 uV Blocking dynamic range Not specified Two tone third order IMD dynamic range Not specified Third order intercept Not specified Second order intercept Not specified Receive and transmit as specified Receive 0 6 A transmit 16 A Tested at 13 8 V As specified Receiver Dynamic Testing Noise floor MDS 500 Hz filter Preamp off Preamp on 1 0 MHz 127dBm 134 dBm 3 5 MHz 130 dBm 136 dBm 14 MHz 132 dBm 137 dBm 50 MHz 136 dBm 140 dBm 144 MHz see note 2 140 dBm 432 MHz see note 2 140 dBm 10 dB S N N 1 kHz tone 30 modulation Preamp off Preamp on 1 0 MHz 1 9uV 0 91 uV 3 8 MHz 1 6 uV 0 72 uV 50 MHz 0 97 uV 0 48 uV 120 MHz see note 2 0 41 uV 144 MHz see note 2 0 42 uV 432 MHz see note 2
12. de with the IF shift off This makes easy work of getting ex actly on the transmitting station s fre quency This is great for those of us who lack perfect pitch In addition when the radio is in the FM mode this indicator will glow blue when you are receiving a signal with a CTCSS DCS encoded tone that matches the one to which your trans ceiver is set Nice touch The ability to load up to three canned messages for instant reply via a single press of one of the three Multi Function buttons Ply1 Ply2 Ply3 in multi function menu MFo is a great feature You can thus configure the keyer as a contest keyer al though it won t handle serial numbers reducing the number of boxes you have to drag along when operating portable or mobile CW DXing using the IF shift and Clari fier RIT controls on the FT 857 proved to be quite pleasant The combination of these two features and the 500 Hz Collins mechanical filter enabled me to snag a couple of new countries in the middle of large pileups Split operation is a breeze using the dual VFOs on the FT 857 The DX can run but they can t hide Receiver performance is similar to but slightly degraded from Yaesu s FT 897 model reviewed in the May 2003 issue of OST As arule dynamic range block ing and third order IMD were slightly worse However the third order and sec ond order intercept points improved slightly from the 857 s bulkier older brother See Table
13. igh 1 W low HF 53 dB 50 MHz 61 dB 144 MHz 62 dB 430 MHz 63 GB Meets FCC requirements for spectral purity 53 dB 56 dB See Figures 1 and 2 4to 59 WPM See Figure 3 S9 signal 12 ms SSB 21 ms FM 15 ms Unit is suitable for use on AMTOR See Figures 4 and 5 146 MHz Receiver BER at 12 dB SINAD 2 8x10 3 BER at 16 dB SINAD 1 4x10 BER at 50 dBm lt 1 0x10 transmitter BER at 12 dB SINAD 7 7x107 BER at 12 dB SINAD 30 dB lt 1 0x10 440 MHz Receiver BER at 12 dB SINAD 3 3x10 BER at 16 dB SINAD 1 5x10 BER at 50 dBm lt 1 0x10 transmitter BER at 12 dB SINAD 8 3x10 BER at 12 dB SINAD 30 dB lt 1 0x10 Note Unless otherwise noted all dynamic range measurements are taken at the ARRL Lab standard spacing of 20 kHz Measurement was noise limited at the value indicated Receive sensitivity is reduced below 350 kHz 2IPO not available above 56 MHz trum Scope Monitor that actually allows you to see activity above and below your operating frequency much like a spectrum analyzer This feature is active in the VFO and memory modes When activated the Spectrum Scope Monitor displays relative signal strength on the LCD on frequencies immediately adja cent to your operating frequency in vari ous frequency increments that are selected based upon the mode in use This feature is nice for keeping track of action during contests and to pinpoint activity on a g
14. ise 2 to 22 kHz from the carrier DX watering holes and simplex or re peater sub bands making it a lot easier to navigate through the memory maze On air testing with the FT 857 provided me with many hours of fun on the QRP bands and some serious DXing using higher power on the low end of 20 meters Our local ARES group is quite active offering three weekly nets on two local repeaters I used the 857 to check into sev eral of these nets and to work some folks via local 2 meter and 70 centimeter repeaters I received great audio reports on both SSB and FM using the factory default settings CW operation provided a couple of twists The FT 857 does not feature full break in QSK keying or anything real ly close to it The T R switchover is ad justable from 3000 ms down to 30 ms but even at that the CW keying is not full break in In addition the T R relay yes the FT 857 uses a relay to switch between transmit and receive chatters like mad at speed So I adjusted the T R changeover to around 300 ms which delays the trans mitter between characters at 15 WPM and higher This seems to provide the best trade off between a chattering relay and receiver recovery time One very nice feature is the TX BUSY indicator just to the left of the main tun ing knob This indicator glows green when the squelch is open red during transmit and bright blue when the incom ing signal is zero beat with the IF pass band in the CW mo
15. iven band Several scanning options are available on the FT 857 In the VFO mode the trans ceiver will scan either above or below the VFO frequency whichever you select stopping on active frequencies In the memory mode the transceiver will scan through the memory channels and halt on an active frequency In addition you can program the rig to skip selected memory channels In the Programmable Memory From August 2003 QST ARRL Reference Level 0 dB PEP 2 0 2 Frequency Offset kHz Figure 1 Worst case spectral display of the FT 857 transmitter during two tone intermodulation distortion IMD testing on MF and HF The worst case third order product is approximately 25 dB below PEP output and the worst case fifth order product is down approximately 40 dB The transmitter was being operated at 100 W PEP output at 1 85 MHz Reference Level 0 dB PEP 2 2 Frequency Offset kHz Figure 2 Worst case spectral display of the FT 857 transmitter during two tone intermodulation distortion IMD testing on VHF and UHF The worst case third order product is approximately 25 dB below PEP output and the worst case fifth order product is down approximately 35 dB The transmitter was being operated at 100 W PEP output at 50 2 MHz Scan mode the transceiver will scan between user prescribed limits
16. ld re ceivers to their lines ICOM s latest offering is the IC R5 About the size of its latest multiband hand held receiver the IC T90A the R5 is not among the CW and single sideband capable models Nevertheless at its size and price it is an impressive ma chine scanning and sounding AM narrowband FM and broad cast FM signals with speed and ease From the AM broadcast band through the shortwaves and into the VHF and UHF amateur aviation and public service bands the IC R5 offers comprehensive coverage from 150 kHz to 1300 MHz cellular fre quencies excluded The first impression of the radio is It s all speaker Merely seven front panel keys all on top of the speaker and below the LCD and the 10 character LCD readout two side panel keys anda DIAL constitute the user s interface with the radio The user s manual does a cred ible job explaining their function how ever and I found the limited controls easy to use All tuning is done through the DIAL with each click executing a band specific tuning step Large steps of 1 MHz are accomplished by holding the F side button while clicking the DIAL The R5 comes with two Ni Cd size AA batteries and a plug in wall charger The initial charging routine is a little tricky and not nearly as intuitive as loading the batteries and plugging in the charger A quick read of the manual is advisable The BAND key toggles quency band
17. lexity of the FT 857 and the multitude of menus needed to configure the radio to your par ticular operating style The manual is chock full of pertinent information It will take you a while to assimilate the entire manual so plan on doing a lot of reading and sub sequent playing with the radio The Learning Curve Getting comfortable with the controls on the FT 857 requires a bit of a learning curve especially if you are not used to working with smaller radios utilizing lay ered menus A total of 14 buttons control most of the radio s features The FT 857 uses multi layered menus accessed by the function F button Since I had owned the FT 817 for over a year the controls and menus on the FT 857 were almost intuitive Press and release the F button and you go into the multi function display a series of 17 menus controlled by the three MF buttons directly below the LCD display These are adjustments and parameters for some of the most used features of the radio Bottom Line The FT 857 offers 100 Wina very compact package Think of it as the FT 897 for your car Many of these multi function selections are merely toggles that switch specific fea tures on and off These are the settings you may want to change on the fly Examples are CW SSB filter selection A B VFO selection split frequency operation memory storage speech processor on off keyer memory playback preamp on off attenuator and noise blanke
18. ode coverage and menu access not with standing The 857 offers a fully adjust able output from 5 to 100 W on 1 8 through 29 7 MHz plus 6 meters Power out on 2 meters is 50 W and power out on 70 centi meters is 20 W The rig can operate on voice CW or data modes The package is about twice the size and three times the weight of the FT 817 so while it may be suited for a mobile or base station envi ronment it might be a little on the heavy side for the backpacker when combined with the added weight of a battery antenna and accessories Yaesu offers three filter options the YF 122S a 2 3 kHz SSB filter the YF 122C 500 Hz CW filter and the YF 122CN a 300 Hz CW filter The transceiver will accommodate two of these optional filters and the installation instructions are outlined on page 120 of the manual Filter call up is accomplished by using the Multi Function MF n menu The FT 857 is a nice compact pack age measuring 2 0x6 1x9 2 inches HWD and weighing 4 6 pounds The frequency agility of this rig is amazing The receiver covers 100 kHz to 56 MHz 76 108 MHz 118 164 MHz and 420 470 MHz The user can listen to interna tional shortwave broadcasts commercial AM and FM outlets VHF aeronautical stations public safety stations and nearly all the ham bands from 160 meters through 70 centimeters only 222 MHz coverage is excluded The 128 page operating manual is quite well laid out considering the comp
19. r on off and CTCSS tone encode decode Various dis play options such as Spectrum Scope Monitor enable LCD display size and metering assignment Power SWR ALC S are also selected through the multi function keys Press and hold the F button to enter the menu system which controls a wide vari ety of the performance aspects and oper ating characteristics of the FT 857 This is where you configure the radio to work the way you want it to Menu items include RF power output selection keyer setup CW Phone parameters display color and brightness mic gain repeater shift keyer speed CW pitch and the like There are 91 menu options available Each of these is briefly explained in a matrix whichis a lifesaver when you are trying to remem ber all the nuances of this tiny radio The FT 857 is loaded with memories The QMB Quick Memory Bank is used to quickly store a frequency you might want to recall in a hurry You can load any frequency held in the QMB into one of the 200 regular memory slots at any time While in QMB you can change fre quencies emulating the VFO mode and you can also change the operating mode The main memory bank is composed of 200 memory slots that can be used to store your favorite operating frequencies and Brennan Price N4QX Assistant Technical Editor n4qx arrl org From August 2003 QST ARRL LEL Yaesu FT 857 serial number 30020019 Measured in the ARRL Lab Manufacturer s Claime
20. s each with a Bottom Line ICOM s IC R5 is tiny inexpensive and simple and it s a nice station accessory for amateurs looking for these qualities holders on the other Unless you remove the fuse holders or lop off the plug that mates to the radio there is no practical way to run this power cord inside a ve hicle Yaesu should use zip cord and provide the fuse holders for the user to install after the power cabling has been run in the vehicle Affordable and Portable Would I buy this radio In a heartbeat The FT 857 is a very capable rig designed with the mobile portable ham radio op erator in mind The folks at Yaesu have done their homework and given us a rig that offers outstanding performance with 100 W of RF in a very small package Yaesu designers have taken up the chal lenge to improve on their tremendously successful FT 817 and the result is the FT 857 Well done Yaesu Manufacturer Vertex Standard USA 10900 Walker St Cypress CA 90630 tel 714 827 7600 www vxstdusa com Price 849 95 distinct and adjustable tuning step The DIAL controls frequency selection while the A and WV keys control volume level from the 0 1 W speaker A thousand stan dard memory channels are available and may be assigned to any of 18 memory banks Twenty five pairs of band edge memories can delineate frequently scanned band segments such as the 145 1 145 5 MHz 2 meter repeater seg ment Both manual tuning and
21. se testing on MF and HF Power output is 100 W at 14 02 MHz The carrier off the left edge of the plot is not shown This plot shows composite transmitted noise 2 to 22 kHz from the carrier This optional cable performs level con version for proper serial port to radio op eration Yaesu does not produce any CAT software but there are several sources on the Internet On Air Operations Reading the manual perusing the specifications and dissecting the Lab test results is fine but this only tells part of the story You can have a rig with out standing specs but if you are not com fortable using it you re not going to be satisfied and you are not going to have any fun with the radio Thankfully the FT 857 is a dream rig to use One operational feature I really like is the ability to set the LCD screen color to change when you change bands band segments and or modes This means you can select different colors for FM SSB DATA and AM or color code band segments like QRP calling frequencies ference Level 60 dBc Hz rtical Scale dBc Hz 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 Frequency Sweep 2 to 22 kHz from Carrier Figure 5 Worst case spectral display of the FT 857 transmitter output during composite noise testing on VHF and UHF Power output is 20 W at 432 02 MHz The carrier off the left edge of the plot is not shown This plot shows composite transmitted no
22. sions with image content may be illegal within the so called CW digital subbands which is why traditional analog SSTV QSOs are conducted in the phone portions of the bands I have already seen a num ber of these image added MFSK16 QSOs taking place MixW automates the process in a clever way If you are copying text and the operator suddenly begins sending an image MixW automatically opens a tiny window displays the picture see Figure 1 and then returns to the text mode PSK31 operation with MixW was a joy You can bookmark stations in the tuning display and even scan for signals through out the passband The tuning indicator analyzes signal charac teristics and provides RST reports on the fly a handy feature MixW did a fine job copying RTTY Its performance might fall a little short of the highly praised MMTTY software but it is close Visual modes such as SSTV and Hellschreiber worked very well Hellschreiber was particularly fun with MixW See Figure 2 As with all amateur software I found that perfor mance in the CW mode is most reliable with perfect fists and strong signals Conclusion To experience MixW with minimal investment download and test drive the fully functional 15 day version You can download it from Jim Jaffe WA2VOS at www nvbb net jaffejim MixWpage htm or from the MixW site at www mixw net The registered version will set you back 50 which is not bad at all for such a highly capable application
23. turer ICOM America 2380 116th Ave NE Bellevue WA 98004 tel 425 454 8155 fax 425 454 1509 www icomamerica com Price 199 95 Iers SHORT TAKES Is it possible to discuss a multifaceted piece of software in a single OST page MixW Windows is essentially one stop shop ping for Amateur Radio digital operating It s difficult to do justice to the Swiss Army Knife of digital software in less than 800 words What Can t It Do Assuming you own a sound card equipped Windows PC and an appropriate sound card interface MixW gives you the abil ity to send and receive RTTY CW PSK31 Hellschreiber MFSK16 FSK31 PSK63 Throb MT63 SSTV packet HF and VHF and AMTOR You can also receive PACTOR I and fax with MixW MixW will talk to your transceiver if it is CAT compat ible which many are these days This means you can manipu late your rig from within MixW With software such as PCAnywhere you can even do this remotely MixW can also interface with your antenna rotator MixW incorporates a sophisticated logging program that includes a contest mode with configurations for a number of popular digital contests When you click on a call sign in the receive window MixW enters the call into the log and displays the country information according to the prefix MixW will export to ADIF and Cabrillo formats And yes it prints QSLs and QSL labels As they say in the TV commercials Wait There s
24. udio output Not specified Receive transmit turnaround time tx delay Not specified Composite transmitted noise Not specified Bit error rate BER 9600 baud Not specified Size height width depth 2 0x6 1x9 2 inches weight 4 6 pounds 20 kHz channel spacing preamp on 29 MHz 65 dB 52 MHz 65 dB 146 MHz 65 dB 440 MHz 64 dB 20 kHz channel spacing preamp on 29 MHz 64 dB 52 MHz 63 dB 146 MHz 61 dB 440 MHz 59 dB 10 MHz channel spacing preamp on 52 MHz 88 dB 146 MHz 87 dB 440 MHz 83 dB S9 signal at 14 2 MHz preamp off 17 uV preamp on 6 6 uV 52 MHz preamp off 14 uV preamp on 5 3 uV 146 MHz preamp on 4 0 uV 432 MHz preamp on 2 6 uV At threshold preamp on SSB 14 MHz 1 7 uV FM 29 MHz 0 15 uV 52 MHz 0 09 uV 146 MHz 0 1 uV 440 MHz 0 11 uV 4 0 W at 10 THD into 4 Q Range at 6 dB points bandwidth CW 500 Hz filter 386 972 Hz 586 Hz USB 234 2864 Hz 2630 Hz LSB 286 2816 Hz 2530 Hz AM 140 2530 Hz 2390 Hz First IF rejection 14 MHz 124 dB 50 MHz 98 dB 144 MHz 118 dB 432 MHz 129 dB image rejection 14 MHz 100 dB 50 MHz 86 dB 144 MHz 99 dB 432 MHz 72 cB Transmitter Dynamic Testing HF and 50 MHz CW SSB FM typically 102 W high 3 W low AM typically 20 W high 1 W low 144 MHz CW SSB FM typically 51 W high 3 5 W low AM typically 12 W high 1 5 W low 430 MHz CW SSB FM typically 19 W high 2 W low AM typically 5 W h
25. z 0 38 uV 906 MHz 0 8 uV 1270 MHz 1 1 uV 0 125 W at 8 THD into 8 Q Range at 6 dB points bandwidth AM 306 3562 Hz 3256 Hz IF 29 MHz 75 dB 52 MHz 31 dB 144 MHz 71 dB 222 MHz 21 dB 440 MHz 53 dB 906 MHz 61 dB 1270 MHz 59 dB Image 29 MHz 56 dB 52 MHz 53 dB 146 MHz 99 dB 222 MHz 43 dB 440 MHz 74 dB 906 MHz 33 dB 1270 MHz 9 dB Except as noted all dynamic range measurements were taken using the ARRL Lab standard spacing of 20 kHz Measurement was noise limited at the value indicated Sensitivity degrades slightly below 500 kHz 2Volume control is stepped the next higher step produced 14 THD States and other parts of the world The 68 United States channels are programmed into a special band at the factory but the table is a terrific ready reference for travel abroad The table also includes widely used frequencies in the Aviation General Mo bile Family Radio and Business Radio Services Programming and scanning is quite easy In fact the two can be combined through an automatic memory write function which can store up to 200 active frequencies au tomatically as a band is scanned This is useful when you visit a place without a fre quency list or repeater directory handy Pro gramming a frequency into a standard memory channel is as simple as tuning the frequency in the VFO pressing the S MW button for one second selecting the memory channel number and pressing the
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