On Thu, 09 Oct 2003 02:42:55 GMT, Carl R. Stevenson wrote:
Just wondering how many folks here have had a catastrophic
failure of the finals in their FT-817 - with no reason (no
over-voltage, high SWR, or other abuse).


- not yet! and at $550, i bought one for a backup...

I'm getting the impression from some snooping on the
Yahoo group that there have been a LOT of FT-817
final failures - perhaps either a design flaw or a bad
batch of transistors.

- possible, but consider the number of units in the field
and the number with failed finals - miniscule return,
(although if it happens to you, then it's awful)...

I've sent mine back to Yaesu, with a letter telling them
what I've found and that I expect them to make it right,
because even though the radio is slightly past the 1 year
warranty, it was NOT abused and there seems to be
a pattern of these failures.

- you can repair it yourself for $50 by ordering the finals
PCB...

- more disturbing however, is the report of one user that
Yaesu blamed his unit's failure on an internal trace break
on the main board - impossible to accomplish unless one
takes the board out for a manual flex or, more likely,
a manufacturing flaw...

Just curious how many folks here have had the same
failure ...

- there's a yahoo group named blownfinalsFT-817 ... you can
get a better idea there? the FT817 group is getting tired
of blown final reports... (not something i agree with, mind
you)

- here's the ordering info for the final PCB:

Yaesu Parts Department number: 714-827-7600, extension 2500
Part name is "FT817 Final Unit"
Part number is CB1333001
Price is $43.88 each

- w/S/H via UPS it works out to about $50...

- hope this helps!
Carl - wk3c