In article ,
wa7kgx wrote:

The air checks are available at http:www.omen.com/waykgx/ham.html

For some reason I couldn't post the sound files to the newsgroup with PAN.

WA7KGX-

Some news servers do not accept files.

I saw your comments on the eHam net forum.

I have a list of several problems with my FT-991, including the
defective AM. There are some things I like about the radio, so I prefer
to get it repaired rather than getting a refund.

The reason AM power is set to 25 Watts, is that the radio is only
capable of 100 Watts. One hundred Watts is the peak power of a 100
percent modulated 25 Watt AM signal. The FT-991 Po meter should kick
from 25 Watts to nearly 100 watts on voice peaks. Mine kicks downward
instead.

If you can not get a refund, I suggest you also take the "repair"
approach. There is no reason the radio should not produce an acceptable
AM signal. It almost certainly is misaligned, and can be corrected. If
Yaesu can not correct the problem by alignment, then they should replace
the defective module.

With regard to your other comment about listening to a repeater's input
frequency, you can easily do that with the REV function. You will
notice that it changes the memory contents, so you must press the REV a
second time to return to normal frequencies.

That is one of my minor gripes about the radio, that some functions
directly affect memory, rather than a "working copy" of the memory.

73,
Fred
K4DII

On Fri, 13 Feb 2015 01:30:16 -0500, Fred McKenzie wrote:

In article ,
wa7kgx wrote:

The air checks are available at http:www.omen.com/waykgx/ham.html

For some reason I couldn't post the sound files to the newsgroup with
PAN.

WA7KGX-

Some news servers do not accept files.

I saw your comments on the eHam net forum.

I have a list of several problems with my FT-991, including the
defective AM. There are some things I like about the radio, so I prefer
to get it repaired rather than getting a refund.

The reason AM power is set to 25 Watts, is that the radio is only
capable of 100 Watts. One hundred Watts is the peak power of a 100
percent modulated 25 Watt AM signal. The FT-991 Po meter should kick
from 25 Watts to nearly 100 watts on voice peaks. Mine kicks downward
instead.

If you can not get a refund, I suggest you also take the "repair"
approach. There is no reason the radio should not produce an acceptable
AM signal. It almost certainly is misaligned, and can be corrected. If
Yaesu can not correct the problem by alignment, then they should replace
the defective module.

With regard to your other comment about listening to a repeater's input
frequency, you can easily do that with the REV function. You will
notice that it changes the memory contents, so you must press the REV a
second time to return to normal frequencies.

That is one of my minor gripes about the radio, that some functions
directly affect memory, rather than a "working copy" of the memory.

73,
Fred K4DII

First time I tried using REV: set fm repeater 145.29 rpt - offset.
REV made a sound but did nothing.

Did a full processor reset, same result.
Then on a hunch I set repeater offset to + and voila! REV works.

This is one buggy radio.

On Fri, 13 Feb 2015 02:30:57 -0600, wa7kgx wrote:

On Fri, 13 Feb 2015 01:30:16 -0500, Fred McKenzie wrote:

In article ,
wa7kgx wrote:

The air checks are available at http:www.omen.com/waykgx/ham.html

For some reason I couldn't post the sound files to the newsgroup with
PAN.

WA7KGX-

Some news servers do not accept files.

I saw your comments on the eHam net forum.

I have a list of several problems with my FT-991, including the
defective AM. There are some things I like about the radio, so I
prefer to get it repaired rather than getting a refund.

The reason AM power is set to 25 Watts, is that the radio is only
capable of 100 Watts. One hundred Watts is the peak power of a 100
percent modulated 25 Watt AM signal. The FT-991 Po meter should kick
from 25 Watts to nearly 100 watts on voice peaks. Mine kicks downward
instead.

If you can not get a refund, I suggest you also take the "repair"
approach. There is no reason the radio should not produce an
acceptable AM signal. It almost certainly is misaligned, and can be
corrected. If Yaesu can not correct the problem by alignment, then
they should replace the defective module.

With regard to your other comment about listening to a repeater's input
frequency, you can easily do that with the REV function. You will
notice that it changes the memory contents, so you must press the REV a
second time to return to normal frequencies.

That is one of my minor gripes about the radio, that some functions
directly affect memory, rather than a "working copy" of the memory.

73,
Fred K4DII

First time I tried using REV: set fm repeater 145.29 rpt - offset.
REV made a sound but did nothing.

Did a full processor reset, same result.
Then on a hunch I set repeater offset to + and voila! REV works.

This is one buggy radio.
Yaesu have posted firmware updates to the FT-991 as well as the CAT codes.

In article ,
wa7kgx wrote:

Yaesu have posted firmware updates to the FT-991 as well as the CAT codes.

I updated my FT-991 yesterday and spent most of today re-entering
channel data lost in the reset.

There are two separate updates, one called "Main" and one called "DSP".
Each has its own updater program. The Main update went smoothly but the
DSP updater needed some help.

It seems that Yaesu's "enhanced" USB driver installed as COM14 on my
computer, but the DSP updater can only handle COM ports 1 through 10.
It took some research to learn how to change COM14 to COM1. After
making that change, the DSP update went smoothly.

I do not know what all was changed, but did notice that the AM mode is
working differently. Instead of kicking downward during modulation, the
Po meter barely wiggles. It does kick downward slightly with the
microphone gain turned up high. I hear some distortion on a local
receiver, but it may be due to overload. Looking at a PEP wattmeter, I
would guess that modulation percentage might be around 70 or 80 percent.
A scope might tell a different story.

73,
Fred
K4DII

On Friday, February 27, 2015 at 7:09:51 PM UTC-5, Fred McKenzie wrote:
In article ,
wa7kgx wrote:

Yaesu have posted firmware updates to the FT-991 as well as the CAT codes.

I updated my FT-991 yesterday and spent most of today re-entering
channel data lost in the reset.

There are two separate updates, one called "Main" and one called "DSP".
Each has its own updater program. The Main update went smoothly but the
DSP updater needed some help.

It seems that Yaesu's "enhanced" USB driver installed as COM14 on my
computer, but the DSP updater can only handle COM ports 1 through 10.
It took some research to learn how to change COM14 to COM1. After
making that change, the DSP update went smoothly.

I do not know what all was changed, but did notice that the AM mode is
working differently. Instead of kicking downward during modulation, the
Po meter barely wiggles. It does kick downward slightly with the
microphone gain turned up high. I hear some distortion on a local
receiver, but it may be due to overload. Looking at a PEP wattmeter, I
would guess that modulation percentage might be around 70 or 80 percent.
A scope might tell a different story.

73,
Fred
K4DII

hey dave on am do you know what the power output should be mine only does 20 watts on am

If the 991 is like other Yaesu rigs, you will need to inject a voltage into the ALC port on the back using a battery and a pot. See W8JI's excellent page on this very topic at http://www.w8ji.com/amplitude_modulation.htm

You may also have to set the carrier in that mode using a menu item in a manner simlilarly as the 897.

It seems a LOT of solid state rigs do this (ie downward modulate).

GOTO to the Foxtango Group on Yahoo for more inflammation.

Philip KA4KOE

In article ,
wrote:

On Friday, February 27, 2015 at 7:09:51 PM UTC-5, Fred McKenzie wrote:
In article ,
wa7kgx wrote:

Yaesu have posted firmware updates to the FT-991 as well as the CAT
codes.

I updated my FT-991 yesterday and spent most of today re-entering
channel data lost in the reset.

There are two separate updates, one called "Main" and one called "DSP".
Each has its own updater program. The Main update went smoothly but the
DSP updater needed some help.

It seems that Yaesu's "enhanced" USB driver installed as COM14 on my
computer, but the DSP updater can only handle COM ports 1 through 10.
It took some research to learn how to change COM14 to COM1. After
making that change, the DSP update went smoothly.

I do not know what all was changed, but did notice that the AM mode is
working differently. Instead of kicking downward during modulation, the
Po meter barely wiggles. It does kick downward slightly with the
microphone gain turned up high. I hear some distortion on a local
receiver, but it may be due to overload. Looking at a PEP wattmeter, I
would guess that modulation percentage might be around 70 or 80 percent.
A scope might tell a different story.

73,
Fred
K4DII

hey dave on am do you know what the power output should be mine only does 20
watts on am

W2MGF and Philip-

The above is either a mis-quote or a mis-statement on my part. I do not
recall posting that the FT-991 AM modulation was that high. I think it
is around 10 percent at most, but my Icom radio has 70 or 80 percent AM
modulation by comparison.

Philip's link to W8JI's AM report seems to describe the FT-991's AM
operation exactly. The problem with his solution is that the FT-991
does not allow you to run the AM power level up beyond about 40 Watts,
so applying a DC level to the ALC terminal would not buy you much. You
could try setting the power level to its maximum and use the ALC to
reduce power to a quarter of that. You might then have a rather low
power but well modulated AM signal!

I recently updated the FT-991 firmware to the July 24, 2015, version.
The update fixed some minor problems, but did not affect AM operation as
far as I can tell.

Fred
K4DII

In article ,
Fred McKenzie wrote:

I recently updated the FT-991 firmware to the July 24, 2015, version.
The update fixed some minor problems, but did not affect AM operation as
far as I can tell.

A new update to the FT-991 "Main" firmware was posted on August 17. The
only obvious improvement was the addition of another GPS option. I can
not tell any difference in AM operation.

One thing I did notice, was an occasional event where the radio stops
responding to its controls. One way to correct it is to cycle power.
Another is to keep trying different controls until you find one that
does something. Afterward, the others seem to start working again. I
suspect the problem may be time related, and it would start working
again if I just waited a minute or two!

Fred
K4DII