VE6AB Portable Ops
Rock Bound Ops
I have to say, I enjoy operating a portable HF station from the back-country, as its a whole lot of fun!
It was a fun day with the bands in good condition allowing me to make numerous contacts on 17 and 40 meters with my Yaesu FT-897D equipped with the 2 optional NiMH battery packs 13 VDC 4500 mAH located in the battery compartment at the bottom of the transceiver.
I love this very compact all-mode rig that has the look and build of a military transceiver that you would expect to see being used on the battlefield for tactical communications.
I like the fact that it has its own self-contained batteries making this rig very portable, yet it is capable of decent power out at 20 watts on internal batteries.
If more power is required, a external power source like my compact 30 caliber power-can will kick it up to 100 watts out if required.
Its a rare day that the bands are that poor that I cannot make contacts with the radio running on its internal batteries with 20 watts out, and besides the rig will run for hours on its two internal batteries.
I should mention if your not familiar with the FT-897D, that only one battery of the two that resides in the battery compartment is used at one time.
When the first battery is depleted, a flip of the battery selector switch located in the top lid of the rig allows you to switch to the second battery.
The front of the rig indicates which battery you are operating on, the A or the B battery.
Another plus is the fact that when the 897 is being run on the internal batteries, the current required to operate this rig at 20 watts through the internal battery circuitry is less than if the rig is connected to an external battery, and this is so even when the 897 is set for 20 watts out on external power.
For some reason not many hams who own the FT-D897D are aware of this fact, as most hams with this rig did not purchase the optional battery packs with charger.
The charger allows for charging from either a 12 volt or 110 volt source.
So all in all this is a very desirable self-contained rig if you want to operate from the back-country or on field day.
I will not be parting with this rig anytime soon as Yaesu recently discontinued the FT-897D, and no other Amateur Radio Manufacturer builds a transceiver that is capable of running on internal batteries with a military type build such as that of the FT-897D.
I can see this very desirable transceiver with its ruggedized build and internal battery capability holding its value for years to come.
Click on the photo for a closer look....
