The Prog-Rock programs the needed frequencies via a DIP Switch and push button. Each Register can be selected by either pulling one of the three control lines low, or leaving it high. In reality, one shouldn't use more than one frequency per Register due to crosstalk. It's really cool as it sports 9 Registers that can each hold 3 different frequencies. Last year I picked up a device called the Prog-Rock kit from QRP Labs in Turkey. ![]() But crystals are impossible to come by nowadays. There is an internal socket for each band. ![]() The FT-707 can be used Fixed Frequency by the use of Quartz Crystals. Yes, the FT-707 can be drifty, I'll leave it on 24/7. I'm pressing into Data Mode service, mostly FT8. So the FT-707 is back up and working great. Oh, and my speaker is defective, just like the previous reviewers. Finally, the distorted transmit audio was due to a fried, and shorted Tantalum in the PA BIAS C13 - JUST LIKE THE PREVIOUS REVIEWERS FT-707. The defective VOX was due to a broken wire at the VOX GAIN potentiometer. The replacement semiconductors function fine. As for the MOSFET, the original 3SK73 is a Flat Package (HSTM) device, which I didn't have on hand. I used a 2N4416 for the J-310 as I have a few of these left in my parts bin, and have had great success using them to replace obsolete JFETs in my Drake R-7 and TR-7. Both are similar Low Noise, High Dynamic Range, UHF Amplifiers. My Early Version used a Sony 2SK125 at Q07, not the listed J-310. These were Q07 and Q08 and are directly in the Transmit Audio/BM Chain. I replaced a J-310 FET and a 3SK73 Dual Gate MOSFET on the IF Board. The rest of the thruhole components were soldered by a Wave Solder Unit from the factory and not disturbed since. This could've been a Factory Mod as the soldering was done by hand, but quite well. Unusual, several of the listed 1S1555 Silicon Diodes had been replaced with 1N270s - a Germanium Diode. A 1N270 had been soldered in place of the 1S1555 listed in the Service Manual on the AF Board as D01. I replaced about 30 Electrolytic Capacitors on the AF Board. His repair is pretty ugly, with lifted traces sloppily jumpered. Hal had put it back to Amateur Radio use by replacing the 11 Meter Crystals with stock 10 Meter Crystals. Like David's, my Transceiver apparently was also modded by CBers. I'm very grateful to the Review prior to mine, from David Burger, VK2CZ. It's a very early model using quite a few different transistors from those listed in the available Service Manuals. In addition, the VOX Circuit was inoperable during voice operation. ![]() Initially the FT-707 seemed to operate, but after a short period of time using it I discovered that it suffered from terribly distorted audio on both SSB and AM transmit. Prices were pretty reasonable as they were listed as Non-Working, Parts Only. I purchased the FT-707 and a Drake 2B from this person through eBay. A non-radio person had purchased a pallet of radios from the Estate. ![]() The FT-707 was in Hal's inventory at Land, Air Communications. Towards the end of Hal's life, the repairs became sketchy. For many years he performed sterling work. Hal is well known, and has 259 Reviews in the Amateur Radio Equipment Repairs section of these reviews. Hal had put one of his "Land, Air Communications" stickers on the rear of the heatsink. If I've done my homework properly it seems like I could eventually add a stand alone 50 watt Amp in a vehicle or shack setup, while still having the portability of an ht.I picked up a FT-707 from the Estate of Hal Guretzky, K6DPZ. "Figure out ham radio" was on my ongoing to-do list that I updated last December. I'm approaching this from a mindset of emergency preparedness. Coronapocalypse has me mostly hunkered down at home. I don't do a lot of driving or hiking to adventurous destinations. Here's my question: Am I really missing something by choosing this particular ht? It's priced at $155 at ham radio outlet, and I have another $100ish available for accessories. I'm pretty sure I don't need digital capabilities at this point, as I'll have plenty to learn getting started with analog. I have a good buddy who is an electronics engineer and knows how to solder. Two of them are on the roof of a hospital that I can see from my back yard.īackground: I'm a CNC machinist, mechanically inclined and accustomed to tinkering with clunky 1980's CNC machine tool controls. The list of local repeaters seems extensive. I'm an apartment dweller, so I can't put in any large antennae, but I live in a mid size East Coast US city. I have looked over the technician test materials and do not feel intimidated by any of it. I'm thinking of buying a Yeasu Ft60r to get started on 2m/70cm.
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