As soon as the radio arrived I powered it up on 13.8V. It became clear it had more problems that those previously listed. After some searching on the web, it seemed that this radio had symptoms of being hit with excessive supply voltage and damage to the control board. I was able to get the battery pack to charge, although it is an inexpensive aftermarket pack and the capacity seems not great. The radio showed signs of being worked on in the past. Some case screws were missing and the cover for the PA unit was missing.
I could get it to receive, but as soon as I tried to change the frequency via the tuning dial or select know, the S-meter would go full scale with no audio output. Changing mode or band would correct the problem. I tested changing frequency with a USB CAT cable and had the same problem of losing the receive. After a while of fiddling, I discovered I could program frequencies into memory and rotate through the memories with no problem. I decided to proceed.
The volume knob was badly bent and the squelch control couldn't rotate past a certain point.
I ordered a replacement VR-unit from Yaesu.
I also ordered the belt hooks and some extra screws so I could make a neck strap for it.
REF. Description Vertex Std P/N
------------------------------------------------------------
BR006120B FT-817 VR UNIT CB1359001
BINDING HEAD SCREW M2.6x5B U20205007
BELT HOOK RA0276400
The knobs slide off with gentle pulling and I removed the retaining nut with a pair of Waldes Truarc retaining ring pliers.
It was somewhat of a pain to remove the old pin header from the damaged VR unit.
I desoldered as much as I could with braid and flux.
I then used the soldering iron tip to gradually
and successively push each pin back through the board.
And finally pushed a closed pair of SMD tweezers between the board and plastic while heating the through holes to pry it off.
It would be easier to just replace the potentiometer, but I don't know if that part is available separate from the little PCB it is mounted on.
Reassembled front panel is shown below. Potentiometer tab rests in a notch on the inside of plastic face plate.
Gently tighten retaining nut to snug. Knobs slide back on.
FUSE/VARISTOR 2.3A 50V ROHM ICP-S2.3TN Surface Mount J-Lead ICP-S2.3 - 5 PiecesI removed the blown fuse with a pair of inexpensive hot tweezers from circuit specialists and cleaned the pads.
I can only get power to stay on if I put the power plug in just the right spot -- usually turned all the way to the right.
Ordered replacement connector from Yaesu.
REF. Description Vertex Std P/N ------------------------------------------------------------ J1017 CONNECTOR (Power) P0091072I started to look more closely at the board to see how hard it was going to be to replace.
I decided to reflow this pad with a little fresh solder.
Even with a fine tip iron it was hard to reach and I accidentally created a little solder bridge between another component which I had to gently clear away.
However, the repair was successful and I have a steady power connection now.
Kept the replacement parts for future use.