Yaesu FT857D All Mode (DC to light) Transciever
In September of 2009 I decided to go HF Mobiling! Looking over the various radios available, I selected the Yaesu FT857D because of it's size, capabilities, overall cost to setup and the fact I have been happy so far with all my Yaesu radios, 4 total at this time.
I really like the remote head feature and that figured heavily into the decision.
Here is a shot of the head installation. The FT8900 head is also mounted in this shot. Normally the FT8900 stays on the desk at home as a base station, though the mounting is left in the car in case I plan to use it.
Here is the mounting of the main unit back in the trunk area. The unit has some stick on rubber feet and rides on a platform with some foam to keep it from rattling against the mounting. Not shown is the RF ground strapping or splitter for the HF and 6 Meter antennas. The cover to the well is a modified cover with a light cloth to allow ventilation but reduce the dust inlet.
One modification I have made to the radio is to purchase the touch pad encoder microphone. The only thing so far that vexes me is the fact it is extremely easy to roll the tuning control wheel on the side of the mic.
Here's how I handled that problem.
Some 1/2 round styrene strip from the local ACE Hardware is solvent welded into place.
The strips are rounded on the end to make the mic comfortable to use.
Here's a shot of the finished guards. You still have the control of the wheel, you just can't do it without a conscience effort.