[Yaesu] Yaesu FT-980 issues

Tue Mar 2 00:31:21 EST 2010

Hello Brian,
I have 2 FT980s - one of which I've owned from new in the mid-80s and the other I bought for spares some time ago. 
One of the rigs has the symptoms that you describe as regards a 'travelling birdie' scampering across the band just after switch-on. I've not got to the bottom of it and have learned to live with it. I initially thought that it was something un-locking as an oscillator did get temperature sensitive at one stage. As the shack got warmer, the rig started to misbehave. A prod around with a can of freezer spray taught it some manners and a capacitor was changed out if my memory serves me well.
I had originally thought that the CPU board had a 'watch battery' mounted on it that may well be of a lower voltage than it used to be. However, searching for it proved me wrong - dodgy memory again! However, the two AA bateries in the little holder beneath the flap under the rig can also cause some symptoms of distress on the scrolling display when they are running low.
I changed-out a handful of capacitors some years ago within the oscillator section which removed the warm-up drift at switch-on. It's a Yaesu modification from years back and well worth doing. I'm also looking at the roofing filter modification that is on the Net - I've got the hardware ready to go but haven't got around to installing anything as yet.
Over the last few years, I've noticed that some solder joints become a bit brittle, as well as some of the wire wrapping too. I had one of the meters apparently die on me last year but a quick sniff around inside showed that a wire had come away from the multi-way switch for the meter on the front panel. I've no idea as to why the wire let go like that as the rig hadn't been moved....
Hope you get the old girl fixed - she sure is worth the effort!
73,
Phil Smeaton
VK4BAA
---- Brian Harris <cosmophone at yahoo.com> wrote: 
> I have an FT-980 with two minor problems.  I am curious to know if these are common, well known problems and, if so, does anyone know the causes and if there are any factory recommended modifications that address them.  I am an experienced BSEE engineer and electronic technician so feel free to cut loose with high tech answers.
>> Problem #1 - Lately, more often than not, when I turn the rig off and let it sit for awhile before turning it back on, it will come on in the General Coverage mode rather than the Amateur Mode, when the rig was in the Amateur Mode when it was turned off.  Perhaps there is a battery backed up RAM that's losing its memory due to a worn out battery?  To my knowledge, if there is a backup battery in the rig, it has never been changed.
>> Problem #2 - Once in awhile, when I have turned the rig on from being cold, after a few minutes I will hear a wandering birdie sweep through the IF passband.  This usually happens only once and this happens with and without an antenna connected, so it's not coming in from the outside world.  While this birdie is not a shop stopper, I would like to correct it if possible.
>> Thanks for reading,
>> Brian Harris, WA5UEK
>> phone 214-763-5977
>> email cosmophone at yahoo.com
>> website www.myhamshack.com/wa5uek
>>>> When they call the roll in the Senate, the Senators do not know whether to answer "present" or "not guilty." Theodore Roosevelt
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