Yaesu FT-2900R TX Mod (MARS MOD)

To make a long story short, I decided to use the Yeasu FT-7900R in the Jeep. It's compact, and will work fine for what we do with Miss Rubi.

So, I needed a radio for Cactus Red. Decided to go back to a basic 2M. I don't use 70C at all since the local IRLP node disappeared. I'd had a FT-2800 in the past, and found it to be a rugged radio. It was also easily modified for out of band transmission, a feature I require for use as a Best in the Desert volunteer. I did some reading AFTER buying the new radio , and found out it was different than the older model. The new radio requires that a solder bead be removed to open up the transmitter.

This shows the location of the bead and what is required. I was a little nervous about sticking a soldering iron in a new radio, especially when you need a magnifying glass to even see the bead! I stuck the hot iron on it, and the bead went away...

Figured I'd go ahead and reassemble the rig and test it, and all is well.

So, I'm back on the air with a new rig and a 1/2 wave Larsen 150 trimmed to the 146.46 range. SWR is 1.5, so I should be good to go.


http://www.worldwidedx.com/yaesu/44185-yaesu-ft-2900r-frequency-modification-mars-mod.html