[Yaesu] FT-8500 Seperation kit

[Patrick]

Been on that quest for a while now. :)

There seems to be an outfit in Germany that actually has the kit for sale, 
something over $120 IIRC.  Seems a bit high for a few pieces of plastic and 
some wires.

KE4OAR Chuck sent me the installation instructions for the kit.  It's 
basically a 6-wire connection cable for the head, a connection cable for 
the mic (any 6-wire telephone cord will do), an audio speaker extension 
cable (even Rat Shack has that!) and a plastic tray for mounting the 
head.  Probably less than 10 bucks worth of parts.

The control head cable is only part that can't be easily faked.  The head 
does not offer a lot of room for rigging something especially if you care 
about how it looks.  But the rig offers one way out: the connector on the 
front of the radio body (the row of 6 metal contacts) is basically the same 
as the control extension cable part, complete with bolt holes and nice 
Yaesu logo that you can't see.  It just happens to be mounted on a small 
PCB, easily removed.

So what I am going to do -and your mileage may vary- is take that connector 
off the rig and bolt it to the head.  Then run a six-wire cable of my own 
make down to the rig.  Probably use 9-pin serial cable connectors so it can 
be screwed down.

The plastic mounting tray is not required, not even by Yaesu.  They leave 
the option to use double-stick tape or Velcro. Should work fine.  Unless 
somebody has a way to fabricate plastic parts???

Downsides: this rather dramatically voids the warranty, not to mention 
semi-permanently changing the rig.  You will have to be your own judge on 
whether you want to do that, considering what this will do to resale value 
if that matters to you (it doesn't concern me).  Some future buyers might 
even find value in a hacked YSK-8500, 'cause it's sure not easy to get the 
real thing.

Hope that helps!

73

Patrick
KG4KKN



At 06:16 PM 3/12/2002 +0000, you wrote:
>Does anyone know where I can find a seperation kit from the 8500 or if I 
>can build one. Are the parts available anywhere. I'm in a tight spot, have 
>room for the head but the body needs to be moved. The current location 
>damaged the radio due to heat.
>
>John KC8FPU