KF6YQX

It is quite well worn, probably in need of a new LCD and could use the DTMF module, but the battery seems to work and the CTCSS/PL board is installed. I got it with the 7-15V car adapter/charger and what appears to be a normal 600mAh 7.2v battery (output on full charge is supposedly 2.5w).

Yaesu's page is very vague and mostly useless, presumably since this is an "ancient" and no-longer-marketed radio. You can find some mod info at QRZ's modfiles. Yaesu does still offer the owners manual and service manual at reasonable prices (call or fax their parts department for current pricing and availability), and I've ordered both.

I've been "hacking" this radio in the sense that I don't have the manual (yet) and want to do stuff with it, so I've been searching the web and usenet, pushing random buttons and hoping, and making some lucky guesses. The info I find will make its way to this page, and hopefully other FT-23R users can benefit and/or contribute to this page. My manuals should arrive this week, so I'll double-check the info then. If you have useful hints or corrections, please email them to me at kf6yqx at qsl.net.

• "hardware" details
• My first discovery: If you have the car adapter module installed, the radio expects power from the car adapter cord, NOT the battery. It won't power up this way even if the battery is charged. Remove the car adapter module, or plug in a DC power supply (I used a 500mA 6VDC wart from some speakers to charge the battery).
• An alkaline dry cell pack is a good addition. This should set you back $20-25 new, as opposed to $50-75 for the NiCd. I use Renewal rechargable alkalines in my battery packs, so I get rechargability without NiCd/NiMH (which the inserts in these dry cell packs seem to recommend against). The price is about $1.50 per AA and a charger can be had for $10.
• I use a J-Pole antenna when at home, and a SMA rubber duck with BNC adapter while portable. Yeah, it sounds backwards, but it works for me.
• If you don't know if you have the tone encode option installed, look behind the metal plate in the bottom of the transceiver portion after you remove the battery. There should be a half-inch by 1-inch PCB with a small harness connector on it, nestled into the battery contact "tray" but not really connected to it. See below for how to use it.
• "software" details
• To change the frequency delta from 5KHz to 10KHz or back, use [F]+[REV] (REV is marked STEP).
• To move up 1000KHz (1MHz), use [F]+[UP] or [F]+[DOWN] (up and down arrow keys).
• To store a memory location, set your settings as desired and then press [F]+[D/MR]. Use the arrow keys or the dial to choose a memory location. Then press [D/MR] to store it. Beware, there's a timeout on this command, so if you stop to reread this page the function key mode will clear.
• To switch between memory mode and normal mode, press [D/MR].
• Remember to use the low power push switch on the top when you can.
• To set the encode frequency, press [F]+[T] (marked [T SET]) and use dial or arrows to choose the frequency. [T] will store that setting and take you out of setting mode. To enable encode, press [T] alone. There seem to be two modes, plus OFF. My LCD isn't showing the second mode, but I guess it's ENC, ENC+DEC, OFF.
• To set repeater offset, press [RPT] to scroll through +, -, and off.
• To get weird repeater offsets, check out this Deja.com message: Re: Yaesu FT23R HT?

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