OBSERVATIONS
FROM
THE
YAESU FT200, AKA HENRY TEMPO-1, AKA FT250
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The FT200 in silver.
Well, I’ve
gone and dunnit!
I was perusing EBAY and saw some nice old radios for sale One was a
Collins
radio (in indeterminate condition and minus the PSU) and another was the Yaesu FT200.
Now, these
radios are getting on a bit, and more so the Collins. I decided to ‘body-swerve’ the Collins
because I know there will be lots of bidders and concentrated on the FT200.
Despite almost 800 ‘looks’ at this item by others, I managed to secure it for
£100, a good price for the radio, mic, speaker/PSU,
manuals and the original boxes!! The
advert says it is in good cosmetic condition with only a small chip near the
meter. Not bad for a 30+ year old radio.
In among the photos was one of the radio driving a dummy load & power
meter. It was sold as working but with
no guarantees (perfectly normal given the usual efforts of Parcelfarce
to trash stuff in transit).
The FT200
was a long running radio, variously sold as the FT200, FT250, Henry tempo One, Sommerkamp and so on over a ten year period. That’s a long time by any standards. I
believe it was sold as a cheaper alternative to the popular FT-101. They come in black, silver, grey and what
have you with a plethora of ‘badges’ attached, but underneath, they are all the
same radio.
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A HENRY TEMPO ONE in BLACK GLOSS ENAMEL |
The radio
uses valves throughout most of the circuitry with the exception of some of the
oscillators (including the VFO) and the 9V regulated supply. The external
PSU/Speaker unit makes for a bit more space and a little less heat in the radio’s
cabinet although all those hot bottles should certainly help keep the shack
warm. The radio uses the common 12BY7A
driver and a pair of 6JS6C’s in the PA. The only hard to find
spare for this radio is the 7360 balanced modulator valve. I notice that the 7360 currently sells for
£20 in the
Since I
already own a set of Yaesu ‘Twins’, I have a few
spare 12BY7A’s and some 6JS6C’s put away for a rainy day. I’ll also collect a full set of replacement
bottles for the remainder of the radio.
The seller
says he will post the radio to me today.
I must admit that I’m even more excited about this purchase of some
thirty year old kit than I was when I ordered my brand new FT-817ND.
There’s something
very satisfying for me at least in using valve technology. I already own a RACAL RA117 valve radio, my
pride and joy, and I’m REALLY looking forward to having more valve gear in the
shack. Not many transistor rigs can keep
your shack warm in winter! I like the
uncluttered front panels , great ergonomics, and the
generally excellent performance that most of these old radios can provide. They
are also relatively easy to work on, provided you can work safely with the high
voltages involved. I also much prefer most VFO type radios to synthesized ones. It’s
just a personal thing. I’m a sucker for ancient technology. Some of it was VERY good indeed, and
especially stuff made by the British RACAL company.
Such kit
can usually be found very cheaply and with a little work, can perform really
well for the cash-strapped radio-amateur.
Of course, the downside is that you have to understand how these things
operate and how to repair them because faults in 30-60 year old gear are
inevitable. If you don’t mind fixing the odd problem as well as operating, then
maybe ‘boat-anchor’ type radios would suit you.
I’m lucky enough to have a good electronics repair background so these
things come as a welcome challenge (however minor) for me.
When this
radio arrives, hopefully in the next day or so, I’ll check it over before I
strip the cover off and vacuum it out and clean all the switches and pots. I’ll fix up anything that needs doing and it’ll
be added to the collection. I don’t expect any surprises but anything that may
be wrong should be easily fixed. I’m
promised the original operating manual and I’ve already downloaded, printed and
bound every scrap of information I’ve been able to find for the FT200.
73 Al.
GM1SXX