LDG FT-meter Operating Manual

LDG FT-Meter

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For Yaesu FT-857 and FT-897

Version 1.1

St. Leonard MD 20685-2903 USA

LDG Electronics

1445 Parran Road, PO Box 48

Phone: [phone]

Fax: [phone]

[e-mail]
www.ld

electronics.com

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LDG FT-Meter

For Yaesu FT-857 and FT-897

Table of Contents

Introduction 2
Jumpstart, or “Real hams don’t read manuals!” 3
Specifications 3
Getting to know your FT-Meter 4
Installation 6
Setup 8

Initial Calibration 8

Receive parameter setup 8

Transmit parameter setup 9

Operation 10
Application Notes 10

Base Station Use 10

Mobile Use 10

Other Applications 10

Care and Maintenance 11
Technical Support 11
Warranty and Service 11
Feedback 11

Introduction

Congratulations on selecting the LDG FT-Meter. The FT-Meter provides accurate and precise
readings for a wide range of receive and transmit parameters. While most users will choose S­Meter readings on receive and Power Output on transmit, several other useful readings are
available. The FT-Meter simply plugs into the meter jack of your FT-857 or FT-897 transceiver.
It is highly portable, in keeping with the popularity of these radios for use on Dxpeditions.

LDG pioneered the automatic, wide-range switched-L tuner in 1995. From its laboratories near
the Nation's Capitol, LDG continues to define the state of the art in this field with innovative
automatic tuners and related products for every amateur need.

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Jumpstart, or “Real hams don’t read manuals!”

Ok, but at least read this one section before you transmit:

1. Set up your transceiver for normal operations

2. Plug your FT-Meter into the meter jack using the right angle plug. This is on the bottom of

the front panel, under the FUNC button on the FT-857, and just to the right of the main
tuning knob on the FT-897. Plug the other end of the cable into the FT-Meter.

3. Connect a 12 volt power supply capable of delivering 100 mA to the 2.5 x 5.5 mm

coaxial

power jack (center positive) if desired. The 12 volt connection is for the light only; the meter
will work fine without it.

4. Select the parameters you want to display on receive and transmit from the radio's extended

setup menu (items 60 and 61, respectively)

5. Operate normally; the meter continuously displays the selected values.

Specifications

• S-meter, Discriminator or Voltage on receive

• Power output, SWR, Modulation, ALC or Voltage on transmit

• Externally powered cool blue backlighting

• On/Off switch for backlight.

• Size: 3.5 x 3 x 2 inches

• Sensitive 500 micro-amp meter movement

• Light requires 12 volts at 100 ma, 2.5 x 5.5 mm jack, center positive

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Getting to know your FT-Meter

Your FT-Meter is a quality, precision instrument that will give you many years of outstanding
service; take a few minutes to get to know it.

The front panel presents the meter face with seven calibrated scales:

S: Signal strength on receive, calibrated in "S" units and dB above S9
ALC: Automatic Level Control voltage on transmit (shares S Meter scale)
PWR: Transmitter output power in Watts
SWR: Standing Wave Ratio on transmit
MOD: Percent modulation on transmit
VOLT: Power supply voltage on receive or transmit
DISC: Discriminator reading on receive

You will select two of these scales for display, one for receive mode and one for transmit mode,
from the radio's setup menu. You can change among them as often as you like.

There are no controls on the FT-Meter; operation is fully automatic.

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