Yaesu 857D Quick Manual

Quick Guide to Operating the Yaesu 857D

This Quick Guide to Operating the Yaesu 857-D, through a series of five graduated exercises,
introduces operating the radio, its controls, and builds up confidence with the rig. There are
several references to the 857-D manual that came with the radio, so please have the manual handy
and use it when indicated as part of the exercises.

The Yaesu 857D HF/VHF/UHF 100 Watt transceiver is impressively multi-functional but very
compact. There is not much front panel real estate for knobs and buttons to control the radio.
Therefore many of the knobs and buttons perform multiple functions based on active menus
contained within the radio that interact with the display and control the radio.

One basic concept to keep in mind when operating the radio is that the radio has a VFO mode and
a Memory mode and behaves differently depending on the active mode. In VFO mode the radio is
very responsive to its full command structure. In Memory mode operator control is inhibited - the
radio rightfully assumes that the preset frequencies and operational parameters you have
previously stored in each memory location are to be protected from inadvertent tampering.
Therefore, one of the first controls the new operator needs to learn is the V/M key which toggles
the radio between VFO mode or Memory mode. Again, the radio will be fully responsive to
commands when either VFOa or VFOb is indicated in the upper left of the display instead of a
Mnnn.

Effectively operating the 857-D requires understanding the concept that there are two menu
system structures stacked on top of each other, sort of like a 17-story building stacked on top of a
broad foundation. The broad foundation is the MENU and consists of 91 menu items. I like to
think that when Yaesu first designed the 857D the engineers started with this 91-item base as the
original plan for operator control. They added some responsiveness by allowing you to place a
skip flag on any of the 91 items that might not be used frequently. You can then set Item #1 so that
the items with the skip flag would not be displayed during normal operation.

The designers soon found out they needed even more responsiveness, so they put the A, B, C keys
along the bottom of the display, then added a second menu structure, called the Multi-Function
Menu to assign various functions to these three A, B, C keys. You get to choose from a 17 row
list, as to which row will be assigned to the A, B, C keys. Again Yaesu did this to make the radio
more operationally agile. Some of the functions assigned to the A, B, C, keys do in fact jump to
some of the 91 items in the base MENU. Therefore you have to know how to navigate the
controls for both menu structures.

The base MENU structure of 91 items is entered by pressing and holding the FUNC key for one
second then using the Select Knob to select which of the 91 items to view and/or change. The
other menu structure, the Multi-Function Menu is entered by briefly pressing the FUNC key, then
using the Select Knob to select which of the 17 rows of the multi-function menu to assign to the
A, B, C keys. Both operations sound similar, but there is a profound difference in how they work.
When you have entered the MENU you have all the time in the world to use the Select Knob to
pick one of the 91 items. Conversely, when briefly pressing the FUNC key to enter the Multi
Function Menu, if the Select Knob is left unturned for five seconds, the radio automatically exits

the Multi Function Menu and the Select Knob defaults to its previous state. This automatic exit
can be confusing and frustrating to the new operator. The knowledgeable operator recognizes
what has happened and simply re-presses the FUNC key to re-enter the Multi Function Menu and
continue the selection process.

Embedded in the material on the following pages are lots of hints and tips particularly for
operating HF, so be sure to go through each of the pages. Let me know if the material was helpful

- feedback is appreciated.

Basic Operation of the Yaesu FT-857D Multi-Band Amateur Radio

The purpose of this document is to “learn by doing”. Through a series of simple, graduated tasks
the Ham operator will be introduced to key operating concepts and actually operate the FT-857D.

This radio has a built–in speaker. If you wish to use headphones, the headphone mini-jack is
located on the left side of the radio about ¾ inch in back of the lower left corner of the front panel.
The following instructions expect the radio to have 12V power available, to be connected to
appropriate antennas, and to have MENU item #080 set to SQL, (see Task #4: on how to set this
MENU item).

Task #1

Turn the radio on, place it in VFO mode, move it to the 3.5Mhz HF band, and operate SSB at
3987Khz. This frequency is a National EMCOMM Traffic Service (NETS) frequency.)

1. Turn the volume control down - rotate AF knob and its outer SQL/RF ring full counter­clockwise. (Upr L Fnt Panel)

2. Turn power on – Press & hold Pwr On/Off button one second.(Blue button top R Center of
Fnt Panel)(

Note: Note: The radio returns to the state it was in when turned off.

3. Place in VFO mode – Press the V/M button until VFOa or VFOb shows in lit display (Outer
R Side Base of Main Tuning Knob)

Note: If in memory mode and the tuning knob is touched, the radio will go up a level to

Memory Tuning mode. Therefore you may need to press the V/M button twice to

toggle the display back from MTUNE to M-nnn to VFOx.

4. Move to the 3.5Mhz Band – Press either the Band(Up) or Band(Dwn buttons repeatedly until
Display shows frequency between 3.000 and 4.000.– (Top base of main Tuning Knob)

5. Place in LSB (Lower SideBand) Mode – Press the Mode(<) or Mode(>) buttons repeatedly
until Display shows LSB. (Top L Center of Fnt Panel above display)

6. Adjust the volume control – Rotate the AF knob, (but not its SQL/RF outer ring) clockwise
about ¼ turn – adjust as needed. (Upr L Fnt Panel)

7. Tune to 3987Khz – Rotate Main Tuning Knob until 3.987.00 is in Display.(Large Knob R Fnt
Panel)

Note: Press the Pwr On/Off button briefly to place the large Tuning Knob into Rapid Tuning

Mode with a small running stick-figure showing in the lower Right of the display.

Briefly press the same button again to return to normal tuning. If you plan to operate at
this frequency for some time the tuning knob can be disabled by pressing the Lock
button located below the V/M button on the outer R side of the main tuning knob. The
display will show a small lock in the lower R of the screen. Press the lock button again
to re-enable tuning.) Please try these out now.

8. Turn the Radio Off – Press and hold the Pwr On/Off button for one second.(Blue button top R
Center of Fnt Panel)

Congratulations, you have made an excellent start at learning how the FT-857D operates. Now
quickly build confidence by trying other (NETS) frequencies - LSB at 7232Khz and USB at

14.280Mhz. (Amateur Radio convention for SSB uses LSB below 10Mhz, and USB above.) Also

try listening to WWV, the National Bureau of Standards, broadcasting UTC time on 10Mhz AM.

Task #2:

We learned in Task #1 the basic controls to operate the radio in VFO mode as a simple HF
transceiver. We will learn in Task #2 that operating the FT-857 can be even easier in Memory
mode. Pre-loading a local repeater’s frequency, offset, PL tone, etc. into one of the memory
locations can greatly simplify VHF/UHF operation. HF frequencies/modes can also be pre­loaded.

This task introduces Memory Mode and the use of the Select Knob located at the lower left of the
front panel. Rotating the Select knob in Memory mode selects the memory location you wish to
use.

Turn the radio on and operate it on a local VHF/UHF repeater stored in memory location M-003.
To perform this task the radio should have some local repeaters pre-stored in memory locations
M-001 thru M-003. If not, still perform this task using factory stored 60M channels in memory
locations M-601 thru M-605.

1. Turn the volume control down - rotate AF knob and its outer SQL/RF ring full counter­clockwise.( Upr L Fnt Panel)

2. Turn Pwr On – Press and hold Pwr On/Off button 1one second.(Blue button top R Center of
Fnt Panel)

Note: The radio returns to the state it was in when turned off).

3. Place in Memory mode – Press the V/M button until M-xxx shows in lit display (Outer R Side
Base of Main Tuning Knob)