Hi Group,

I guess I should make a post on the file rather than just upload
it ... This has been uploaded to the FT897 files area as well if it
does not make it here.

softjump.zip contains a simple Win32 program that reads and writes
the software jumper configuration in the EEPROM on an FT817 and FT897.

I would appreciate if anyone with an FT897/FT817 and a CAT interface
can run the program and report:

Their jumper settings in the Rig
The two codes returned by ft.exe
What settings worked for them in opening the Rig.

73 de Peter, VK2JCG.

README.TXT for FT.EXE

ft by Peter May, VK2JCG, vk2jcg@y...

This program uses undocumented CAT commands to read or update the
EEPROM
in the Yaesu FT817 and FT897 Radios. The soft jumper settings are
stored
in location 4 and 5 of the EEPROM. Power the radio off and on to
activate
the new settings. If you do a reset of the radio, you will have to run
this program again to rewrite the values

The program assumes that the radio is connected to COM1: and the CAT
rate
is set to 38400 baud

*** USE AT YOUR OWN RISK ***

FT can be used to set the EEPROM values at address 4 and 5 to any
arbitrary value.
These values are a direct reflection of the hardware jumper settings
used to 'close'
the radio to a particular region/country.

The history of this program derives from having purchased an FT897
from Japan.
The Japanese version of the FT897 is firmware locked so that out of
band transmission
cannot occur. However, the Japanese band allocations also do not
match the Australian
allocations, and this resulted in me having a radio which could not
operate above 146 MHz.

The sad end to this story is that my FT897 needs a new processor; the
jumper settings
do not open the TX range, but they do extend the RX range at least!

I have testing this program on a JA version FT897 and a VK version
FT817. Setting the
EEPROM values to 00 00 on the FT-817 opens it up. The JA version of
the FT897 opens
the RX up with 37 06. These values work for me, they may not work for
you.

How to use it:

First, connect your CAT cable to the computer on port COM1:. Set the
CAT rate on the
radio to 38400 baud. As this was to be a simple project, these values
are hardcoded.

It would be a good idea to make sure your CAT interface is working
using another program
before attempting to use this program!

Unpack the files in the ZIP to a working directory. There is no
install program, and FT.EXE
is run from the DOS or Command prompt.

Note that I have built and tested it on XP, I have nothing else to
try it on. Let me know
if there are any problems. The source code is included if you want to
try and compile it
on another platform.

The code is simple Win32 API - there should be no surprises on other
platforms.

Now, just run FT.EXE without any arguments. This will read the
current EEPROM values from
your radio and display them as such:

ft by Peter May, VK2JCG, vk2jcg@y...

This program uses undocumented CAT commands to read or update
the EEPROM
in the Yaesu FT817 and FT897 Radios. The soft jumper settings
are stored
in location 4 and 5 of the EEPROM. Power the radio off and on
to activate
the new settings. If you do a reset of the radio, you will
have to run
this program again to rewrite the values

The program assumes that the radio is connected to COM1: and
the CAT rate
is set to 38400 baud

*** USE AT YOUR OWN RISK ***

Serial port COM1: successfully reconfigured.

Read current data from EEPROM gives : CE BF

I would strongly recommend that you write down and save the values
given here (in the above, CE BF).

Now, assuming that you know what values you want to put in the
EEPROM. A good source may be the
FT-897 or the FT-817 group on Yahoo! groups (http://groups.yahoo.com)
I am not going to make any
recommendations here. I have posted to this group asking anyone with
an open 'FreeBand' radio
to run the program and report the values. I will update this file as
they are received.

Now, to write new values to the Radio, simply call FT.EXE with the
two hex values:

C:\FT897>ft 00 00
ft by Peter May, VK2JCG, vk2jcg@y...

This program uses undocumented CAT commands to read or update
the EEPROM
in the Yaesu FT817 and FT897 Radios. The soft jumper settings
are stored
in location 4 and 5 of the EEPROM. Power the radio off and on
to activate
the new settings. If you do a reset of the radio, you will
have to run
this program again to rewrite the values

The program assumes that the radio is connected to COM1: and
the CAT rate
is set to 38400 baud

*** USE AT YOUR OWN RISK ***

Serial port COM1: successfully reconfigured.

Read current data from EEPROM gives : CE BF

About to write the values 00 00 to the EEPROM
Are you SURE you want to do this ?
Please answer YES to continue > YES

Sending CAT command: 00 04 00 00 BC to the Radio
Radio response to write command is : 00
Radio accepted write EEPROM command

Reading EEPROM values again:
Read current data from EEPROM gives : 00 00

EEPROM values updated, power off/on radio to activate

Note the prompt that asks if you are sure you want to do this. You
must enter YES in uppercase
or the program will abort and not write anything to the EEPROM.

Now, power off the radio and power it on again. This will cause the
processor to read
the new jumper bytes and the radio will perform as per those settings.

A point to note: If you ever master reset the radio, then the
processor will copy the hardware
jumper settings into the EEPROM. You will have to run the program
again to reset the EEPROM to
what values you want in it.

Another point to note: If your radio reacts badly to the jumper
settings, then a master reset will
copy back the hardware configuration and you should be right to go.

I have tried just about every possible combination with my FT-897 and
have never had an unexpected
result, but that may not be the case for all of you!

EEPROM Values:

The following values work for me. I will update these as people
feedback their values:

FT-817 Australian model: CE BF / 00 00 FreeBand (from VK2JCG)
FT-897 Japanese Domestic: 30 06 / 37 06 FreeBand RX Only
(from VK2JCG)

LICENSE:

Freeware. If you break it, you own both halves. If you use it, please
acknowledge the original author.
If you screw your radio, your problem. There are no restrictions on
distribution or copying,
provided you mention the original author. If you modify/improve the
code, please send a copy back to the
author.

Please send me a copy of your before and after values for inclusion
in this file! Thanks!


Source code is provided, the build environment is MS Visual C++
version 6.0 from the Visual Studio package.