Grab-and-Go FT-857D Radio Kit

A Yaesu FT-857D and an LDG YT-100 tuner, packed together in a rugged case so the whole radio side of a portable station is one handle to grab.

A tan Apache 2800 hard case with a carry handle and two latches, sitting on a cutting mat in front of a ham radio workbench — The kit closed up: an Apache 2800 case, ready to go

This is a radio-only kit: the radio, the tuner, the mic and the cables live in one case, and the antenna and power come along separately. When I want to operate away from the shack, I pick up the case and go. It's not a build so much as a tidy way to pack gear that fits nicely, which is why it's here under Projects instead of getting a page of its own.

The case is an Apache 2800, sold at Harbor Freight. It has a watertight seal, latches on both ends and a carry handle, and the lid has egg-crate foam that keeps everything from rattling.

FT-857DYaesu HF / VHF / UHF radio

YT-100LDG automatic tuner

Apache 2800Harbor Freight hard case

What's inside

The open case with a Yaesu FT-857D lying on its side, red and black power leads coiled beside it, and a black coiled microphone cord next to the case — The FT-857D by itself, with its power leads coiled beside it

The open case with the black LDG YT-100 tuner beside the radio, with the microphone, two red-sleeved coax jumpers and the power leads tucked around them — With the YT-100 tuner added: the mic, the two coax jumpers and the power leads fit around them

Yaesu FT-857D, the compact all-mode HF, VHF and UHF radio, with an integrated baling-wire stand that lifts the front so the display and buttons tilt up toward me
LDG YT-100, an automatic antenna tuner made for the FT-857 / FT-897 family
The hand microphone and its coiled cord
Two short coax jumpers (PL-259 on the ends) between the radio and the tuner
The 12 V power leads, held in a bundle with a hook-and-loop strap

How I use it

There's no antenna and no battery in the case, on purpose. I pick the antenna to suit where I am and what I want to work:

my Buddipole portable dipole
the Chameleon Tactical Delta Loop
the Yaesu ATAS-120 screwdriver antenna

Power is usually the orange DIY Power Station, but the kit isn't tied to it: any 12 V source will do. The fused Powerpole block is handy for sharing that power out.

Links

My DIY Power Station Fused Powerpole Block My antennas