Image: Yaesu FT-80C (Click on images for larger view.)
Several months ago I visited a farmers market stall where I found the above radio that needed a new home. Well it is very unusual to find and amateur radio transceiver at a market stall. For the price advertised I could not leave it standing on the table. The seller had no idea if the radio is still in a working condition or not. Maybe this is where the very low price is coming in. Be as it may if it does not work then I will still get my money back if I sell it as a scrap radio on an amateur radio Swap Shop.
Now one thing I learned from a Elmer is that you do not just plug in the power cable and switch the radio on. I took off all the covers and looked for various signs of "neglect" etc. I also did a "smell test" and checked for an internal fuse. The final result was that the radio was full of dust on the inside and outside but I could not find any traces of "magic smoke" burns or that the radio was "butchered" or being worked on before. Today I will hopefully add some power to the radio but only after I installed a low amperage fuse in the power line. Well I have really nothing to lose here but you never know, I might just have bought a bargain or a complete dud.
The only damage that I could find is the plastic clips that holds the front control panel was broken and that the unit could not be affixed to the main part of the radio. For the interim I used painters tape to secure the panel. I will fix this later if the radio do "come to light". There is no microphone or power lead so I will have to improvise here.
Update to follow once I "fire" up the radio. Fingers crossed that this old workhorse is till in a working condition. The plan is to use it for digital modes. Time will tell!
