Clint,

I thought that the FT-817'a front and rear antenna jacks could only be switched from the default config out of the box ...

FRONT - 50mHZ, 2M, and 440 REAR - HF work

... and vice versa using Menu Item 7.

But is that Menu Item more sophisticated than that? Someone just wrote me, indicating that they could make the front jack 2M and the rear 440 - by choosing Menu 7 while working 440, and selecting "REAR." Then work 2M, and select Menu Item 7, and choose "FRONT."

I've never had to split it like that, using a diplexer with my sat beams.

Can that be done?

Yes, it can. Just as you describe above, you can select the antenna socket for each of the 3 non-HF bands, and all of the HF bands are covered by a single selection through that menu option.

Keep in mind that you will see slightly higher power consumption when using the rear (SO-239) antenna socket than with the front (BNC) antenna socket. The 817s use a relay to switch between the two ports, and the default (unpowered) setting with the relay is for the front socket. The relay must remain powered when the rear socket is selected. In my opinion, this is a minor design flaw, but one that Yaesu has not changed since the original 817s from over 10 years ago.

For my operating, using a pair of 817s for SSB/CW satellite work, I use the front antenna sockets on my 817s to ensure I'm not drawing more power than necessary to use these radios. I stay with the front sockets when I use these radios on other bands for the same reason as I do on the satellites.

73!

Patrick WD9EWK/VA7EWK http://www.wd9ewk.net/