README.TXT for SOFTJUMP.EXE Version 0.2 SoftJump by Peter May, VK2IT, vk2it@tpg.com.au This program uses undocumented CAT commands to read or update the EEPROM in the Yaesu FT817, FT857, 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 CAT rate is set to 38400 baud *** USE AT YOUR OWN RISK *** SoftJump 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 (JA) 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 F8 BF 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 a COM port. Set the CAT rate on the radio to 38400 baud. As this was to be a simple project, this is 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. **** SoftJump is NOT a DOS application. It must be run from a DOS box under Windows. **** You can get this with Start->MSDOS Prompt or similar, or using Start->Run and **** enter command.com or cmd.exe. Reports from a large number of users confirm that SoftJump works with pretty well all versions of Windows, with the exception of Windows 3.1. Now, just run SOFTJUMP.EXE with a -? as the only argument to display the usage: # softjump -? softjump version 0.2 by Peter May, VK2IT, vk2it@tpg.com.au 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 CAT rate is set to 38400 baud *** USE AT YOUR OWN RISK *** Usage: ft [-#] Reads the current EEPROM values only, does not write anything to the EEPROM ft [-#] Byte1 and byte2 are the two hex values to put into address 4 and address 5 in the EEPROM Optional: -#, use COM port COM# Example: ft 70 06 Writes the values 70 06 to the EEPROM via COM1: ft -2 Reads the current values using COM2: ft -2 F8 BF Writes F8 BF using COM2: Next, you should use softjump with no arguments (except perhaps the COM port specifier) - This will read the current EEPROM values from your radio and display them as such: # softjump softjump version 0.2 by Peter May, VK2IT, vk2it@tpg.com.au 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 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, FT-857 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>softjump 70 06 softjump version 0.2 by Peter May, VK2IT, vk2it@tpg.com.au 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 CAT rate is set to 38400 baud *** USE AT YOUR OWN RISK *** Serial port COM1: successfully reconfigured. Read current data from EEPROM gives : 1D 36 About to write the values 70 06 to the EEPROM Are you SURE you want to do this ? Please answer YES to continue > YES Sending CAT command: 00 04 70 06 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 : 70 06 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: Model Original/New Value FT-817, Non Japanese model: Original CE BF, Use F8 BF for FreeBand FT-897, Japanese Domestic: Original 30 06, use 37 06 for FreeBand RX Only The FT-857 and the FT-897 share the same codes: FT-857/897, Non Japanese model: Original 1D 06, use 70 06 for FreeBand. NOTE: The "original" numbers listed above vary slightly from model to model, but the NEW VALUE codes (F8 BF for an FT-817 and 70 06 for an FT-897 and FT-857) work regardless. The only exception is the Japanese domestic models, which cannot be opened for FreeBand TX. 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. 73 de Peter, VK2IT.