Nothing fancy here, folks
Just a quick rundown on the accessories I have for my Yaesu FT-818.
One good thing about a radio that been around for a while, is, there will usually be a few options for accessories for them. Both from the OEM and aftermarket sources. This is certainly the case for the 818.
I'm not ashamed to admit, that the ability to accessorize the 818 paid a role in me getting the radio. I like the option to add items to the rig that will make the rig a little more suited for my applications.
Here are the links
Just incase you landed on this post for links to the items I covered in the YouTube video, here you go. Please keep in mind, this is just what I got. There many be other options out there that would be better for you and your needs / wants.
Antenna Port Dust Cover (Amazon Affiliate)
Windcamp Power Pole Adaptor (Amazon Affiliate)
Couldn't find the SSB filter in stock while typing this. Just search DX Engineering, Gigaparts, etc. for availability.
Most nice haves, but some are needed
At least in my opinion. Overall the radio is just fine as is out of the box. However, I do feel some of the add ons that I added on are needed for my uses.
First and foremost I think the side rails are a must have for portable radio use. The rails on my FT-891 have saved the day on at least one occasion, when I knocked the radio off a table and onto a cement patio. Protecting the knobs and connectors are a concern for me while out in the field and a quality pair of rails goes a long way to help keep my expensive rigs in one working piece.
Surprise Winner
Things don't alway go a you expect. When I ordered my 818 and the first round of accessories, I figured the above mentioned rails would be the most important (and my favorite) upgrade. It turns out an upgrade I did not purchase right away, or even planned on buying won the prize for most important.
While I was impressed by other reviews of the Wind Camp replacement battery. I counted it out as a nice to have, but not needed upgrade. With the price, it initially was put in the "not needed" bucket for me.
Reasoning was I will be using an external battery with 818, so the stock Yaesu internal battery would be just fine for me as a backup.
That is until I discovered that the stock Yaesu battery will lose its charge much faster than I anticipated. I did learn from the University of YouTube that the 818's power button is a "soft switch" meaning that even though you turn the radio off, it's not really off. The radio is only"mostly off."
There's a big difference between mostly off and all off. Mostly off is slightly on. With my new radio being slightly on for about a week would cause the battery to become dead. All dead.
Which is a bit of a design flaw for a radio I want to designate as something to use for Emcomms purposes besides playing SOTA and POTA.
So the Windcamp internal battery kit was promptly ordered and is now my favorite and most highly recommended upgrade to the 818.