Always on the look out for a good bargain, I saw an advert in the IRTS monthly news sheet for the FT-707. For the price it was an absolute steal as these rigs are much sought after by the QRP community. Following a chat on the phone with the seller, I discovered that the FT-707 had little use. I am normally fairly skeptical about second hand rigs, but I got quite a surprise when this one arrived. It was in pristine condition and had been well looked after BUT somebody had replaced one of the 10 metre sections with the CB band. Not too big a deal as it will be easy enough to replace the crystal and tune back to its original glory.
They really do not make rigs as sturdy as this nowadays. The received audio is rich and pleasant to listen to. From an operating point of view there are not too many knobs to twiddle and there are no extensive menu functions to set up. The Rig is supposed to run 100W PEP but realistically it will peak up to about 50W due to a design fault in the ALC. As can be seen from the picture the FT-707 covers 80 - 10 metres. There are a couple of mods to the ALC circuitry which will improve the performance but not deemed necessary as the rig functions well enough as it stands.
The receive side is good and has a "nice" sound to it. Obviously not the same as the modern day rigs with their digital filtering and DSP etc. but I don't really take this into account.
The first few contacts made with the FT-707, on 40 metres, gave good reports both ways. The reception was good and a QRP to QRP contact made the day. 80 metres gave surprising results and I noted that there was a slightly better match on the antenna with a consequent increase in power. I got a 5.7. report from the News Reader, in Tipperary, and this was good considering the time of day.
A search around E-bay revealed the companion FC-707 ATU to complement the FT-707. Money burnt a hole in the pocket at this point.
I found one that was in great condition and this complemented the appearance of the rig.The ATU only really tunes into a coaxial feed but is sufficient to get rid of any mismatch that will prevent the P.A. from putting out full power dues to it protection circuitry kicking in. It is quite sharp and has a wide tuning range and looks well built inside.
There was an external VFO and memory unit, the FV-707DM but I could not really see myself having any use for it. Many years ago Tom EI2GP had the complete set-up which came in an "optional rack" unit which made quite a tidy station.
A complete FT-707 Station stacked in the "Optional Rack"
I do not have the matching Power Supply unit for this rig but use the one that complemented the FT-107 instead as this is a little more sturdy in my opinion.
