I Think at this time I have made my decision.
Then I wondered how others would decide.

I rescued some equipment a couple of days ago.
I am limited to CB and whip antennae days of yore.
What I do know is if something says YAESU from that Era.
It deserves a second look.
Now comes my question.
I'm 68 yrs old retired and living an adventure with life.
I have a rough idea of value. Monetary and Social .
Refurbish and become an operator ?
Or cash and stash ?
Replies requested.

Here's the list;
YAESU 101FTE 100 watt Transceiver
YAESU FL-2100B 1,000 watt Amp
YAESU YG-601 DIGITAL DISPLAY ( FREQ. counter) )
YAESU YS-60 2KW SWR & POWER METER
YAAESU 4 pin Hand Mic.
Box of cables/connectors.

I will try to upload some photos.

I would go ahead and get my license no matter which. Just study your hind-end off, use the online practice exams and take all three the same day (Tech, General & Extra). I just renewed mine although I didn’t submit my application in time so I have to wait until it comes back before I can operate again.

As cool as that FT-101 is I’d verify tubes are still available before I got rid of it. I’m not familiar with the other two radios. I’m not sure how available ham equipment is right now. I looked at Universal Radio last year and they didn’t have but Ham Radio Outlet seemed to have a decent stock.

The Junker offered antennae. I'm gonna seek it too
Hoping to test it tomorrow afternoon
Found a couple local operators

Rig looks clean. Looks like it has been taken care of.
FT101E were good good old workhorse radios during the day. Output tubes (2) are a 6JS6 sweep tubes and driver will be either a 12AT7 or a 12AX7,(I can't remember). Everything else in the radio is solid state. Last place on Earth making replacement tubes is/was.......................Russia. Should be a lot of new old stock around though. E-Bay etc.

All the capacitors on the boards will be at least 45 years old or so. Just sayin'.

That is a super good amp. Runs (2) 572B tubes. Replacement tubes made only in.................Russia.
You ask, so what I'd do is try to make a deal to get the amp and pass on the radio.

I was all excited about getting an HF rig after I got my general license. Then I found out how much the equipment costs! I guess I don't need another hobby that bad. I'll stick to playing around with my VHF/UHF radios. They are a LOT cheaper.

If it were me, I'd keep it and become an operator.

The whole rig is mine.
$50 for the lot off his trailer. ( all the cash I had on me )
Couldn't let him scrap them.
i'll test them out and go from there.

That’s cool! I’d keep ‘em even if they didn’t work

Agreed.

I am a licensed amateur operator and "VE" (volunteer examiner). As a VE, I help with administering exams every month. Our outfit usually tests 8-12 candidates each monthly session and most of them pass. There are several online sites that offer practice tests and learning to just pass the exams is not too bad. Local clubs usually provide classes for those who wish to learn the actual material, as well as provide exam opportunities.

The first element, "Technician" and the next element, "General" have a lot of overlapping material and many candidates study for both and often pass both. Tech and General provide 90% of your capability and many operators never bother with the last element, "Amateur Extra". AE is more difficult and only provides a small expansion of permissible operating frequencies.

Your equipment is quite dated, although the amplifier is still worth good money. Old tube amps are in big demand, and amplifiers in general are pretty expensive. Were the equipment mine, I would sell everything except the amp and put the money toward more modern gear, which will be easier to operate and provide better performance, especially in the noise suppression department. When you learn to operate, you can research your equipment and learn to do whatever is needed to restore whatever gear you keep. As pointed out above, it will likely need new tubes and it will almost certainly need to be "recapped" (replace all of the old capacitors that dry out and often short-circuit).

Over at AR15.Com, we have a very active ham radio forum and one can learn a lot just reading along. Great forum; guns and radios...
https://www.ar15.com/forums/Outdoors/Ham-Radios/22/

This thread is especially focused on helping you get licensed and will be very helpful:
https://www.ar15.com/forums/outdoor...ning-basic-VHF-UHF-operations/22-646491/

Good luck!!

hamtestonline.com , quick way to study with feedback

Lots of great help and direction listed.
Thx for the advice and help.
Tomorrows Test will be a big decision maker.
I will be checking the links out , thx again.

The tubes if working are worth more themselves than the asking price. I know if I was given that opportunity I'd jump on it in a heartbeat.

Hey Dillrod, Don't know how long that amp has been setting. If you hook it up on a dummy load, at least don't hammer it with full power right up front just to see what it will do. If it was mine I'd take it home and let it run in the receive/standby mode for a few hours. That will let the high voltage massage the dialectric in those old HV capacitors. You said you're taking it to a ham buddy's house to test it, he ought to know. For 50 bux you got heck of a deal. Who knows, that old FT 101 might have a lot of life left in it. My nephew is running my old Kenwood TS 520 that I had in the 80s and it still runs strong.

study up take the test , my code was mediocre at best but have been license 20 years next year

it can be very interesting if you have the time and interest.

they have reduced some of the code requirements , I don't recall the details it has been a while

I did plug it in, flipped the switch and it appeared to power up.
I immediately turned it off.
No 110 power plug on the FT-101E , there was a three wire harness attached with wire rings crimped on ends ? No idea.
I think I seen power plug in the box .

Actually thinking I will look at an online manual and see what is needed.
Thanks for the help to all. .

There are no code requirements at this time. 35 question written test for Tech & General, usually takes less than an hour.
The FT-101E is designed to run on 13.8 volts and will probably function down to about 11 volts. Red is the positive/+ side, black is the negative/- side and the third wire is probably for a ground connection. Consult your manual to avoid letting the smoke out.

You will need a 22-25 amp "12 volt" power supply for a 100 watt transceiver. I have a Yeasu 1030 and a PowerWerx SS-30V and both work well.

Thx E. Shell



Thx for the info.
I did notice the Transceiver has a suitcase handle and portable, and is designed for AC or DC power.
I'm thinking portability may have been a plus in times of need. ( hook it to any 12v system strong enough ) .
If I keep it I'll look into a power supply like you recommend.
Thx again.

Trying to understand VFO and its needs. Lots too learn for sure.

VFO is the variable frequency oscilator, aka the tuning knob. Amateur radio does not have assigned chanels like citizen band. We have a designated range of frequencies that can be used. Anywhere between the upper and lower limits of a frequency band can be utilized.

Real question is do i need one to operate this equipment as pictured ?
Still looking at feasibility to keep and use .
What am I missing if anything and what would be a plus to the station.
I like the idea of dual operating power capabilities and possible mobility.

Thx for your input.

VFO is the large dial right below the writing "FT101-E. Oh yeah you'll need it. It's how you tune frequencies. You'll eventually spend many hours turning that knob back and forth-back and forth.........


Stuff you have to have:

I'd get a owners manual for it. Lots of stuff you need in there on how to run the rig. Specifically, right up front, before you tune up the first time, you need to set the idling current and that information is in the owners manual.
I saw in the pics you got a SWR/power meter. That's a must have.
You need a dummy load.
Antennas. I could go on for hours till your eyes glaze over about antennas but I'll keep it short. Most hams start out with dipole antennas. 150' of #`12 or #14 copper wire and enough 50 ohm coax to get from your rig to the apex of the antenna.

You can set up your rig and antennas and get familiar with them and listen around on the bands but you'll need a general class license to transmit on HF. The way ham licensing is these days, a week or so of studying and memorizing the answers will get you the license. No code requirement anymore.
If you just want to listen in on the ham bands with your radio, about any piece of wire stuck onto the end of a PL-259 connecter and screwed into the antenna port of the radio will be good enough for listening, (no transmitting). You don't need a resonant antenna for that. That way you can see if ham radio is something you want to pursue.

Man thats a ton of help and im glad for your assistance thx a bunch.