Yaesu FT-101 HF Transceiver Web Page

Presented by Fox Tango International.

Yaesu Musen Co. FT-101

(Yaesu Wireless Co.)

Miscellaneous FT-101 Components,

Power Connector replacement,

Relays and information for  FT-101 A.M. modifications.

FT-101 POWER CONNECTOR! Don't Fall for the Cinch-Jones trap.

Yaesu DC to DC power supply converter	PB1056	FT-101 VFO	FT-101 16 volt 0.15 amp lamps	Preselector T101, T102, T103	FT-101 Meter

FT-101 Relays

National AE3271, AE3171 ,

OMRON MH6P & Matsushita AE317160 Relays

You might be asking yourself just how much can be written about a couple of relays?  A LOT!  While RL2 antenna change over relay is still readily available, RL1 on the other hand is not and it is the HEART beat for switching voltage inside your FT-101.  This relay has become the source of much discussion in the Fox Tango Yahoo forum and a source of grief for many an owner of an FT-101 as they have become very difficult to find.  If you are willing to pay the price from Yaesu (Vertex Stnd.) in Anaheim California a replacement can be obtained from them directly. The Yaesu part number for this relay is (P/N M1090028) it's current price is $75 dollars from Yaesu of Anaheim! So a search continues for an economical replacement for RL1 in the USA. 

RL1

RL1 (Left) the HEART of the FT-101 switching and RL2 (right) Antenna Transfer Relay

More then likely if you can't read the name on the side of your relay it is made by NATIONAL.
It is written in Katakana which is a Japanese writing system for words that are not truly Japanese (Ex:マクドナルド MAKUDONARUDO- McDonald's) In this case it says NATIONAL as can be seen in the close up of RL1-micro photo by Fox Tango member Steven Peterson(KG6JEV/4)

The main relay used in the FT-101 series transceiver is a 6 pole, double pole,
double throw relay. The early relays had the National name in Katakana and the number AE3171 or AE3271

Some of Yaesu's other transceivers such as the Yaesu FT-620B came out with the identical style relay made by OMRON (Type MH6P) again 6 pole double pole double throw relay. The OMRON MH6P is also no longer available from OMRON, so save the dime on the phone call, I've tried.

Is there a suitable replacement for RL-1?

The subject of an RL-1 replacement keeps popping up on the Yahoo forum.  A possible replacement relay for RL1 is the Magnecraft  W67RCSX-12, so I took a chance and ordered one.  The Magnecraft Relay looks and fits perfectly in place of the original AE3271 and it is so close it's amazing. Except there was one problem. The relay wiper contacts are 180 deg out of phase with the original Yaesu relay. In other words what I found is although the relay looked the same on paper at first glance. When I put the ohm meter on the center wiper of the Magnecraft relay ohms out on the opposite side of the relay where I expect it to when compared to the original AE-3271 (FT-101 RL-1.)
 

Can we make it work?  When we look a the Magnecraft relay diagram as drawn in the MOUSER catalog we have a true representation from the bottom of the relay terminal arrangement. With slight modification to your transceiver, you would have to move all the outside wiring on RL-1 relay socket outer contacts from one side to the other side, much as if you were rotating tires on your automobile from left side to right side.  The center wiper contacts can be left as they are.  If you down load the OMRON MH6 series catalog I have provided, you will find on page 8 the contact terminal arrangement of the MH6P, which is the same as all previous listed Yaesu relays National AE3271, AE3171, OMRON MH6P and Matsushita AE317160 relays. The Omron catalog says the contact arrangement is a bottom view, but it's really a Top view of the relay looking down.  Then compare this to the Magnecraft W67RCSX-12 from the mouser catalog page 1104 (Cat# 620 Jan 2005.) The Magnecraft relay is truly a bottom terminal arrangement with the contacts facing toward you on the bench. You can ohm the contacts and they are exactly as the Mouser catalog shows, yet it is so similar to that of the Yaesu relay it hurts!  

If your into pain and want to try the Magnecraft relay, the part number is a Magnecraft W67RCSX-12 (12vdc) it cost me $17.18 for this lesson.  The relay shows up on page 1104 of the mouser catalog or you can research yourself on line at http://www.mouser.com
Mouser Part# 528-6710-12
Mfr's Part# W67RCSX-12 Magnecraft & Struthers-Dunn
Description: 6PDT industrial 12v relay

Download OMRON MH6 Catalog  and Magnecraft relay data sheets here.

Looking to replace RL-1 in your FT-101,

don't feel like paying Yaesu $75 for a new relay from Japan?

This fix will allow you to do it with the more commonly available Magnecraft relay as noted above.

  Thanks to Wayne Wilkes N4YI for working out the final kinks out of this long await modification!

Be sure you put a note inside of your FT-101 if you do this modification

so you don't try to put the old style relay back in place of RL-1.

N4YI Relay Fix for RL-1 It's here!  (Zip File 4mb)

FT-101 Antenna Transfer Relay (T/R Relay)

RL2 is still economical and available.

The antenna T/R relay (RL-2)  in  the FT-101 transceiver originally an OMRON Type MX-2P.  This exact part number is no longer available from OMRON in the MX series, however a suitable replacement can be had in using a similar type OMRON relay in the general purpose relay series MY series,  see data sheets in pdf format below.

Original OMRON MX-2P data sheet (No longer available)

Use OMRON series MY series 12V DPDT relay (MY2Z in current OMRON stock)

FT-101 Antenna transfer relay Omron Type MX2P (Left)

Modified RL-2 (Right) (Old Yaesu Part # MX2P) Current Yaesu Part # M1190124. 

Omron Replacement Part# MY2-DC12S (RL-2) Yaesu part costs approximately $6.50 USD and the Omron is $6.64 USD

While in Japan last November(2003)I bought a book written in Japanese called the New FT-101 maintenance guide. Even if you can not read any Japanese at all you know pictures are still worth a 1000 words. One KEY piece of information I learned from this book is that RL1 is still available, getting it in the United States remains a problem.  MATSUSHITA makes a current version of this relay. The number is AE317160 as listed on page 165 of this guide. Making several attempts to find this relay made by Matsushita and I believe they have now merged with Panasonic, so this has also complicated ordering.  Yaesu's original National AE3271, AE3171, OMRON's MH6P and the Matsushita's AE317160 are all (12 volt 6P DPDT) identical relays. (NOTE: The Matsushita part number is current as of 2004) the problem right now appears to be finding a source to get them in the United States at a reasonable price.

You can order the "NEW FT-101 MAINTENANCE GUIDE" from Amazon Japan.  You can actually order it and have it sent to the United States for about $40 USD. The book itself is about $24 USD, shipping is not exactly cheap from Japan and it will cost you almost as much to ship the book as the book cost itself, so be prepared to spend about $40 USD.  If you need help with the Japanese Web site, write the Fox Tango Web Maser.

FT-101 POWER CONNECTOR!

Don't Fall for the old MOLEX trap.

 Cinch Jones Bites Man! 36 year old trap revisited.

(By W4CLM)

Http://www.foxtango.org

 

 

This little trap is about as old as the FT-101 itself and we still see it pop up every now and again.  Be very careful when wiring a Molex connector connector made in the United States made by Cinch-Jones.  While the connector itself is electrically sound the 12-Pin Cinch Jones connector will fit on the back of the FT-101 transceiver perfectly. However there is and old problem that just keeps coming back from time to time to bite FT-101 owners world wide.  The problem is that the U.S. made plugs are not numbered the same as their Japanese counterparts, other then that the Cinch-Jones plug is just fine! If you try wiring up a Cinch-Jones connector by the numbering on that connector and the proceed to plug it into your FT-101, you will need to call an electronics specialists to repair all the damage that will occur!  You will likely blow out the DC-DC switching transistors on the back of the transceiver, along with the internal DC-rectifier board and possibly countless other problems may pop up, and quite literally you will hear a POP along with the curl of smoke and blown fuses.  Enough said on this, you get the point.   In order to prevent this problem from happening I recommend you down load and save the Zip PDF file I have attached to this site for your records.  For your convenience you can down load these photos and hints for your reference in one zip file here.

 

  Japanese (Tocon) connector as compared to the Cinch Jones U.S. made connector side by side. Note you can use the Cinch Jones connector as a power plug for your FT-101 series transceiver, however you must be very careful to wire it as per the picture below showing the Japanese type Tocon connector on the left. Print the photo below and use it for comparison if need be when wiring up a Cinch Jones type connector.

 

 In this photo you see the proper wiring of the the Japanese (Tocon) connector (left) and the U.S. made Cinch-Jones Molex connector in the photo

to on the right that is wired improperly.  When I saw this plug it reminded me of a saying that one of my college instructors would use.

 "No man's project is ever a failure, It can always be used as a bad example" This is what we have here in the photo above, the black connector on the right side of  the photo.  While the attempt to rewire one's own power connector on behalf of the FT-101 owner was indeed a sincere effort, it proved to be a fatal decision for the transceiver itself.  This FT-101 owner fell right into the Cinch-Jones Bites man trap, a problem as old as the FT-101 itself. I can not stress enough you can use the Cinch Jones connector as a power plug for your FT-101 series transceiver, however you must be very careful to wire it as per the photo above showing the Japanese type Tocon connector on the left. Print the photo below and use it for comparison if need be when wiring up a Cinch Jones type connector. Do not wire your connector like the connector on the right as this mistake will likely burn up your DC-DC converter and your 13Vdc power supply internal to the transceiver.

 

As addressed many years ago in the FT-101 service manual

  A schematic diagram showing the power connectors for AC and DC

 power input on the primary side of the FT-101 power transformer.

Ordering information from Mouser.com for 12 pin Cinch-Jones connector

Visit Http://www.Mouser.com  or call 1-800-346-6873 for this connector.

 

 

 

FT-101 A.M. Filter installation

and mode switch modification.

 

 

If you are planning to run your FT-101 transceiver on A.M. mode and you have a the required XF-30B filter, you will need to make the following modification in order for your A.M. filter to work properly when installed in your transceiver. The modification is the same for all models in the FT-101 series prior to but not including the FT-1091ZD. This mod must be done to make the AM filter work in the AM position, if not done the AM filter will be working in the C.W. mode position.

 

 BEFORE    /    AFTER

Mode Switch modification.

 

Download (Zip File ) A.M. modifications along with additional A.M. audio mods for your FT-101  here