Modification 2
One other change you may want to make to your FT-1000 is to add an
external antenna switch as suggested in the QST review of this radio.
This will be useful if you have the BPF-1 option. With this
modification you will be able to select the either the main antenna or
the BPF-1 antenna for the second receiver by using the front panel
switch. The switch added in this mod will allow you to select either
the main antenna or the antenna connected to the phono jack for the main
receiver, this is useful when using receive loops or converters. I
connect a Butternut HF-6V to the BPF-1 and my KLM LPDA to the main
receiver. I also plan to add a receiving loop for 80 and 160 connected
to the phono jack. This allows diversity reception by polarity,
frequency or mode.
In order to do this you must select the "E BPF" position on switch S1001
on the R.F. unit and add a switch between one end of S1001 and a pad on
J-1007. Remove the covers from the radio and access the R.F. Board as
in the manual for setting switch S1001. Remove the three screws holding
the connectors for the R.F. board to the rear panel, the six screws
holding the R.F. Board down, and unplug the three coaxial cables which
go to the R.F. Board. Remember where these cables were connected. Put
S1001 in the E-BPF (Enable BPF-1?) position. Lift the board so you can
access the bottom. Cut two twenty inch lengths of number 24 wire (or
smaller) and solder one end of one wire to the pad under S1001 opposite
the switch handle when it is in the E BPF position. Solder one end of
the other wire to the pad under J1007 which is near S1001, and is not
connected to the center of S1001. Route these two wires through the
hole near the center of the rear of the radio. These can then be
brought out through the grill on the rear of the radio. I mounted a
miniature SPDT switch in the grill, and connected the wires to it. When
these wires are shorted the main receiver is switched to the antenna on
the phono jack. Replace the screws and connectors, and try everything
out. You can then replace the covers.
I also found that an external stereo amplifier, when connected to the AF
out jack on the rear panel is a nice addition. Check the pawn shops
near you for a small used stereo receiver. Then build a cable to
connect between the AF out jack, (a 1/8 inch stereo plug) and the input
to your stereo receiver (usually two RCA phono plugs). This also allows
an easy connection to a recorder, and when the bands are "dead" you can
listen to the FM stations, (give your local public broadcasting station
a try). Remember that you are not after a super hifi setup, and you
will find that the total cost will be less than a matching speaker. The
only problem I have found with this is that the monitor audio is not
mixed in the AF out jack. You will only get the audio from the two
receivers, which are separated on the two channels. It would not be
difficult to access the monitor audio and add a mixer to the one of the
receiver lines, or to take the audio from the front panel headphone
jack. If you take it from the front panel, remember to put the selector
switch in the "Stereo" position, and you may wish to use an impedance
matching system between the low impedance headphone jack and the medium
impedance input of the stereo receiver.
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