Yaesu customer service questions

[KI4FKW]

EDITED: Pics asking how to fix in a lower post of mine..

Well, heres my silly story.

I have a Yaesu FT-8900R.

I broke one of the knobs off of it, attempted to fix it, and couldnt.

I have tried repeatedly to contact Yaesu, but can never get a response.

Their website tells how to send in a radio for repair.

Of course they want the whole radio, to check for mods I suppose. When I bought the radio, IIRC, it has been modded to TX on public safety freqs. I never have, don't have a need to, I am a police officer, so I get plenty of time on public safety freqs anyway.. but just saying..

Anyone had experience with Yaesu? Any ideas on price to fix it? How about turnaround time? Can I expect it back next week or should I go ahead and look for a backup radio because it will take them a year? Are they going to pitch a fit about the mod or just fix it? (hopefully fix it).

Just want some ideas before I ship it off to them.

Thanks guys.

[WB7DMX]

a few years ago I sent them a e-mail asking about the repaire of a ft857, and explained everything that it was doing and everything I have checked, this led to a phone call to a service tech and then got a estemate on the cost of repaires, sent the radio in and got it back a week later all repaired.
excellant service, low price too.

the truth of it is that the rig took a lighting hit which burnt a spot on the side of the case , but I did not tell them that, I told them that a 12 volt power lead tuched the side of the case and that is what killed the rig.the total cost of the repaire was $125.00 which included the return shiping.

[KI4FKW]

Thats not bad at all, $125 for a lightning hit... surely my broken knob wont be that bad

[WB7DMX]

Quote[/b] (KI4FKW @ May 14 2007,08:00)]Thats not bad at all, $125 for a lightning hit... surely my broken knob wont be that bad #

I agree, the rig was not even hooked up to anything, it was just setting there on the bench when the tower was hit and a arc jumped from a coax over to the rig case.
the nsurance co. replaced the rig with a new one and the guy gave me this one to play with, so I got a great working FT857 for a reall good price.
there was about 15 smd devices s that was distroyed and they cost penneys each, and were even sent back too.
the rig has been working great so far and everyone told me it would fail in short time from other damage parts.
so far not.

I also have a 757 and the matching atu that was damaged from the same hit, but yeasue will not even talk to me about that one because they do not service it any more.
that is the only problem with yeasu that I have, they do not have any parts or service information on there older equipment.

now Icom does cary replacement parts on there older rigs,
I recently replaced both the on/off vol control and the squelch control on a Icom 127H, and that old rig is still working great too.

I also got a MFJ 969 tuner from the same ham that also was hit, there was no problem getting the replacement parts from MFJ to rebuild that also, and it is working great too

[N5LRZ]

broke a knob too. Bottom line per the good lady I spoke to at the Yaesu Repair facility. Up front bench fee of $35 bucks or so. Plus tech fees of 65 bucks an hour if I remember correctly PLUS the cost of all repair parts.

So right now I am looking at approx 150 to 175 bucks to replace a broken knob.


and by the way wb7dmx/above is correct. In my conversation with the young lady at yaesu I mentioned that I would be sending in my 767, 101E and a 2 meter older radio in for repairs when I could. Her reply was do not even bother and was politely informed that those radios were not on the list of rigs that factory techs would repair. LOL, however I was given the name and contact info on a guy in NJ known for his repair work on older radios.

Whoever said amateur radio was for poor people never had a radio broken and in need of repairs by a "Factory" tech.

[N5LRZ]

Re DMX....

Obviously a marketing device to force one to purchase a new radio rather than go thru all the trouble of finding a local tech.

But I can see it from their point of view as well. Carrying tubes and such for outdated FT101Es and such would be a royal pain in the seldom used parts inventory.

[K5RCD]

Call Yaesu (Vertex Standard) at (713) 827-7600

Ask for Parts Dept Extension 6800 if you just want to order the knob.

For repair service, talk directly to one of their repair techs at extension 6100.

They are very helpful. Their Service Dept at ext 6400 is not as helpful. #

I sent in a rotator control box under warranty and it was repaired and returned in one week.

[K8YZK]

Customer Service, they have a customer service?

I haven't had the best service with them, your visit might be vary.

[KI4FKW]

HOLY CRAP!

I can't afford $100-$150 for a knob to be fixed.

Can it be installed by me?

I may have to ask around and find someone in my area that will work on it for me then..

[K0RGR]

If it's just the knob that's broken, I have a hard time imagingng that you need a tech to repair it. The small ones usually just pull off/on. If it's a main tuning dial, there could be more involved.

Now, having said that, I have a Yaesu rig that could use a new BNC connector on the front panel. Normally, this would not intimidate me at all, but being on the front panel, with pretty much zero clearance around it, I think I'd like to let some younger fingers and eyes do the work. If I eventually do, I will pay for the service.

However, I've sent radios to Yaesu twice in the past. One was an FT726 whose UHF module failed. They replaced some relays I hadn't been able to find, and didn't charge me much for it. In both cases, I was happy with their work and the cost.