How to Program an FT-897D — Step by Step

The FT-857's bigger brother — the same bands and the same menu, in a case with room for two battery packs and a proper speaker. Built to be carried to a hilltop and run without a power supply, which is still what most of them get used for.

This page covers: Yaesu FT-897D. One model, so nothing here has to be translated from a near relative — every step below was written for exactly this radio.

What you can do on this radio

• Set the radio up for FT8 and other digital modes
• Connect the radio to a computer
• Set the drive level for digital modes
• Narrow the filter to shut out the station next door
• Turn on noise reduction
• Turn on the noise blanker
• Notch out a whistle or a carrier
• Work a DX station that is running split
• Save a frequency to a memory channel
• Run the antenna tuner
• Set the CW keyer speed and weight
• Reset the menu to factory settings

Set the radio up for FT8 and other digital modes on an FT-897D

Two data positions on the mode key, and they are not interchangeable. DIG is the audio one — RTTY, PSK31 and whatever you configure yourself, which is where FT8 lives. PKT is FM packet to a TNC. Getting into DIG is easy; telling the radio what DIG should mean is a menu item.

1. Hold F for a second, rotate the MEM/VFO CH knob to 038 DIG MODE, and use the DIAL to choose. Hold F for a second to save and leave.hold F›DIG MODE›dial → USER-U›hold FThe screen should show: 038 DIG MODE, then RTTY-L, RTTY-U, PSK31-L, PSK31-U, USER-L or USER-U.The default is RTTY-L. For FT8 you want an upper-sideband setting, and the USER-U slot is the one you can shift to taste. Yaesu's own worked example is for WSJT and uses USER-U.
2. Press either MODE key until DIG shows.MODEThe screen should show: The DIG icon.The mode key walks a loop of eight: LSB, USB, CW, CWR, AM, FM, DIG, PKT and round again. There is no separate data key.
3. Step 1 saved and closed the menu, so hold F for a second to open it again. In the USER modes, 039 DIG SHIFT sets where the receiver sits. Yaesu suggests about plus 1500 as a starting point for this kind of work.hold F›DIG SHIFT›dial → +1500›hold FThe screen should show: 039 DIG SHIFT, then a value from minus 3000 to plus 3000 Hz.Watch out. 036 DIG DISP shifts the number on the display independently of the actual carrier. It is occasionally useful and it is a reliable way to confuse yourself six months later. Leave it at zero unless you have a reason not to.

Wire the audio into the six-pin DATA jack on the back, and use the TX AUDIO line rather than the FSK line — Yaesu says so in as many words. Two things that will otherwise puzzle you. The DIAL tunes in DIG but not in PKT, where the MEM/VFO CH knob does it instead, and in AM and FM the DIAL is disabled out of the box entirely, which is menu 004 if you want it back. And if you are running this off the internal batteries, Yaesu's own note applies: RTTY and the rest are continuous-duty modes, so keep transmissions short, and remember the radio has already dropped itself to 20 watts.

Taken from the manufacturer's own manual for this model.

Connect the radio to a computer on an FT-897D

One menu item does most of this and its factory value is what stops most people. The wrinkle on this radio is that the CAT socket is shared with the antenna tuner, so the two lock each other out.

1. Hold F for a second to open the menu, rotate the MEM/VFO CH knob to 001 EXT MENU and turn the DIAL to ON.hold F›EXT MENU›dial → ONThe screen should show: 001 EXT MENU, then ON.It ships off, and the item you need two steps down is behind it. Every Yaesu procedure in this book that reaches item 020 turns EXT MENU on first.
2. Still in the menu, rotate the MEM/VFO CH knob to 019 CAT RATE and set the speed with the DIAL.CAT RATE›dial → 38400The screen should show: 019 CAT RATE, then 4800, 9600 or 38400 bps.Watch out. The factory setting is 4800 bps, the slowest of the three, and most logging and digital software expects faster. When the two disagree the radio simply does not answer — no error, no light. This is the single most common reason a Yaesu will not talk to a computer. Whatever you pick here has to be typed identically into the software.
3. Check that 020 CAT/LIN/TUN says CAT, then hold F for a second to save and leave.CAT/LIN/TUN›dial → CAT›hold FThe screen should show: 020 CAT/LIN/TUN, then CAT, LINEAR or TUNER.Watch out. One eight-pin socket does three jobs and this item decides which. If somebody has set it to TUNER for an FC-30, the computer is locked out, and nothing about the symptom points at this menu.

If you need the tuner and the computer at the same time, Yaesu's documented way round it is menu 059 MIC SEL set to CAT, which lets you run the serial cable to the microphone jack and leave the rear socket to the tuner. On the wire the radio talks in five-byte blocks, eight data bits, no parity, two stop bits, seventeen commands in all, and every value in hexadecimal — if your software has an FT-897 setting it knows all of this already. If the speed is right and it still will not answer, suspect the COM port number or the cable. And note there is no USB anywhere on this radio, so a modern computer needs an adapter.

Taken from the manufacturer's own manual for this model.

Set the drive level for digital modes on an FT-897D

Yaesu gives you an actual target here instead of leaving you to guess — and the number for this radio is not the same as the one printed in the FT-857D's book. Seven to eight dots of ALC. To see them you have to put the meter on ALC first.

1. Press F briefly, rotate the MEM/VFO CH knob until row i shows, and press A until the meter is reading ALC.F›dial → to row i›AThe screen should show: MFi at the left of the bottom line, and the ALC label above the B key.The A key cycles PWR, ALC, SWR and MOD, so one press from the usual PWR gets you there. The B key runs the same four the other way round — PWR, MOD, SWR, ALC — and either key works. The selected function shows above the B key. You cannot set a drive level without watching ALC, and the meter does not switch itself.
2. Hold F for a second and rotate to 037 DIG GAIN. This is the drive control for everything in DIG mode.hold F›DIG GAINThe screen should show: 037 DIG GAIN and a number from 0 to 100.Watch out. Yaesu's own PSK31 paragraph says to use menu 38 for this. That is a misprint — 38 is DIG MODE, which chooses the mode and sideband. The drive control is 37, as the step-by-step procedure on the same page correctly says.
3. Transmit from the computer and turn the DIAL until the ALC meter shows seven or eight dots. Hold F for a second to save.key the transmitter from your software›dial → for seven or eight dots›hold FThe screen should show: The ALC bargraph moving as you turn.It ships at 50 out of a range of 0 to 100. A few dots of ALC means the audio is loud enough to be doing something and not so loud that the transmitter is compressing it into splatter.
4. The previous step saved and closed the menu, so hold F for a second to reopen it. Power is 075 RF POWER SET, and it applies to the band you are on right now.hold F›RF POWER SET›dial → your power›hold FThe screen should show: 075 RF POWER SET, 5 to 100.Watch out. Per band, not global. Set 20 watts on 20 meters and 40 meters is still wherever you left it. And if you are on the internal battery the radio has already capped itself at 20 watts regardless of what this says — which is the usual reason a power setting appears to be ignored.

FM packet is a different set of items and a separate drive adjustment, which is deliberate — Yaesu provides it so you can optimize FM deviation without disturbing the level you set for the SSB-based digital modes. 073 PKT RATE picks 1200 or 9600, then 071 or 072 sets the drive for whichever you chose. Yaesu is unusually blunt about 9600: the deviation is critical, it can only really be done with a calibrated deviation meter, and the target is 2.75 kHz plus or minus 0.25. At 1200 the tolerance is far wider, between 2.5 and 3.5 kHz. The two speeds also use different pins on the DATA jack, so the wiring differs as well as the level. If you change power often, menu 057 can put it on a press of the MEM/VFO CH knob.

Taken from the manufacturer's own manual for this model.

Narrow the filter to shut out the station next door on an FT-897D

Two separate answers in two different places. The DSP filters are audio, they are already in the radio, and they are one key away. The crystal filters are real IF filters, they cost money, and they need the lid off.

1. Press DSP. That is the one shortcut that jumps you to a whole row — everything else on this radio is a hot key into a single menu item — it lands you on row p.DSPThe screen should show: DNR, DNF and DBF above the three keys.Yaesu describes it as instantly activating row p. The book does not say the key toggles you back to the row you came from, so assume it does not — rotate the MEM/VFO CH knob to get anywhere else.
2. Press C to switch the bandpass filter on.CThe screen should show: Parentheses appear around DBF and DSP shows at the top center.Watch out. What this key gives you depends on the mode. In SSB, AM, FM and the digital modes it is a bandpass filter with two adjustable ends. In CW it is a different animal — a narrow peaking filter centered automatically on whatever pitch you have set in menu 027.
3. In a voice mode, hold C for a second. That jumps to 047 DSP LPF CUTOFF, the high-cut end. Set it with the DIAL.hold C›dial → the high cutThe screen should show: 047 DSP LPF CUTOFF, 1000 to 6000 Hz.It ships wide open at 6000. Yaesu's own advice is that the best interference rejection on voice usually comes from somewhere between 2130 and 2770.
4. Rotate the MEM/VFO CH knob one click counter-clockwise to reach the low-cut item, set it with the DIAL, then hold F for a second to save both.dial → MEM/VFO CH back one click›dial → the low cut›hold FThe screen should show: 046 DSP HPF CUTOFF, 100 to 1000 Hz.Watch out. Yaesu's own procedure calls this item 047 in that bullet, which is a misprint — you have just come from 047, and one click back is 046. The gesture is right and the number is wrong. It ships at 100 Hz, and Yaesu warns that voice goes thin above about 400.
5. In CW the same gesture goes somewhere else entirely: 045 DSP BPF WIDTH, with three choices.hold C›dial → 60, 120 or 240›hold FThe screen should show: 045 DSP BPF WIDTH, 60, 120 or 240 Hz.Same key, same hold, different item and a different kind of filter, decided by nothing except the mode you are in. It ships at 240.
6. For a real IF filter, rotate to row n. A is the stock ceramic filter, B is the FIL-1 slot and C is the FIL-2 slot.F›dial → to row n›BThe screen should show: The B and C labels read N/A when the slots are empty, and 2.3, 500 or 300 when a filter is fitted.Watch out. Two N/A labels means nothing is installed. The options are the YF-122S for SSB, the YF-122C at 500 Hz and the YF-122CN at 300 Hz, and either slot takes either kind — Yaesu notes the slots do not distinguish between filter types. Fitting one means eight screws and the top cover off, with the power disconnected.

If you fit an SSB crystal filter and want it on transmit as well as receive, that is a separate setting: menu 086 TX IF FILTER, which ships on CFIL and has to be moved to FIL1 or FIL2 to match the slot you used. For anyone comparing numbers: the two figures in the book are two different filters, not a misprint. The stock ceramic filter on the A key is 2.4 kHz, and the 2.3 kHz figure belongs to the optional YF-122S Collins SSB filter that goes in one of the slots. And for moving the passband rather than narrowing it, hold the CLAR/IF SHIFT key for a second to bring up IF SHIFT and then turn the CLAR knob. Yaesu's own book is not consistent here — the step-by-step procedure says the CLAR knob, the front panel key description says the MEM/VFO CH knob — so if one does nothing, try the other. Holding the same key for a second again switches IF SHIFT back off.

Taken from the manufacturer's own manual for this model.

Turn on noise reduction on an FT-897D

One of the three DSP functions and the easiest thing to reach on the whole radio.

1. Press DSP to reach row p, then press A.DSP›AThe screen should show: Parentheses appear around DNR and DSP shows at the top center.
2. Hold A for a second to jump straight to 049 DSP NR LEVEL, turn the DIAL for the best signal-to-noise you can find, then hold F for a second to save.hold A›dial → the level›hold FThe screen should show: 049 DSP NR LEVEL, 1 to 16.It ships at 8. There is no universally right number — the level that helps depends on what the noise is doing, which is why Yaesu tells you to listen rather than giving you a figure.
3. Press A again to switch it off.A

One good tip from Yaesu that almost nobody finds, because it is the last paragraph of the section: if the noise is strong enough to move the S meter, back the SQL/RF control off counter-clockwise until the meter sits at about the level of the noise peaks. That raises the receiver's AGC threshold, and the noise reduction works noticeably better afterwards. Worth trying before you decide this radio's DNR is not much good. Note that in the USA version that outer knob is RF gain by default rather than squelch, which is what makes this work — menu 080 is where that is set.

Taken from the manufacturer's own manual for this model.

Turn on the noise blanker on an FT-897D

An IF noise blanker, aimed at pulse noise — car ignition is the example Yaesu gives. It is not on the DSP row and there is no shortcut to it.

1. Press F briefly and rotate the MEM/VFO CH knob until row l shows. The A key is NB and the B key is AGC.F›dial → to row lWatch out. Do not navigate by the third label. Yaesu prints this row three different ways in three places — with a blank, with AUTO, and with OFF — because the C label is whatever the AGC recovery time is currently set to. The A key is always NB.
2. Press A to switch the blanker on.AThe screen should show: Parentheses appear around NB.
3. Hold A for a second to reach 063 NB LEVEL, set it with the DIAL, then hold F for a second to save.hold A›dial → the level›hold FThe screen should show: 063 NB LEVEL, 0 to 100.It ships at 50. Turn it up until the pulses go and then stop. Yaesu's FT-897D book gives no target figure and no caution here; the FT-857D's manual, for the same blanker, warns that it costs you some strong-signal handling on a crowded band.

If the band is busy and something sounds wrong that did not sound wrong an hour ago, switching the blanker off is a quick and worthwhile test. If you use it a lot, menu 057 can put the level on a press of the MEM/VFO CH knob so you are not walking through the menu every time. One printing oddity worth knowing about if you are reading along in the book: the row l key description writes the menu number as 63 rather than 063. It is the same item.

Taken from the manufacturer's own manual for this model.

Notch out a whistle or a carrier on an FT-897D

Automatic only. There is no notch knob on this radio and no menu item for a notch frequency, a depth or a width — you switch it on and it goes looking for the tone itself.

1. Press DSP to reach row p, then press B.DSP›BThe screen should show: Parentheses appear around DNF, DSP shows at the top center, and the carrier you were hearing drops away.It hunts for a steady tone inside the audio passband and pulls it down, without being told where to look. Yaesu says it can handle more than one at a time.
2. Press B again to switch it off.B

The warning that matters, and Yaesu prints it in bold: do not switch this on in CW. An incoming CW signal is a steady tone, which is exactly what the filter exists to remove, so it will delete the thing you are trying to hear. DNF sits between the noise reduction and the bandpass filter on the same row, one key from each, and nothing on the radio stops you pressing it in CW. If CW signals go quiet while the band still sounds alive, check this first. If what you want is to move an interfering signal out of the passband rather than notch it, that is IF SHIFT — hold the CLAR/IF SHIFT key for a second and then turn the CLAR knob.

Taken from the manufacturer's own manual for this model.

Work a DX station that is running split on an FT-897D

One key does the quick version. The long version is worth walking through anyway, because this radio's idea of which VFO transmits is the opposite of what most operators expect.

1. For the quick version: rotate to row q and press B, marked QSPL.F›dial → to row q›BThe screen should show: The SPL icon at the upper left.That one press sets the sub VFO to your frequency plus 5 kHz and switches split on. The offset is fixed and there is no menu to change it.Watch out. Row q is the programmable row and QSPL is only the factory assignment of the B key, from menu 066. On a secondhand radio somebody may have changed it, so check that the label really says QSPL. Yaesu also does not document how to cancel quick split — the SPL key in row a is the documented way out.
2. For the long version, set VFO A to where the DX station is listening, then rotate to row a. The labels are A/B, A=B and SPL.dial → where he is listening›F›dial → to row aThe screen should show: MFa.
3. Press A to move to VFO B, and tune it to where the DX station is actually transmitting — the frequency you want to hear.A›dial → his transmit frequencyThe screen should show: VFO B on the display.Watch out. The B key on this row is A=B and it copies the main VFO over the sub VFO without asking. Handy when you meant it, and a good way to lose the frequency you just found when you did not.
4. Press C to switch split on.CThe screen should show: Parentheses appear around SPL and the SPL icon lights at the upper left.Watch out. Read this twice. In Yaesu's own worked example, once split is on the radio transmits on VFO A and receives on VFO B — so the frequency showing on the display is your receive frequency, and you are transmitting on the other one. Build this the way you would on an Icom and you will transmit on the DX station's own frequency.
5. Pressing A swaps the two, which is how you listen to the pile-up instead of the DX. Press it again to go back.AUseful for working out where in the pile-up he is actually picking people up.
6. Press C again to cancel split.CThe screen should show: The SPL icon goes out.

There is no way to listen on your own transmit frequency on this radio while staying on the DX — no XFC key, no TF-SET. Swapping the VFOs with the A key is the nearest equivalent and it means you stop hearing the DX station while you do it. On the optional MH-59A8J microphone the P1 button also defaults to quick split, which is a good deal easier than rotating to row q with a paddle in your other hand.

Taken from the manufacturer's own manual for this model.

Save a frequency to a memory channel on an FT-897D

Two hundred channels plus a one-touch scratchpad. The confirmation to listen for is a double beep — the second beep is the one that means it went in.

1. Set the frequency, the mode and anything else you want kept. On an FM channel that means the tone and the repeater shift too.dial → the frequency›MODEA channel is a snapshot of the VFO. Everything has to be right before you write it.
2. Press F briefly and rotate the MEM/VFO CH knob to row b. The labels are MW, SKIP and TAG.F›dial → to row bThe screen should show: MFb.
3. Press A briefly to enter memory check mode, then rotate the MEM/VFO CH knob to find an empty channel.A›dial → the channel numberThe screen should show: The channel number, with whatever is already stored there shown alongside.This is how you avoid writing over something. Nothing has been stored yet at this point.
4. Hold A for a second, until you hear the double beep.hold AThe screen should show: The channel is written.Watch out. One beep is not enough. The first is the key registering and the second, a moment later, is the confirmation that the data actually went in. If you only heard one, nothing was stored.
5. To name the channel, hold C for a second — that is a shortcut straight to 056 MEM TAG. Press the MEM/VFO CH knob to start editing, then pick each character with the DIAL and move along with a clockwise click of the MEM/VFO CH knob. Hold F for a second to save the name and leave.hold C›MEM/VFO CH›dial → the characters›hold FThe screen should show: 056 MEM TAG and the tag editor.Up to eight characters. Two knobs again: the DIAL chooses the character, the MEM/VFO CH knob moves the cursor. If you leave without holding F, nothing is stored.

The quick scratchpad is worth knowing: holding the V/M key until you hear the double beep drops the current frequency into the quick memory bank, and pressing B on row c gets it back. That is also a trap, because V/M is the key you press to swap between VFO and memory — hold it a moment too long and you have overwritten your scratchpad. To store a split memory there is a second half most people miss. Store the receive frequency the ordinary way, then set the transmit frequency and mode on the VFO, then press A briefly without rotating the MEM/VFO CH knob, and while the channel number is blinking hold the PTT and, still holding it, hold A for a second. Two beeps confirm it. Leave out the step where you set the transmit frequency and you have simply stored the same frequency twice. Pressing PTT there does not transmit — it is just how you tell the radio that this channel has a separate transmit frequency. And if channels seem to be missing, check menu 055 in case the radio is in a memory group and you are in the wrong one.

Taken from the manufacturer's own manual for this model.

Run the antenna tuner on an FT-897D

Start with the thing the manual never says in one sentence: there is no tuner inside this radio. What there is instead is a TUNE key that drives an accessory, and it does nothing at all until you have told the radio which accessory you own.

1. Hold F for a second to open the menu, rotate the MEM/VFO CH knob to 001 EXT MENU, and turn the DIAL to ON.hold F›EXT MENU›dial → ONThe screen should show: 001 EXT MENU, then ON.Item 020 is not reachable without it, and Yaesu's own FC-30 procedure starts right here.Watch out. This step and the next are for the FC-30 only. An ATAS antenna needs neither — skip straight to the 085 step below.
2. Rotate to 020 CAT/LIN/TUN and set it to TUNER, then hold F for a second to save and leave.CAT/LIN/TUN›dial → TUNER›hold FThe screen should show: 020 CAT/LIN/TUN, then CAT, LINEAR or TUNER.Watch out. This takes the rear socket away from your computer. See the note at the end for the way round it.
3. Switch the radio off, connect the FC-30, and switch it back on.switch the radio off, connect the FC-30, switch it onWatch out. Yaesu is emphatic about the order and prints it in the middle of the procedure rather than at the top: do not set up the FC-30 before changing menu 020.
4. Hold F for a second to open the menu again and go to 085 TUNER/ATAS. TUNER for the FC-30; for an ATAS antenna pick the band range you want it working on. Hold F for a second to save and exit.hold F›TUNER/ATAS›dial → ATAS or TUNER›hold FThe screen should show: 085 TUNER/ATAS, then OFF, three ATAS options, or TUNER.Watch out. The default is OFF, and OFF means the TUNE key does nothing whatsoever. That is why the key appears dead on a radio nobody has set up. The ATAS choices are HF only, HF and 50 MHz, or all bands — and all bands needs an external diplexer to combine the two antenna sockets. If you are fitting an ATAS rather than an FC-30, this is the only menu step you need.
5. Rotate to row k and press A to switch the tuner or the antenna on.F›dial → to row k›AThe screen should show: TUNR for an FC-30, ATAS for the antenna, with parentheses around TUNE.This only powers it up. Nothing has been tuned yet — Yaesu is explicit that with the ATAS this merely puts voltage on the antenna.
6. Hold A for a second to actually tune.hold AWatch out. The radio transmits a carrier to do this, with no prompt and no warning. Be sure the antenna is connected and you are on a frequency you can legally transmit on before your thumb rests there.

The FC-30 holds a hundred tuning solutions — eleven general ones apportioned one per band and eighty-nine at 10 kHz resolution — but they are only written when you deliberately hold the TUNE key for a second. The tuner also kicks in by itself above 1.5 to 1, and those automatic tunes are not remembered, so the radio can appear to re-tune the same frequency forever until you hold the key once. With the ATAS you can also drive the antenna by hand: hold the PTT and then hold C to raise it or B to lower it while watching the SWR meter. To finish with the ATAS, a plain press of A takes the parentheses off and switches it off again. And the trade-off to remember: setting menu 020 to TUNER for the FC-30 locks the computer out of the CAT socket, and Yaesu's own way round it is menu 059 MIC SEL set to CAT, which moves the serial connection to the microphone jack.

Taken from the manufacturer's own manual for this model.

Set the CW keyer speed and weight on an FT-897D

There is a proper shortcut for this, and Yaesu calls it a hot key in the manual.

1. Rotate the MEM/VFO CH knob to row j — SPOT, BK and KYR — and press C to switch the keyer on.F›dial → to row j›CThe screen should show: Parentheses appear around KYR.Without this the paddle does nothing useful. BK on the same row is break-in, and holding it for a second takes you to the sidetone volume.
2. Hold the same key for a second to jump straight to 030 CW SPEED.hold CThe screen should show: 030 CW SPEED and the current speed.
3. Send with the paddle while you turn the DIAL, then hold F for a second to save and leave.dial → the speed›hold FThe screen should show: 4 to 60 words a minute, one at a time.It ships at 12 words a minute. Pressing the MEM/VFO CH knob swaps the display between words per minute and characters per minute — the latter on the international PARIS standard of five characters to a word, so 12 wpm reads as 60 cpm.

The rest of the keyer lives in the menu. 032 CW WEIGHT is the dot to dash ratio, 1 to 3 by default. 027 CW PITCH runs 400 to 800 Hz in 100 Hz steps and ships at 700, and the DSP peaking filter follows it automatically. 029 CW SIDE TONE is the sidetone volume, reachable by holding B on the same row. 025 CW KEY REV swaps the paddle over — normally the tip is the dot and the ring is the dash. If you change speed often, menu 057 can put it on a press of the MEM/VFO CH knob instead.

Taken from the manufacturer's own manual for this model.

Reset the menu to factory settings on an FT-897D

Three resets, all done by holding a key while the radio comes on, and the difference between them is not obvious from the key you press. One of the three wipes every memory you have. Read all of this before you do any of it.

1. Switch the radio off.switch the radio off
2. For a menu reset that leaves your memories alone: hold F and switch the radio on.hold F›powerThis puts every menu item back to factory except seven — AM STEP, DCS CODE, FM STEP, MEM TAG, RPT SHIFT, SSB STEP and TONE FREQ, which are items 06, 33, 52, 56, 76, 82 and 83. Your channels are untouched. This is the one to use when you have set something you cannot find again.
3. Holding V/M instead wipes all your memories, and resets only those same seven menu items.hold V/M›powerWatch out. Notice what has happened there. The same seven numbers appear in both lists — as the ones that do get reset here, and the ones that do not get reset with F. Glance at the manual, see a familiar list of numbers, and it is very easy to choose the wrong key. V/M is the destructive one.
4. Holding HOME is the full reset — every memory and every menu setting.hold HOME›powerWatch out. Nothing survives this. If there is anything in the radio you care about, clone it to another FT-897D or write it down first.

One thing the manual does not tell you and we are not going to guess at: it says only that you hold the key and switch the power on, and never says whether the POWER switch needs its usual one-second hold or whether anything appears on the display to confirm. There is also a much gentler option most people miss — inside the menu, a quick press of HOME puts just the item you are looking at back to its factory value. If one setting has gone wrong, use that instead of resetting the radio. And be careful with a different key in the same place: inside the menu, a quick press of A masks the item you are on out of the list, the only sign is the hyphen in the item number turning into a dot, and Yaesu does not document how to get it back.

Taken from the manufacturer's own manual for this model.