FT-817/818 rear SO239 to BNC conversion

thingiverse

After installing caiwenping's excellent "Stand & Protector" kit, I realized that the otherwise big, bulky SO239 at the rear of my FT-817 was even more useless than I thought. After hours of Googling to find others with the same problem and their solutions, I gave up and stared at the radio for a while. Suddenly, an epiphany hit me! No more loose or glitchy adapters, bulky connectors, and extra wires were needed. The "Stand & Protector" kit could be used while the radio was standing upright as well as on its knees. It didn't obstruct any other connectors on the back and didn't protrude above or below the radio. Plus, it looked great! I still need to refine the design and find someone to mill or CNC it out of aluminum, but I'm off to a good start. For fellow tinkerers, I've uploaded my design to Tinkercad: https://www.tinkercad.com/things/auZfa6urk0z. The pictures you see are actually version 3, and the radio was using an old plastic connector that wasn't even properly attached. Just consider it a test fit or demo item. My current version (5) uses a proper connector and nut.