If you have ordered the OLED screen you may need this little guide to install it inside your favorite rig. In this guide FT-290 is taken as an example, for other models refer to the corresponding Yaesu manual.
The installation itself is not difficult at takes around 1 hour with a coffee break.
All procedures can be split into these steps:
- Before picking up your screwdriver, check the OLED module. Connect it to a +12 V power supply; see the image in one of the steps below. The welcome screen should appear.
- Remove the top, bottom, and side panels of the FT-290 case.
- Remove all the front-panel knobs by simply pulling them off. Then unscrew the rotary controls located behind the knobs.
- Gently pull the front panel forward. The control board and the keyboard are held together by a couple of bolts, forming a sandwich-like assembly that needs to be separated.
- Once this is done, you will have access to the display unit. Disconnect it from the keyboard unit using the 9-pin connector.
- Desolder the red and black wires from the original—old and unattractive—display. These two wires provide a +12 V supply and power the S-meter backlight. We will use them to power the OLED module.
- Install the OLED module pcb in the place of the original pcb.
- Solder +12V from the step 5 to the OLED module. Please no mistakes here, +12V is going to Gray wire and the ground is the Orange wire (see photo). Starting from version v1.2 : +12v is Red and Ground is Black
- Reinstall everything back.
- Last important thing, make sure the switch on the back side of the rig is in LAMP position.
Some pictures of the installation
