Hello,
I also have a Yaesu FT817ND.
You might want to look into either the millenium Qsyer that lets you control
many of the radio's functions from the keypad.
It has to be set to 9600 baud and the radio as well to work properly.
Another possible keypad solution is the Radio Mate sold by w4rt.com.
It is made in England and sells for $159.00.
It allows you to put in 40 memories into the keypad for the radio.
I'm not an expert on this radio but will help where ever I can.
Also Danny Dyer on this list really knows his stuff regarding this
transceiver.
I think the Yaesu is a bit quirky but if you can get along with its quirks
it can be made to work.
73,
Eric Clegg
KU3I