Well yesterday I had time to wire female sockets to my DC supply and a 7 A/Hr SLAB and a male plug onto the 897’s DC power cable. This allows me to quickly switch between a mains powered 13.8 v D.C power supply or the battery.
It was time to take the 897 for it’s first introduction to RaDAR. I had a 20m inverted vee wire antenna hanging in the air barely four meters above ground.
I set the rig initially for a maximum output power of 5W and gradually increased power………… right up to 100W. The battery took the punch with a smile!
The proof of the pudding is in the eating and I had a great CW QSO with the Ukraine on 20m while sitting on the grass in the back yard!
In the picture a comparison in size between the 817 and 897. For twenty times the power of the 817, the 897 certainly stood its ground consumption wise, size wise AND weight wise!
I have already tried packing it in a waterproof container within the pack. It fits perfectly and well protected from the elements.
Let the games begin!!!
73 de Eddie ZS6BNE
ZS6BNE's Blog 
I also own the 817 and the 897. The 817 has been my rig of choice in the field but recent poor band conditions have got me thinking about giving the 897 a try. The 897 has DSP which makes CW a whole lot easier. Now I’m going to hook it up to my 7Ah SLA and see what it can do. Thanks for the inspiration Eddie.