Search results

Not to rain on this parade, but the crinkle-texture paint on the Plus Three/SSK mike is just soft. Unless the mike spent its life in a carton there will be dings. The display you mention might well require making friends with someone who has a media blaster and does powder coating. A mike...

I have installed and modified dozens of the PLJ-6LED counters. Never could see the point of 8 digits. The doc file above shows the 8-digit display is a lot fancier than the 6-digit. Not quite as simple to set up. 73

Somebody (else) needs to put together a proper cross-reference between the "LA"-prefixed numbers found in a Uniden-made product and the numeral-only IDs used in a radio made by RCI. There are more than a few overlaps where the same part has a different number in each factory. Now that the radio...

'nuff said. 73

Any chance the counter's metal case is touching the radio's chassis metal? The fiber washer between the module and the mounting surface serves to keep the two grounds separate. So does the plastic mount screw. Connecting the two separate ground circuits can cause some noises. 73

Good chance that 99% isopropyl alcohol will soften it enough to break it loose from the component and board surfaces. Won't attack any nearby thermoplastic material. 73

A sign the glue that holds the element to the housing is coming loose. 73

The display's offsets are hard-programmed into the counter chip in that radio. But the carrier oscillator frequency has to match. 10.695 for AM, 10.6975 for LSB and 10.6925 for USB. If those are off, the radio's output frequency won't match the counter. 73

Where the rubber meets the road is pin 4 of the TA7310. It has the 10.695 crystal feeding into it, and the 16 MHz VCO input to pin 4. We know the 10.695 works. If you have at least 4/10 of a Volt peak-to-peak at pin 4, the problem is downstream from there. Somewhere. Any chance the slug-tuned...

I understand the rules and wish to be entered into the drawing. 73

Haven't tried that. Only test them inside the mike's head. To test one in the "lollipop" round head we use a 1960s gadget meant for calibrating sound-level meters. Got it on fleabay decades ago. The straight output from the cartridge goes to the oscilloscope. Comparing the test head to our...

The air conditioner coil cleaner we've used for decades is mostly phosphoric acid, water and blue dye. Does a number on aluminum, brass and copper. Beware using it on anything silver plated. It will scrub the silver right off the surface. Called Lundmark Coil Cleen. There are others, but that's...

Have you tried powering the radio by its DC jack and an external power supply? A 1978 radio should have at least one oddball fault from electrolytic capacitors reaching their use-by date. At least this doesn't require a soldering iron to try. 73

So just what's on the other end of the blue/white wire? 73

Alignment is the first trobleshooting step for low transmit power. And if the only problem is a coil someone randomly "adjusted" way off of its peak setting, you fixed it with that alone. And if alignment alone doesn't cure a low-power issue, the behavior of those slug-tuned coils becomes a...

The rebuild continues. Whoever installed the new blower wasn't too slick getting it hooked up. Not a big deal, just another detail. The new face sticker is an improvement, but it serves to prove body work is not my life's calling. I'll try some super glue on the rough spots where it kinked...

I remember those part numbers. Never did figure out who made them. Pretty sure we used a 2SC1239 for the F8. Don't remember the F6. Probably used a baggie part like ECG or NTE back in the day. 73

And if you can afford it the Icom IC-718 is a good performer for the price. 73

If it just needs an amplitude boost, I sell a board on fleabay that does this. https://www.ebay.com/itm/117262133570?mkcid=1&mkrid=711-53200-19255-0&siteid=0&campid=5336136228&customid=&toolid=10001&mkevt=1 Has a trimpot to set the desired drive level. It ain't cheap, but the schemo is posted...

The road to Hell is paved with good intentions. The DX300 I'm rehabbing this week was gonna be the photo model for my HV transformer substitute package instructions. But I got greedy and it's being rebuilt with the original HV transformer. I'll get paid sooner this way. But there's another...