On Tue, 25 Jan 2011 04:11:28 +0000 (UTC), Meat Plow
wrote:
I think the .70cm band howl is due to the PL tone
of what I listen to the most, local public safety
with a high 167.9? tone. Doesn't happen on a ham repeater with 110.9.
Put an oscilloscope on the speaker and see for yourself. It's
possible but it would need to be belching harmonics of 167.9Hz to be
heard. The 300 Hz high pass filter in the receiver works quite well.
The local railroad uses a 203.5 Hz tone, which I can't hear on my
VX-5r. Also, it wouldn't "howl" or "ring" if it were PL feed through
unless it were on the same mechanical resonance that's causing the VCO
to become microphonic.
Haven't tried to put some pressure on the board to dampen an oscillation
between the speaker and the board yet.
My guess(tm) is that some foam pads in strategic places will eliminate
the microphonics.
If i leave it on for more than 5
minutes it doesn't act up.
That's unusual. That can't be PL feedthrough unless the audio section
is drifting around in gain or phase. My brain is into paying bills
tonite, so give me a little time to think about that one. They
symptoms don't seem very consistent with microphonics.
Also the power on problem is now 3 pushes
then hold and it turns one, every time. I hold the button for 1 second
in between pushes.
Open radio. Remove membrane keyboard. Clean with alcohol and "sand"
the graphite contacts. Clean the mating PCB pads. That should get
rid of that problem.
Also I failed to mention I did not use this radio
for maybe 6 months, during the period I only used my new FT-60. The VX-5
was nearly impossible to turn on after that. But the more it's used
the quicker it comes on.
Well, the VX-5r could have become jealous of the FT-60 during this
time, but I doubt it. Try separating the two and see if they behave
in a more civilized manner.
Finally, it's hard to believe the original battery still performs like
new. Makes me wonder why some fail so quickly. Must be a quality issue.
I've seen that will some cell phone batteries. The OEM batteries seem
to last forever, while the cheap Chinese eBay clones, die in less than
half the time. Of course, I can buy maybe 10 cheap batteries for one
OEM from the cellular provider, so buying junk is still a win. The
battery in my VX-5R is the same as it was purchased by the former
owner. My guess is about 1998. It still seems as good as new but I
haven't bothered to verify that with my West Mtn Radio CBA-II battery
tester.
Drivel: Now programming a VX-6R for a friend. I discovered yesterday
that my VX-5R cable won't fit in the VX-6R. both radios have a fairly
standard 4 pin 3.5mm connector. However, The VX-6R connector has a
threaded section instead of the flush plastic body. The result is the
VX-6R cable will fit in the VX-5R (and others), but not the reverse.
Welcome to designed obsolescence. Buy a new radio, and you have to
buy a new programming cable (and software). Incidentally, the various
VX-?r Commander software is much better than the stock RT Systems or
Yaesu software.
--
Jeff Liebermann
150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com
Santa Cruz CA 95060
http://802.11junk.com
Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558