Yaesu VX-5R tri-band hand held. Momentary contact power on/off button.

I've owned this radio for 9 or 10 years. Recently I have to push several
times on this rubber on/off button to get the radio to come on. But it
always takes just one touch to turn it off. And the radio works fine
otherwise including all the other buttons. Just have to play around
pressing the button maybe three/four/five times. Sometimes it powers on
when pressed once! But always shuts off with just one easy push.
This indicates to me that it's not a problem with button contact but
rather a microprocessor problem.

Discuss.



--
Live Fast, Die Young and Leave a Pretty Corpse

On Tue, 11 Jan 2011 19:31:52 +0000 (UTC), Meat Plow
wrote:

Yaesu VX-5R tri-band hand held. Momentary contact power on/off button.

I've owned this radio for 9 or 10 years. Recently I have to push several
times on this rubber on/off button to get the radio to come on. But it
always takes just one touch to turn it off. And the radio works fine
otherwise including all the other buttons. Just have to play around
pressing the button maybe three/four/five times. Sometimes it powers on
when pressed once! But always shuts off with just one easy push.
This indicates to me that it's not a problem with button contact but
rather a microprocessor problem.

Discuss.

Discuss? OK here you go (pay attention to the last paragraph, it's
important):

Many statisticians would agree that, had it not been for the UNIVAC
computer, the emulation of flip-flop gates might never have occurred.
Given the current status of efficient archetypes, information
theorists urgently desire the development of information retrieval
systems. The notion that hackers worldwide collude with SCSI disks is
mostly considered essential [1]. Thus, e-business and replicated
configurations are entirely at odds with the synthesis of flip-flop
gates.

Motivated by these observations, flexible algorithms and web browsers
have been extensively constructed by cryptographers. Daringly enough,
indeed, cache coherence and Markov models have a long history of
collaborating in this manner. Nevertheless, this method is generally
considered confusing. This combination of properties has not yet been
deployed in related work.

In order to accomplish this aim, we verify not only that Boolean logic
and 802.11 mesh networks are mostly incompatible, but that the same is
true for cache coherence. For example, many heuristics store the
deployment of active networks. The drawback of this type of approach,
however, is that the foremost large-scale algorithm for the
development of courseware [2] is in Co-NP. Two properties make this
solution different: our algorithm learns the exploration of Byzantine
fault tolerance, and also Strand locates stochastic theory. Existing
distributed and distributed systems use the UNIVAC computer to manage
randomized algorithms. As a result, we see no reason not to use
semantic archetypes to measure atomic information.

Another extensive grand challenge in this area is the study of
802.11b. the disadvantage of this type of method, however, is that
multi-processors and sensor networks can interact to accomplish this
goal. the basic tenet of this solution is the analysis of SMPs. Though
conventional wisdom states that this obstacle is rarely solved by the
development of superblocks, we believe that a different solution is
necessary.

Regarless the authors have seen similar occurances where turn on
failures were related to a necessary time constant that was not
required on turn off phases. Such a time constant was not present as
the switch contacts seemed to fail, such as might happen after many
years of continious use.

"Meat Plow" wrote in message
news
Yaesu VX-5R tri-band hand held. Momentary contact power on/off button.

I've owned this radio for 9 or 10 years. Recently I have to push several
times on this rubber on/off button to get the radio to come on. But it
always takes just one touch to turn it off. And the radio works fine
otherwise including all the other buttons. Just have to play around
pressing the button maybe three/four/five times. Sometimes it powers on
when pressed once! But always shuts off with just one easy push.
This indicates to me that it's not a problem with button contact but
rather a microprocessor problem.

Discuss.





Could be a microprocessor controlled delay programme whereby you have to
hold the on button on for longer to turn it on, than the off button to turn
it off. Perhaps because it is more important to screen out accidental ons
than accidental offs.

And/Or, If the button is dirty, and thus resets its state randomly/rapidly
during a single press, perhaps this results in favour of the Off debounce
and/or delay routines rather than the "On" routines.


Dunno, just a guess.



Gareth.

In article ,
Gareth Magennis wrote:

Yaesu VX-5R tri-band hand held. Momentary contact power on/off button.

I've owned this radio for 9 or 10 years. Recently I have to push several
times on this rubber on/off button to get the radio to come on. But it
always takes just one touch to turn it off. And the radio works fine
otherwise including all the other buttons. Just have to play around
pressing the button maybe three/four/five times. Sometimes it powers on
when pressed once! But always shuts off with just one easy push.
This indicates to me that it's not a problem with button contact but
rather a microprocessor problem.

Could be a microprocessor controlled delay programme whereby you have to
hold the on button on for longer to turn it on, than the off button to turn
it off. Perhaps because it is more important to screen out accidental ons
than accidental offs.

And/Or, If the button is dirty, and thus resets its state randomly/rapidly
during a single press, perhaps this results in favour of the Off debounce
and/or delay routines rather than the "On" routines.

Quite reasonable suggestions.

The usual "field engineering" fix would be to simply replace the
elastomeric key membrane (Yaesu used to make this available as a
standard service item for the VX-5; dunno if it's still available) or
use the CAIG contact-repair kit to re-goop the back of the POWER
button and see if increasing its conductivity fixes the problem.

--
Dave Platt AE6EO
Friends of Jade Warrior home page: http://www.radagast.org/jade-warrior
I do _not_ wish to receive unsolicited commercial email, and I will
boycott any company which has the gall to send me such ads!

On Tue, 11 Jan 2011 14:28:38 -0800, Dave Platt wrote:

In article , Gareth Magennis
wrote:

Yaesu VX-5R tri-band hand held. Momentary contact power on/off button.

I've owned this radio for 9 or 10 years. Recently I have to push
several times on this rubber on/off button to get the radio to come
on. But it always takes just one touch to turn it off. And the radio
works fine otherwise including all the other buttons. Just have to
play around pressing the button maybe three/four/five times. Sometimes
it powers on when pressed once! But always shuts off with just one
easy push. This indicates to me that it's not a problem with button
contact but rather a microprocessor problem.

Could be a microprocessor controlled delay programme whereby you have to
hold the on button on for longer to turn it on, than the off button to
turn it off. Perhaps because it is more important to screen out
accidental ons than accidental offs.

And/Or, If the button is dirty, and thus resets its state
randomly/rapidly during a single press, perhaps this results in favour
of the Off debounce and/or delay routines rather than the "On" routines.

Quite reasonable suggestions.

The usual "field engineering" fix would be to simply replace the
elastomeric key membrane (Yaesu used to make this available as a
standard service item for the VX-5; dunno if it's still available) or
use the CAIG contact-repair kit to re-goop the back of the POWER button
and see if increasing its conductivity fixes the problem.

I had the unit apart way back when it was new to install the MARS
coverage modification which was just a snip of a wire. The keypad was
that of silicone rubber and a carbon dot on the working side. Pretty
standard. Plus another membrane for water protection. The unit isn't
rated as being water resistant but obviously a handy talkie should have
some moisture resistance. I wouldn't rule out Gareth's observation. It
probably is easier to kill the process than to start it. Only one thing
bothers me and that is I have the add on barometric pressure sensing unit
and it displays when the VX-5 is off. So the microprocessor runs while
the unit is off unless the pressure unit has its own processing.



--
Live Fast, Die Young and Leave a Pretty Corpse

On Tue, 11 Jan 2011 21:18:28 +0000, Gareth Magennis wrote:

"Meat Plow" wrote in message
news
Yaesu VX-5R tri-band hand held. Momentary contact power on/off button.

I've owned this radio for 9 or 10 years. Recently I have to push
several times on this rubber on/off button to get the radio to come on.
But it always takes just one touch to turn it off. And the radio works
fine otherwise including all the other buttons. Just have to play
around pressing the button maybe three/four/five times. Sometimes it
powers on when pressed once! But always shuts off with just one easy
push. This indicates to me that it's not a problem with button contact
but rather a microprocessor problem.

Discuss.





Could be a microprocessor controlled delay programme whereby you have to
hold the on button on for longer to turn it on, than the off button to
turn it off. Perhaps because it is more important to screen out
accidental ons than accidental offs.

And/Or, If the button is dirty, and thus resets its state
randomly/rapidly during a single press, perhaps this results in favour
of the Off debounce and/or delay routines rather than the "On" routines.


Dunno, just a guess.

Yeah it's a good guess and makes sense however, the optional barometric
pressure sensing unit displays when the unit is off. So some processing
remains. That and the battery discharges faster when placed and the unit
is off over being removed from the unit even without the barometric unit
installed. So again even when powered on their must be some degree of
processing going on. Anyway, when it gets to the point where it is hard
to get the VX-5 to turn on I'll tear it apart. Things are pretty
compressed and it isn't the easiest of things to work on.


--
Live Fast, Die Young and Leave a Pretty Corpse

On Tue, 11 Jan 2011 19:31:52 +0000 (UTC), Meat Plow
wrote:

Yaesu VX-5R tri-band hand held. Momentary contact power on/off button.

I have the same radio. Mine is the somewhat later v1.1.

Recently I have to push several
times on this rubber on/off button to get the radio to come on.

Yep. I had the same problem about a year ago. When I opened the
radio, I found wet and greasy goo around most of the keypad buttons.
My guess is a mixture to condensed bad breath and exuded rubber
plasticizer molded into the rubber. I cleaned up the mess with
alcohol and it's been fine ever since.

But it
always takes just one touch to turn it off.

Debounce circuit? I do have to hold the on/off a bit longer to turn
it on than to turn it off. My guess is about a full second to turn it
on, and just a tap to turn it off.

And the radio works fine
otherwise including all the other buttons. Just have to play around
pressing the button maybe three/four/five times. Sometimes it powers on
when pressed once! But always shuts off with just one easy push.
This indicates to me that it's not a problem with button contact but
rather a microprocessor problem.

Good logic, but without knowing the exact failure mechanism, it might
be problematic. If this is a deteriorating situation, where it worked
normally in the distant past, I would tend to suspect that something
has deteriorated rather than failed.

If not, there's the possibility of firmware problems, which a total
reset and reload from the programming software might fix. I had some
problems with VX-5 Commander:
http://www.kc8unj.com
and ended up buying the official Yaesu software (by RT Systems)
http://www.rtsystemsinc.com

Discuss.

Methinks a frizbee is cheaper than throwing a discus around.



--
Jeff Liebermann
150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com
Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com
Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558

On Tue, 11 Jan 2011 15:01:48 -0500 PeterD wrote in
Message id: :

On Tue, 11 Jan 2011 19:31:52 +0000 (UTC), Meat Plow
wrote:

Yaesu VX-5R tri-band hand held. Momentary contact power on/off button.

I've owned this radio for 9 or 10 years. Recently I have to push several
times on this rubber on/off button to get the radio to come on. But it
always takes just one touch to turn it off. And the radio works fine
otherwise including all the other buttons. Just have to play around
pressing the button maybe three/four/five times. Sometimes it powers on
when pressed once! But always shuts off with just one easy push.
This indicates to me that it's not a problem with button contact but
rather a microprocessor problem.

Discuss.

Discuss? OK here you go (pay attention to the last paragraph, it's
important):

Many statisticians would agree that, had it not been for the UNIVAC
computer, the emulation of flip-flop gates might never have occurred.
Given the current status of efficient archetypes, information
theorists urgently desire the development of information retrieval
systems. The notion that hackers worldwide collude with SCSI disks is
mostly considered essential [1]. Thus, e-business and replicated
configurations are entirely at odds with the synthesis of flip-flop
gates.

Motivated by these observations, flexible algorithms and web browsers
have been extensively constructed by cryptographers. Daringly enough,
indeed, cache coherence and Markov models have a long history of
collaborating in this manner. Nevertheless, this method is generally
considered confusing. This combination of properties has not yet been
deployed in related work.

In order to accomplish this aim, we verify not only that Boolean logic
and 802.11 mesh networks are mostly incompatible, but that the same is
true for cache coherence. For example, many heuristics store the
deployment of active networks. The drawback of this type of approach,
however, is that the foremost large-scale algorithm for the
development of courseware [2] is in Co-NP. Two properties make this
solution different: our algorithm learns the exploration of Byzantine
fault tolerance, and also Strand locates stochastic theory. Existing
distributed and distributed systems use the UNIVAC computer to manage
randomized algorithms. As a result, we see no reason not to use
semantic archetypes to measure atomic information.

Another extensive grand challenge in this area is the study of
802.11b. the disadvantage of this type of method, however, is that
multi-processors and sensor networks can interact to accomplish this
goal. the basic tenet of this solution is the analysis of SMPs. Though
conventional wisdom states that this obstacle is rarely solved by the
development of superblocks, we believe that a different solution is
necessary.

Regarless the authors have seen similar occurances where turn on
failures were related to a necessary time constant that was not
required on turn off phases. Such a time constant was not present as
the switch contacts seemed to fail, such as might happen after many
years of continious use.

I just ran the ClueMeter over your last post, Peter, and I'm sad
to say the reading was...

____________
E F
\
____________

ObSER: Maybe it's broken, though. It seems to give the same reading
whenever it scans one of your posts.

On Tue, 11 Jan 2011 19:31:52 +0000 (UTC) Meat Plow
wrote in Message id: :

Yaesu VX-5R tri-band hand held. Momentary contact power on/off button.

I've owned this radio for 9 or 10 years. Recently I have to push several
times on this rubber on/off button to get the radio to come on. But it
always takes just one touch to turn it off. And the radio works fine
otherwise including all the other buttons. Just have to play around
pressing the button maybe three/four/five times. Sometimes it powers on
when pressed once! But always shuts off with just one easy push.
This indicates to me that it's not a problem with button contact but
rather a microprocessor problem.

Discuss.

Is it possible to trace where the two connections to the button go, or do
you have a schematic by any chance?

On Wed, 12 Jan 2011 05:16:56 -0500, JW wrote:

On Tue, 11 Jan 2011 15:01:48 -0500 PeterD wrote in
Message id: :

...

Regarless the authors have seen similar occurances where turn on
failures were related to a necessary time constant that was not
required on turn off phases. Such a time constant was not present as
the switch contacts seemed to fail, such as might happen after many
years of continious use.

I just ran the ClueMeter over your last post, Peter, and I'm sad
to say the reading was...


There is likely a time constant to prevent undesired turn-ons which is
why the symptoms appear on only with on and not off. That's why the
last paragraph was important! g

On Tue, 11 Jan 2011 20:29:36 -0800, Jeff Liebermann wrote:

On Tue, 11 Jan 2011 19:31:52 +0000 (UTC), Meat Plow
wrote:

Yaesu VX-5R tri-band hand held. Momentary contact power on/off button.

I have the same radio. Mine is the somewhat later v1.1.

Recently I have to push several
times on this rubber on/off button to get the radio to come on.

Yep. I had the same problem about a year ago. When I opened the radio,
I found wet and greasy goo around most of the keypad buttons. My guess
is a mixture to condensed bad breath and exuded rubber plasticizer
molded into the rubber. I cleaned up the mess with alcohol and it's
been fine ever since.

But it
always takes just one touch to turn it off.

Debounce circuit? I do have to hold the on/off a bit longer to turn it
on than to turn it off. My guess is about a full second to turn it on,
and just a tap to turn it off.

And the radio works fine
otherwise including all the other buttons. Just have to play around
pressing the button maybe three/four/five times. Sometimes it powers on
when pressed once! But always shuts off with just one easy push. This
indicates to me that it's not a problem with button contact but rather a
microprocessor problem.

Good logic, but without knowing the exact failure mechanism, it might be
problematic. If this is a deteriorating situation, where it worked
normally in the distant past, I would tend to suspect that something has
deteriorated rather than failed.

If not, there's the possibility of firmware problems, which a total
reset and reload from the programming software might fix. I had some
problems with VX-5 Commander:
http://www.kc8unj.com
and ended up buying the official Yaesu software (by RT Systems)
http://www.rtsystemsinc.com

Discuss.

Methinks a frizbee is cheaper than throwing a discus around.

Heh. I have the VX-5 software from RT and the data cable. So a reset then
reload might not be a bad idea. I've also had grounding problems with
this radio. Makes the audio howl when you turn it up past 50% on 70
centimeters. Main component board depends on lands around screw holes and
the aluminum chassis is part of the ground. An occasional loose/tight of
the chassis screws seems to cure it for a year or so.

Other than this, the radio has worked well, the batter has held up
remarkably and the audio is robust. I also have a dual band FT-60. Rock
solid radio, very loud audio with little distortion. Bought it back in
2006 from AES. They had a special on the radio and drop charger that I
couldn't resist. I bought a Diamond SRH320A antenna for it. I've worked
repeaters 50 miles away outdoors on 2 meters with that HT.



--
Live Fast, Die Young and Leave a Pretty Corpse

On Wed, 12 Jan 2011 20:21:54 +0000 (UTC), Meat Plow
wrote:

I've also had grounding problems with
this radio. Makes the audio howl when you turn it up past 50% on 70
centimeters.

That's not grounding. It's microphonics. The 440 PLL is getting
mechanically modulated by the audio from the loudspeaker. Get the
phase right and you have a howling oscillation. I use bees wax, hot
melt glue, or if desperate, RTV, to reduce the mechanical sensitivity
of the VCO. You might also try a rubber foam pad between the PCB and
the front panel to acoustically decouple the PCB.

Other than this, the radio has worked well, the batter has held up
remarkably and the audio is robust. I also have a dual band FT-60. Rock
solid radio, very loud audio with little distortion. Bought it back in
2006 from AES. They had a special on the radio and drop charger that I
couldn't resist.

The local animal rescue volunteer group all got licenses and
standardized on the FT-60. It's a better radio than the VX-5 but is
too much for many of the users to operate. It also has the irritating
WIRES function which must be disarmed before it can be used. They
would have been better off with channelized commercial radios but the
ham stuff was cheaper.

I bought a Diamond SRH320A antenna for it. I've worked
repeaters 50 miles away outdoors on 2 meters with that HT.

About 2 years ago, I gave a demo on HT antennas. It didn't take much
to demonstrate that bigger is better, no matter how weird looking. I
placed a field strength meter at a fixed distance from the radio, and
tried various antennas. The best on 440 MHz was an AMOS/Franklin
monstrosity that I conjured for the occasion. It was about 1.5 meters
overall, with the HT in the middle, which had to be held horizontally.
On 2m, it was a flex PCB antenna I had etched into a sheet of mylar,
representing something like a 3 element Yagi. The usual base and
center loaded dual band rubber ducky antennas were horrible by
comparison, but were greatly improved by the addition of a
counterpoise.
http://www.k6gph.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&catid=1& id=10&Itemid=7
Incidentally, I brought an inflatable UHF loop yagi antenna that used
a 1 meter long rubber sausage shaped balloon for mechanical support
and insulation. I didn't have time to try it as I ran out of time.
(Hint: I use the stock rubber ducky as everything else is too big and
clumsy).

--
Jeff Liebermann
150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com
Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com
Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558

In article ,
Meat Plow wrote:

Heh. I have the VX-5 software from RT and the data cable. So a reset then
reload might not be a bad idea. I've also had grounding problems with
this radio. Makes the audio howl when you turn it up past 50% on 70
centimeters. Main component board depends on lands around screw holes and
the aluminum chassis is part of the ground. An occasional loose/tight of
the chassis screws seems to cure it for a year or so.

Haven't had that particular problem on my own VX-5. On the other
hand, the SMA antenna connector had a nasty tendency to loosen itself.
I found a Web article suggesting the use of a standard hex-bit-shaft
screwdriver, filed or ground down to create a couple of flanges which
engage the slots in the SMA retaining nut... a handy home-made tool
for re-tightening things. This, plus a small drop of Loctite on the
threads, fixed the problem.

I've been fighting off the temptation to just remove the SMA, drill
out the hole, and replacing it with a BNC.

Other than this, the radio has worked well, the batter has held up
remarkably and the audio is robust. I also have a dual band FT-60. Rock
solid radio, very loud audio with little distortion. Bought it back in
2006 from AES. They had a special on the radio and drop charger that I
couldn't resist. I bought a Diamond SRH320A antenna for it. I've worked
repeaters 50 miles away outdoors on 2 meters with that HT.

It's amazing how far one can work with little power, with a clear
line-of-sight. I recently had a nice QSO on the repeater I help
maintain, with a ham sitting in a hotel room up in San Francisco
(about 45 miles from the repeater) talking on his HT. He was using a
roll-up twinlead J-pole. Sounded as if he was right next to the
repeater.

--
Dave Platt AE6EO
Friends of Jade Warrior home page: http://www.radagast.org/jade-warrior
I do _not_ wish to receive unsolicited commercial email, and I will
boycott any company which has the gall to send me such ads!

On Wed, 12 Jan 2011 14:08:48 -0800, Dave Platt wrote:

In article , Meat Plow
wrote:

Heh. I have the VX-5 software from RT and the data cable. So a reset
then reload might not be a bad idea. I've also had grounding problems
with this radio. Makes the audio howl when you turn it up past 50% on 70
centimeters. Main component board depends on lands around screw holes
and the aluminum chassis is part of the ground. An occasional
loose/tight of the chassis screws seems to cure it for a year or so.

Haven't had that particular problem on my own VX-5. On the other hand,
the SMA antenna connector had a nasty tendency to loosen itself. I found
a Web article suggesting the use of a standard hex-bit-shaft
screwdriver, filed or ground down to create a couple of flanges which
engage the slots in the SMA retaining nut... a handy home-made tool for
re-tightening things. This, plus a small drop of Loctite on the
threads, fixed the problem.

I've been fighting off the temptation to just remove the SMA, drill out
the hole, and replacing it with a BNC.

That might be difficult considering the SMA on the VX-5 is recessed. Also
I don't know if there's room inside bor the butt end of a BNC.
I've had to tighten up the SMA on mine maybe twice. But I also use an OEM
antenna and I'm not sure if that contributes because the OEMS don't seat
all the way down in. I ended up putting a small grommet around the bottom
of the SMA on the radio so the antenna tightens down on the chassis
rather than just the threads. Seems to have cured the problem. On the
FT-60 the nut his a hex nut not recessed but rather the stock antenna
screws down over the nut. I believe the contact between antenna base and
chassis helps to keep the nut tight. The OEM Diamond does not screw over
the nut but rather directly down on top of it. Good enough for me since
the nut is essentially part of the chassis. This one has never budged.

Other than this, the radio has worked well, the batter has held up
remarkably and the audio is robust. I also have a dual band FT-60. Rock
solid radio, very loud audio with little distortion. Bought it back in
2006 from AES. They had a special on the radio and drop charger that I
couldn't resist. I bought a Diamond SRH320A antenna for it. I've worked
repeaters 50 miles away outdoors on 2 meters with that HT.

It's amazing how far one can work with little power, with a clear
line-of-sight. I recently had a nice QSO on the repeater I help
maintain, with a ham sitting in a hotel room up in San Francisco (about
45 miles from the repeater) talking on his HT. He was using a roll-up
twinlead J-pole. Sounded as if he was right next to the repeater.

On simplex channels I always reduce the power to the minimum on my Icom
706 MKII/G. No need when you're 5 watts on an HT. My 'home' repeater is
about 12 miles north. Antennas are on top 90' of tower and the radio is a
converted GE Master II UHF 100 watt. It's been in operation since 1995.
It's a privately owned open repeater. Well open until we start hearing
some VE stations which is a big surprise, UHF ducting. Or VHF repeater is
on tone but had VE repeater interference when conditions were right.

I'm hoping for some decent solar activity soon. Back a decade ago I have
some good friends in the UK I talked to every morning on 28.337. Kind of
miss talking to them but keep in touch via the net and Skype.

I used to do a lot of digital also. And tried like heck to decode
commercial TDMA/FSK BAUDOT etc.. It could be done 10 -15 years ago but
most is encrypted now or in odd mark/space 7 bit Blah blah blah. Amateur
Pactor and 1200 baud packet is still pretty popular here.



--
Live Fast, Die Young and Leave a Pretty Corpse

In article ,
Meat Plow wrote:

I've been fighting off the temptation to just remove the SMA, drill out
the hole, and replacing it with a BNC.

That might be difficult considering the SMA on the VX-5 is recessed. Also
I don't know if there's room inside bor the butt end of a BNC.

What I was thinking, was mounting the BNC on the top of the case...
there appears to be enough metal surrounding the recessed-SMA mounting
hold to support it. Stick the "butt end" of the BNC down through the
SMA mounting hole and into the case. I'd probably need to fix it into
place with epoxy rather than using a nut, though.

It'd certainly be an invasive mod, and probably quite unnecessary. I
wouldn't do it unless I didn'd mind trashing the radio - or at least
the case. If I even run into a "beater" VX-5, with an intact case but
a fried radio, I might buy it and just try modding the case.

I've had to tighten up the SMA on mine maybe twice. But I also use an OEM
antenna and I'm not sure if that contributes because the OEMS don't seat
all the way down in. I ended up putting a small grommet around the bottom
of the SMA on the radio so the antenna tightens down on the chassis
rather than just the threads. Seems to have cured the problem.

I generally use an SMA-to-BNC adapter, with a grommit-like arrangement
made out of a couple of thicknesses of rubber tubing, and then use an
aftermarket BNC antenna.

--
Dave Platt AE6EO
Friends of Jade Warrior home page: http://www.radagast.org/jade-warrior
I do _not_ wish to receive unsolicited commercial email, and I will
boycott any company which has the gall to send me such ads!

On Wed, 12 Jan 2011 13:11:41 -0800, Jeff Liebermann wrote:

On Wed, 12 Jan 2011 20:21:54 +0000 (UTC), Meat Plow
wrote:

I've also had grounding problems with this radio. Makes the audio howl
when you turn it up past 50% on 70 centimeters.

That's not grounding. It's microphonics. The 440 PLL is getting
mechanically modulated by the audio from the loudspeaker. Get the phase
right and you have a howling oscillation. I use bees wax, hot melt
glue, or if desperate, RTV, to reduce the mechanical sensitivity of the
VCO. You might also try a rubber foam pad between the PCB and the front
panel to acoustically decouple the PCB.

Those that suggested the fix called it grounding. That's all I know.

Other than this, the radio has worked well, the batter has held up
remarkably and the audio is robust. I also have a dual band FT-60. Rock
solid radio, very loud audio with little distortion. Bought it back in
2006 from AES. They had a special on the radio and drop charger that I
couldn't resist.

The local animal rescue volunteer group all got licenses and
standardized on the FT-60. It's a better radio than the VX-5 but is too
much for many of the users to operate. It also has the irritating WIRES
function which must be disarmed before it can be used. They would have
been better off with channelized commercial radios but the ham stuff was
cheaper.

Yeah the WIRES/ inet radio is crap. And the beacon function for other
hams radios to alert when your in range. Forget what that's called maybe
ARS? It's got a lot of good functions besides that. I'd like to see a
battery voltage display option that keeps it on the screen past power on
like the VX-5 has.

I bought a Diamond SRH320A antenna for it. I've worked repeaters 50
miles away outdoors on 2 meters with that HT.

About 2 years ago, I gave a demo on HT antennas. It didn't take much to
demonstrate that bigger is better, no matter how weird looking. I
placed a field strength meter at a fixed distance from the radio, and
tried various antennas. The best on 440 MHz was an AMOS/Franklin
monstrosity that I conjured for the occasion. It was about 1.5 meters
overall, with the HT in the middle, which had to be held horizontally.
On 2m, it was a flex PCB antenna I had etched into a sheet of mylar,
representing something like a 3 element Yagi. The usual base and center
loaded dual band rubber ducky antennas were horrible by comparison, but
were greatly improved by the addition of a counterpoise.
http://www.k6gph.org/index.php?
option=com_content&view=article&catid=1&id=10&Item id=7
Incidentally, I brought an inflatable UHF loop yagi antenna that used a
1 meter long rubber sausage shaped balloon for mechanical support and
insulation. I didn't have time to try it as I ran out of time. (Hint:
I use the stock rubber ducky as everything else is too big and clumsy).

Unless your repeater is a few miles in radius from you a small duck is
good enough. My closest repeater is 12 miles. I have a Cushcraft AR270
about 15 feet above the roof with Belden 8319 coax @ about 560 foot.
Does a great job. Also have at about the same height a Cush Ringo AR6.
I sometimes serve as our district's backbone liaison for Skywarn and talk
to the NWS on 6. Make me feel like a big shot.

--
Live Fast, Die Young and Leave a Pretty Corpse

On Wed, 12 Jan 2011 15:26:19 -0800, Dave Platt wrote:

In article , Meat Plow
wrote:

I've been fighting off the temptation to just remove the SMA, drill
out the hole, and replacing it with a BNC.

That might be difficult considering the SMA on the VX-5 is recessed.
Also I don't know if there's room inside bor the butt end of a BNC.

What I was thinking, was mounting the BNC on the top of the case...
there appears to be enough metal surrounding the recessed-SMA mounting
hold to support it. Stick the "butt end" of the BNC down through the
SMA mounting hole and into the case. I'd probably need to fix it into
place with epoxy rather than using a nut, though.

I'd rather just place a new SMA and nut with thread grip then use the
factory duck. I didn't have problems until replacing the factory duck
with a poorly fit OEM.

It'd certainly be an invasive mod, and probably quite unnecessary. I
wouldn't do it unless I didn'd mind trashing the radio - or at least the
case. If I even run into a "beater" VX-5, with an intact case but a
fried radio, I might buy it and just try modding the case.

I've had to tighten up the SMA on mine maybe twice. But I also use an
OEM antenna and I'm not sure if that contributes because the OEMS don't
seat all the way down in. I ended up putting a small grommet around the
bottom of the SMA on the radio so the antenna tightens down on the
chassis rather than just the threads. Seems to have cured the problem.

I generally use an SMA-to-BNC adapter, with a grommit-like arrangement
made out of a couple of thicknesses of rubber tubing, and then use an
aftermarket BNC antenna.

I guess it just depends how careful you are. I've placed the dual band
FT-60 on the VX-5 now since 6 meter is out of range for an HT here and
it's been stable for years. The stock duck with the screw on tip isn't
pocket or belt material for sure. Bu the FT-60 duck seems to cooperate
nicely for what my needs are.



--
Live Fast, Die Young and Leave a Pretty Corpse

I might be tempted to try an external switch to find out what the circuit
requires for more predictable/reliable operation.

The rubbery buttons' pads are conductive, obviously, but rarely low ohms in
resistance. With a common momentary switch and a 1k (or 200, 470 etc) series
resistor, the unit may operate just fine.
Then check the resistance of the existing switch to see if it's near the
improvised resistance that works well.

The rubbery switches' conductive pads generally increase dramatically with
use. Looking at aged conductive pads, they often develop a glazed-looking
surface from being pressed repeatedly.

I often scuff them very lightly with very fine abrasive (approx 600 grit) or
one of those fiberglas pen scuffing tools, but very lightly.. just enough to
remove the glaze from the pad.
The resistance comes back down, and the conductive pads work fine until they
get glazed again.. many uses later (like keyboard keys, IR remote buttons
etc).

--
Cheers,
WB
..............


"Meat Plow" wrote in message
news
Yaesu VX-5R tri-band hand held. Momentary contact power on/off button.

I've owned this radio for 9 or 10 years. Recently I have to push several
times on this rubber on/off button to get the radio to come on. But it
always takes just one touch to turn it off. And the radio works fine
otherwise including all the other buttons. Just have to play around
pressing the button maybe three/four/five times. Sometimes it powers on
when pressed once! But always shuts off with just one easy push.
This indicates to me that it's not a problem with button contact but
rather a microprocessor problem.

Discuss.



--
Live Fast, Die Young and Leave a Pretty Corpse

Wild_Bill wrote:

I might be tempted to try an external switch to find out what the circuit
requires for more predictable/reliable operation.

The rubbery buttons' pads are conductive, obviously, but rarely low ohms in
resistance. With a common momentary switch and a 1k (or 200, 470 etc) series
resistor, the unit may operate just fine.
Then check the resistance of the existing switch to see if it's near the
improvised resistance that works well.

The rubbery switches' conductive pads generally increase dramatically with
use. Looking at aged conductive pads, they often develop a glazed-looking
surface from being pressed repeatedly.

I often scuff them very lightly with very fine abrasive (approx 600 grit) or
one of those fiberglas pen scuffing tools, but very lightly.. just enough to
remove the glaze from the pad.
The resistance comes back down, and the conductive pads work fine until they
get glazed again.. many uses later (like keyboard keys, IR remote buttons
etc).


I used to repair Commodore 64 computers. The keyboards had the same
type of switches. I would clean them with Isopropyl alcohol, then wipe
them across a piece of cloth (like Denim) to remove the dead surface.
You could see how much was removed, because live surface didn't leave a
streak on the cloth.

--
You can't fix stupid. You can't even put a band-aid on it, because it's
Teflon coated.

On Wed, 12 Jan 2011 23:30:32 +0000 (UTC), Meat Plow
wrote:

Those that suggested the fix called it grounding. That's all I know.

I suppose it's possible to play with the grounding enough to affect
the feedback phase of the microphonics, but the main cause is
mechanical. Generate a UHF carrier with something, and set the radio
to that channel with a fairly strong carrier. Put the radio to your
ear and beat on the case with something. Can you hear the pounding
coming out of the speaker? If yes, you have microphonics.

Yeah the WIRES/ inet radio is crap. And the beacon function for other
hams radios to alert when your in range. Forget what that's called maybe
ARS? It's got a lot of good functions besides that. I'd like to see a
battery voltage display option that keeps it on the screen past power on
like the VX-5 has.

I think it's Alinco that has the ultrasonic sound generator that keeps
the mosquitoes away. Now, that's innovation.

Unless your repeater is a few miles in radius from you a small duck is
good enough. My closest repeater is 12 miles. I have a Cushcraft AR270
about 15 feet above the roof with Belden 8319 coax @ about 560 foot.
Does a great job. Also have at about the same height a Cush Ringo AR6.

I think we have more repeaters than active hams in the area. Choice
is a good thing, until it's time to program the radio. The small
rubber duck is usually enough. For anything more, I sometimes play
mobile repeater using the radio in my vehicle.

I sometimes serve as our district's backbone liaison for Skywarn and talk
to the NWS on 6. Make me feel like a big shot.

We have some local hams that are members of Skywarn. There's also a
ham station at the NWS office in Monterey, CA. I'm (fortunately) not
involved. We have micro climates here due to the mountains. It's not
unusual to have a heavy rain that's only about a mile wide.


--
Jeff Liebermann
150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com
Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com
Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558

On Thu, 13 Jan 2011 08:42:11 -0500, Wild_Bill wrote:

I might be tempted to try an external switch to find out what the
circuit requires for more predictable/reliable operation.

The rubbery buttons' pads are conductive, obviously, but rarely low ohms
in resistance. With a common momentary switch and a 1k (or 200, 470 etc)
series resistor, the unit may operate just fine. Then check the
resistance of the existing switch to see if it's near the improvised
resistance that works well.

The rubbery switches' conductive pads generally increase dramatically
with use. Looking at aged conductive pads, they often develop a
glazed-looking surface from being pressed repeatedly.

I often scuff them very lightly with very fine abrasive (approx 600
grit) or one of those fiberglas pen scuffing tools, but very lightly..
just enough to remove the glaze from the pad.
The resistance comes back down, and the conductive pads work fine until
they get glazed again.. many uses later (like keyboard keys, IR remote
buttons etc).

I've cleaned others with a piece of felt and alcohol. Right now it's
mildly irritating only. Once I have to mess with it longer than a few
seconds I'll peal the HT apart and clean it. The innards are pretty
small. I have to wear a stereo magnifying visor to see the tiny screws
holding the keypad backing board to the case.



--
Live Fast, Die Young and Leave a Pretty Corpse

On Thu, 13 Jan 2011 09:07:11 -0800, Jeff Liebermann wrote:

On Wed, 12 Jan 2011 23:30:32 +0000 (UTC), Meat Plow
wrote:

Those that suggested the fix called it grounding. That's all I know.

I suppose it's possible to play with the grounding enough to affect the
feedback phase of the microphonics, but the main cause is mechanical.
Generate a UHF carrier with something, and set the radio to that channel
with a fairly strong carrier. Put the radio to your ear and beat on the
case with something. Can you hear the pounding coming out of the
speaker? If yes, you have microphonics.

No, tapping on it will not induce micro-phonics but will often lessen the
howl. Once the radio is on, the howl goes away, maybe after 10 minutes.
I'm no newbie to micro-phonics. Some of the old PLL-02a chassis CB radios
would howl if you turned up the volume. But you could also hear a high
pitch whine in the howl if you tapped on the chip.

Yeah the WIRES/ inet radio is crap. And the beacon function for other
hams radios to alert when your in range. Forget what that's called maybe
ARS? It's got a lot of good functions besides that. I'd like to see a
battery voltage display option that keeps it on the screen past power on
like the VX-5 has.

I think it's Alinco that has the ultrasonic sound generator that keeps
the mosquitoes away. Now, that's innovation.

No kidding LOL!

Unless your repeater is a few miles in radius from you a small duck is
good enough. My closest repeater is 12 miles. I have a Cushcraft AR270
about 15 feet above the roof with Belden 8319 coax @ about 560 foot.
Does a great job. Also have at about the same height a Cush Ringo AR6.

I think we have more repeaters than active hams in the area. Choice is
a good thing, until it's time to program the radio. The small rubber
duck is usually enough. For anything more, I sometimes play mobile
repeater using the radio in my vehicle.

I sometimes serve as our district's backbone liaison for Skywarn and
talk to the NWS on 6. Make me feel like a big shot.

We have some local hams that are members of Skywarn. There's also a ham
station at the NWS office in Monterey, CA. I'm (fortunately) not
involved. We have micro climates here due to the mountains. It's not
unusual to have a heavy rain that's only about a mile wide.

We have it here due to severe thunderstorms with large hail, damaging
winds, localized flooding, micro-bursts and tornadoes. In April of 2002
a tornado narrowly missed my place. Winds took out windows, ripped siding
off houses one street down, took down large trees behind my property,
then jumped a 1/4 mile and continued. The same tornado traveled about 15
miles landing then rising taking out a whole neighborhood 8 miles before
it got here. So we have the potential for some damaging storms. I
remember in 1999 I had just purchased a Dodge 4x4 in the spring. I was
out chasing a storm around and got pelted by some golf ball sized hail.
That ended my chasing days. I don't have a beater that I care about
looking like someone took a hammer to it.




--
Live Fast, Die Young and Leave a Pretty Corpse

On Thu, 13 Jan 2011 21:37:02 +0000 (UTC), Meat Plow
wrote:

No, tapping on it will not induce micro-phonics but will often lessen the
howl.

Well, if it were "grounding", then banging on the case would have no
effect (unless there were some screws loose).

Incidentally, I tried my VX-5 turn on/off times. It took about 1
second to turn on, and the same to turn off. Pushing the button to
turn off was *NOT* instantaneous. I had to hold it for 1 sec. It's
been like that since new, so there's been no deterioration. At this
point, I don't know if it's a firmware issue, settings issue, or dirty
keyboard. Save, reset and reload seems the easiest to do first.

Once the radio is on, the howl goes away, maybe after 10 minutes.

Something is getting warm perhaps?

We have it here due to severe thunderstorms with large hail, damaging
winds, localized flooding, micro-bursts and tornadoes.

That's why I like California. Other than earthquakes and government,
we don't have much in the way to disasters here.

... I had just purchased a Dodge 4x4 in the spring. I was
out chasing a storm around and got pelted by some golf ball sized hail.
That ended my chasing days. I don't have a beater that I care about
looking like someone took a hammer to it.

Ouch. I've never even seen a tornado, so I have no idea what it might
be like. Raining golf balls sounds like no fun. Yes, Skywarn has its
place in your part of the country.

--
Jeff Liebermann
150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com
Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com
Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558

On Fri, 14 Jan 2011 12:58:42 -0800, Jeff Liebermann wrote:

On Thu, 13 Jan 2011 21:37:02 +0000 (UTC), Meat Plow
wrote:

No, tapping on it will not induce micro-phonics but will often lessen
the howl.

Well, if it were "grounding", then banging on the case would have no
effect (unless there were some screws loose).

From what I've read these radios, maybe the first batch had grounding
issues and the fix was to provide a better ground. If you have some time
google VX-5 grounding issue. I haven't done it yet so I can't post any
reference links.

Incidentally, I tried my VX-5 turn on/off times. It took about 1 second
to turn on, and the same to turn off. Pushing the button to turn off
was *NOT* instantaneous. I had to hold it for 1 sec. It's been like
that since new, so there's been no deterioration. At this point, I
don't know if it's a firmware issue, settings issue, or dirty keyboard.
Save, reset and reload seems the easiest to do first.

Yeah by immediately I meant within a second. Compared to 10 sometimes 30
seconds to get it to come on it seemed pretty immediate to me

Another couple things; if the radio if left off for a couple days it
takes more button-play to get it to come on. Also when I charge it off
the cig lighter cord, the words 'now charging' appear and when done the
RX/TX light turns amber and 'charge complete' is displayed. This tells my
some micro processing is going one when the radio is off. I guess you
could call it a soft-off/soft-on. Obviously with a touch pad some standby
processing is needed to interpret the call for on. But without delving
into the operating theory it's hard to tell exactly but easy to guess.

Once the radio is on, the howl goes away, maybe after 10 minutes.

Something is getting warm perhaps?

The RF out device sinks on the back but I think the warming and expanding
of the radio in general creates a better ground for whatever is not
getting a good ground. The radio does not have to be transmitted, it can
just RX during this period and eventually the howl will stop. And the
howl is only on .70cm. This would indicate problems other than grounding.
Or not It's only a minor annoyance and I actually do a lot of SW QSX
on that radio and only use it moderately on VHF. And it's been doing the
howl for years. Neither the howl or delayed on are a big issue until
either interfere completely with the operation.

We have it here due to severe thunderstorms with large hail, damaging
winds, localized flooding, micro-bursts and tornadoes.

That's why I like California. Other than earthquakes and government, we
don't have much in the way to disasters here.

... I had just purchased a Dodge 4x4 in the spring. I was out chasing a
storm around and got pelted by some golf ball sized hail. That ended my
chasing days. I don't have a beater that I care about looking like
someone took a hammer to it.

Ouch. I've never even seen a tornado, so I have no idea what it might
be like. Raining golf balls sounds like no fun. Yes, Skywarn has its
place in your part of the country.

I urge non-hams to listen to skywarn on a scanner if they have one when
weather threatens. Anyone in Skywarn gets a text when watches/advisories
are put out by the NWS.



--
Live Fast, Die Young and Leave a Pretty Corpse

On 1/14/2011 12:58 PM Jeff Liebermann spake thus:

That's why I like California. Other than earthquakes and government,
we don't have much in the way to disasters here.

Hmm, tell that to all those folks who live "up the hill" from you off 17
whose houses perennially slip-slide away in the rainy season ...

But yeah, I guess apart from that, a few houses falling into the ocean
each year, and those houses that got blown up/burned up in San Bruno,
we're relatively disaster-free here.


--
Comment on quaint Usenet customs, from Usenet:

To me, the *plonk...* reminds me of the old man at the public hearing
who stands to make his point, then removes his hearing aid as a sign
that he is not going to hear any rebuttals.

Jeff Liebermann Inscribed thus:

On Thu, 13 Jan 2011 21:37:02 +0000 (UTC), Meat Plow
wrote:

No, tapping on it will not induce micro-phonics but will often lessen
the howl.

Well, if it were "grounding", then banging on the case would have no
effect (unless there were some screws loose).

Incidentally, I tried my VX-5 turn on/off times. It took about 1
second to turn on, and the same to turn off. Pushing the button to
turn off was *NOT* instantaneous. I had to hold it for 1 sec. It's
been like that since new, so there's been no deterioration. At this
point, I don't know if it's a firmware issue, settings issue, or dirty
keyboard. Save, reset and reload seems the easiest to do first.

Once the radio is on, the howl goes away, maybe after 10 minutes.

Something is getting warm perhaps?

We have it here due to severe thunderstorms with large hail, damaging
winds, localized flooding, micro-bursts and tornadoes.

That's why I like California. Other than earthquakes and government,
we don't have much in the way to disasters here.

... I had just purchased a Dodge 4x4 in the spring. I was
out chasing a storm around and got pelted by some golf ball sized
hail. That ended my chasing days. I don't have a beater that I care
about looking like someone took a hammer to it.

Ouch. I've never even seen a tornado, so I have no idea what it might
be like. Raining golf balls sounds like no fun. Yes, Skywarn has its
place in your part of the country.


This thing doesn't have a backup battery does it ?
If so have you replaced it !

--
Best Regards:
Baron.

On Fri, 14 Jan 2011 16:27:32 -0800, David Nebenzahl
wrote:

On 1/14/2011 12:58 PM Jeff Liebermann spake thus:

That's why I like California. Other than earthquakes and government,
we don't have much in the way to disasters here.

Hmm, tell that to all those folks who live "up the hill" from you off 17
whose houses perennially slip-slide away in the rainy season ...

Oh, you mean like my house?
http://802.11junk.com/jeffl/pics/home/slides/BL-house1.html
My guess(tm) is I'm on a 45 degree slope. However, I'm not worried
about sliding down the hill. I've gone through some effort to divert
water around the house and check for hydraulic and geological hazards.
What worries me is having one of the huge trees land on my house or
getting caught in a forest fire.

But yeah, I guess apart from that, a few houses falling into the ocean
each year, and those houses that got blown up/burned up in San Bruno,
we're relatively disaster-free here.

Little lightning, no tornados, no hurricanes, minimal flooding, etc.
Yeah, I like it here (except for the government disasters).

--
Jeff Liebermann
150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com
Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com
Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558

On Sat, 15 Jan 2011 17:43:05 +0000, Baron wrote:

Jeff Liebermann Inscribed thus:

On Thu, 13 Jan 2011 21:37:02 +0000 (UTC), Meat Plow
wrote:

No, tapping on it will not induce micro-phonics but will often lessen
the howl.

Well, if it were "grounding", then banging on the case would have no
effect (unless there were some screws loose).

Incidentally, I tried my VX-5 turn on/off times. It took about 1
second to turn on, and the same to turn off. Pushing the button to
turn off was *NOT* instantaneous. I had to hold it for 1 sec. It's
been like that since new, so there's been no deterioration. At this
point, I don't know if it's a firmware issue, settings issue, or dirty
keyboard. Save, reset and reload seems the easiest to do first.

Once the radio is on, the howl goes away, maybe after 10 minutes.

Something is getting warm perhaps?

We have it here due to severe thunderstorms with large hail, damaging
winds, localized flooding, micro-bursts and tornadoes.

That's why I like California. Other than earthquakes and government,
we don't have much in the way to disasters here.

... I had just purchased a Dodge 4x4 in the spring. I was out chasing a
storm around and got pelted by some golf ball sized hail. That ended my
chasing days. I don't have a beater that I care about looking like
someone took a hammer to it.

Ouch. I've never even seen a tornado, so I have no idea what it might
be like. Raining golf balls sounds like no fun. Yes, Skywarn has its
place in your part of the country.


This thing doesn't have a backup battery does it ? If so have you
replaced it !

I think it stores in erasable prom but can't be sure. I had it open once
and don't recall seeing anything big enough to be a supercap or battery.
It's really miniaturized.



--
Live Fast, Die Young and Leave a Pretty Corpse

Meat Plow Inscribed thus:

On Sat, 15 Jan 2011 17:43:05 +0000, Baron wrote:

Jeff Liebermann Inscribed thus:

On Thu, 13 Jan 2011 21:37:02 +0000 (UTC), Meat Plow
wrote:

No, tapping on it will not induce micro-phonics but will often
lessen the howl.

Well, if it were "grounding", then banging on the case would have no
effect (unless there were some screws loose).

Incidentally, I tried my VX-5 turn on/off times. It took about 1
second to turn on, and the same to turn off. Pushing the button to
turn off was *NOT* instantaneous. I had to hold it for 1 sec. It's
been like that since new, so there's been no deterioration. At this
point, I don't know if it's a firmware issue, settings issue, or
dirty
keyboard. Save, reset and reload seems the easiest to do first.

Once the radio is on, the howl goes away, maybe after 10 minutes.

Something is getting warm perhaps?

We have it here due to severe thunderstorms with large hail,
damaging winds, localized flooding, micro-bursts and tornadoes.

That's why I like California. Other than earthquakes and
government, we don't have much in the way to disasters here.

... I had just purchased a Dodge 4x4 in the spring. I was out
chasing a storm around and got pelted by some golf ball sized hail.
That ended my chasing days. I don't have a beater that I care about
looking like someone took a hammer to it.

Ouch. I've never even seen a tornado, so I have no idea what it
might
be like. Raining golf balls sounds like no fun. Yes, Skywarn has
its place in your part of the country.


This thing doesn't have a backup battery does it ? If so have you
replaced it !

I think it stores in erasable prom but can't be sure. I had it open
once and don't recall seeing anything big enough to be a supercap or
battery. It's really miniaturized.


A friend of mine had a HT, Icom I think, with a 2021 battery in it. It
went bananas changing channels when you pressed TX. Turned out that
the battery was the problem. Now I don't know whether it was low
voltage or corrosion because it was repaired by the supplier.

Sadly he's now silent key, so I can't go and ask him. Come to think
about it my FT290 has a battery in it... I'll have to check that !

--
Best Regards:
Baron.

On Sat, 15 Jan 2011 21:13:39 +0000, Baron wrote:

Meat Plow Inscribed thus:

On Sat, 15 Jan 2011 17:43:05 +0000, Baron wrote:

Jeff Liebermann Inscribed thus:

On Thu, 13 Jan 2011 21:37:02 +0000 (UTC), Meat Plow
wrote:

No, tapping on it will not induce micro-phonics but will often lessen
the howl.

Well, if it were "grounding", then banging on the case would have no
effect (unless there were some screws loose).

Incidentally, I tried my VX-5 turn on/off times. It took about 1
second to turn on, and the same to turn off. Pushing the button to
turn off was *NOT* instantaneous. I had to hold it for 1 sec. It's
been like that since new, so there's been no deterioration. At this
point, I don't know if it's a firmware issue, settings issue, or
dirty
keyboard. Save, reset and reload seems the easiest to do first.

Once the radio is on, the howl goes away, maybe after 10 minutes.

Something is getting warm perhaps?

We have it here due to severe thunderstorms with large hail, damaging
winds, localized flooding, micro-bursts and tornadoes.

That's why I like California. Other than earthquakes and government,
we don't have much in the way to disasters here.

... I had just purchased a Dodge 4x4 in the spring. I was out chasing
a storm around and got pelted by some golf ball sized hail. That
ended my chasing days. I don't have a beater that I care about
looking like someone took a hammer to it.

Ouch. I've never even seen a tornado, so I have no idea what it
might
be like. Raining golf balls sounds like no fun. Yes, Skywarn has
its place in your part of the country.


This thing doesn't have a backup battery does it ? If so have you
replaced it !

I think it stores in erasable prom but can't be sure. I had it open
once and don't recall seeing anything big enough to be a supercap or
battery. It's really miniaturized.


A friend of mine had a HT, Icom I think, with a 2021 battery in it. It
went bananas changing channels when you pressed TX. Turned out that the
battery was the problem. Now I don't know whether it was low voltage or
corrosion because it was repaired by the supplier.

Sadly he's now silent key, so I can't go and ask him. Come to think
about it my FT290 has a battery in it... I'll have to check that !

I'll have another look when I pull it apart to clean the conductive pad
on the power button. I'm sure there are no 3 volt lithium cells in it in
the 20xx size.



--
Live Fast, Die Young and Leave a Pretty Corpse

On Sun, 16 Jan 2011 16:38:37 -0500, "Michael A. Terrell"
wrote:

RG-174?

Could have been. About the right diameter.

I have a 1000 foot spool under my main workbench to make custom
probes with.

I prefer LMR100, RG316, or RG188. Most of the pigtails I've bought
use RG-316. I don't have a 1000ft roll but do have a tangled mess of
indeterminant length buried under the bench.

--
Jeff Liebermann
150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com
Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com
Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558

Jeff Liebermann wrote:

On Sun, 16 Jan 2011 16:38:37 -0500, "Michael A. Terrell"
wrote:

RG-174?

Could have been. About the right diameter.

I have a 1000 foot spool under my main workbench to make custom
probes with.

I prefer LMR100, RG316, or RG188. Most of the pigtails I've bought
use RG-316. I don't have a 1000ft roll but do have a tangled mess of
indeterminant length buried under the bench.


I paid $20 for it, and it works fine for that use. I also have rolls
of silver plated double shielded teflon coax, but why waste it?


--
You can't fix stupid. You can't even put a band-aid on it, because it's
Teflon coated.

On Tuesday, January 11, 2011 at 2:31:52 PM UTC-5, Meat Plow wrote:
Yaesu VX-5R tri-band hand held. Momentary contact power on/off button.

I've owned this radio for 9 or 10 years. Recently I have to push several
times on this rubber on/off button to get the radio to come on. But it
always takes just one touch to turn it off. And the radio works fine
otherwise including all the other buttons. Just have to play around
pressing the button maybe three/four/five times. Sometimes it powers on
when pressed once! But always shuts off with just one easy push.
This indicates to me that it's not a problem with button contact but
rather a microprocessor problem.

Discuss.



--
Live Fast, Die Young and Leave a Pretty Corpse

I've had this HT apart a half dozen times to clean the contacts and buttons.. It seemed each time the cleaning effort worked for less than the previous time. This last time was desperate. I put a tiny piece of copper foil on the bottom of the rubber button, held in place by a drop of Elmer's glue. So far, it's working well. KB1KXJ

On Mon, 4 May 2020 12:21:05 -0700 (PDT), wrote:

clean the contacts and buttons. It seemed each time the cleaning effort worked for less than the previous time.

Yes, that's the way it works. Every time you clean them, you remove
some more of the conductive coating.

They sell small conductive rubber pads intended to be glued onto the
existing pads. I have never tried them, though. Using metal might be
hard on the contacts.

On Mon, 04 May 2020 23:32:17 +0200, HW wrote:
On Mon, 4 May 2020 12:21:05 -0700 (PDT), wrote:

clean the contacts and buttons. It seemed each time the cleaning
effort worked for less than the previous time.

Yes, that's the way it works. Every time you clean them, you remove
some more of the conductive coating.

They sell small conductive rubber pads intended to be glued onto the
existing pads. I have never tried them, though. Using metal might be
hard on the contacts.

Do "they" even sell "conductive paint" to repair rear window defoggers
anymore? They came viz a little finger nail polish bottle and brush.
I came across an old, dried up bottle of the stuff in the back of one
of my junque drawers recently...

Jonesy
--
Marvin L Jones | Marvin | W3DHJ.net | linux
38.238N 104.547W | @ jonz.net | Jonesy | FreeBSD
* Killfiling google & XXXXbanter.com: jonz.net/ng.htm

On 2020/05/05 9:19 a.m., Allodoxaphobia wrote:
On Mon, 04 May 2020 23:32:17 +0200, HW wrote:
On Mon, 4 May 2020 12:21:05 -0700 (PDT), wrote:

clean the contacts and buttons. It seemed each time the cleaning
effort worked for less than the previous time.

Yes, that's the way it works. Every time you clean them, you remove
some more of the conductive coating.

They sell small conductive rubber pads intended to be glued onto the
existing pads. I have never tried them, though. Using metal might be
hard on the contacts.

Do "they" even sell "conductive paint" to repair rear window defoggers
anymore? They came viz a little finger nail polish bottle and brush.
I came across an old, dried up bottle of the stuff in the back of one
of my junque drawers recently...

Jonesy

As far as I know the product for repairing window heater strips is still
available.

https://www.familyhandyman.com/autom...ndow-defogger/

However I do recall there was an MG Chemicals product for restoring
conductive pads:

https://www.mgchemicals.com/products...conductive-pen

or

https://www.amazon.com/MG-Chemicals-.../dp/B0081SGM8M

Which is not listed at MG Chemicals, perhaps obsolete?

John :-#)#


--
(Please post followups or tech inquiries to the USENET newsgroup)
John's Jukes Ltd.
MOVED to #7 - 3979 Marine Way, Burnaby, BC, Canada V5J 5E3
(604)872-5757 (Pinballs, Jukes, Video Games)
www.flippers.com
"Old pinballers never die, they just flip out."

In article ,
John Robertson wrote:
Yes, that's the way it works. Every time you clean them, you remove
some more of the conductive coating.

They sell small conductive rubber pads intended to be glued onto the
existing pads. I have never tried them, though. Using metal might be
hard on the contacts.

Do "they" even sell "conductive paint" to repair rear window defoggers
anymore? They came viz a little finger nail polish bottle and brush.
I came across an old, dried up bottle of the stuff in the back of one
of my junque drawers recently...

Jonesy

As far as I know the product for repairing window heater strips is still
available.

https://www.familyhandyman.com/autom...ndow-defogger/

However I do recall there was an MG Chemicals product for restoring
conductive pads:

https://www.mgchemicals.com/products...conductive-pen

or

https://www.amazon.com/MG-Chemicals-.../dp/B0081SGM8M

Which is not listed at MG Chemicals, perhaps obsolete?

I've had some luck restoring conductive-rubber pads using a conductive
dry lubricant called NeoLube No. 2. It's a graphite suspension in
isopropyl alcohol, with a small amount of a binder. Clean the back of
the rubber pad (possibly even roughen it a bit with very fine
sandpaper), then paint it on and let it dry.

It's available from Micro-Mark and other online vendors.