whoo hoo my AC power problem is fixed

[ke7trp]

That is very true.   All of this gear at one time or another is going to need work.  This is one of those glorious times when my champ and my King both work.  Right when that happend. The Valiant died again.

Clark

[N3DRB The Derb]

well got it back together. testing into the DL looks good so far but I wont call it fixed until I can lay down a few hours of operating time without it sending the Ic into the pin.

Hook it back inline in the morning, see what happens.   

[WD8BIL]

Keep on keeping on, Derb!

You're an inspiration. You'll lick it!

[WA1GFZ]

As we get older I think we will drift back to larger components and bigger rigs and stronger eye glasses

[flintstone mop]

I guess this thread will now hopefully reveal a working radio station.
I've been in the same boat with different gremlins preventing the use of different modes or different stations at MOP radio.
So, I feel for your frustrations Tim.
The constant snow and blowing the crap from the driveway and family things have kept me from radio and the challenge of a 75M rendezvous.
Hopefully you are on the air now?

Phred

[K1JJ]

It's not the troublesome radio, it's the ability to repair it and the amount of risk taken. Many of wouldn't think a second about repairing a Ranger, easy to repair and low risk (since we likely didn't pay x thousand dollars for it). The same could not be said for a FT1000XZ V5.2a Track and Field or similar new radio.   

Yeah, but wait til you work on an FT-1000 Disco Duck Field and Stream rig....


Derb, finding bad (or drifting) capacitors is one of the toughest troubleshooting tasks. One way or another it appears you may have licked it.  Good going.  Now it's the "brick on the key" test.


T

[K5UJ]

<<<As we get older I think we will drift back to larger components and bigger rigs and stronger eye glasses>>>
I think that's happening to me right now.  Well, the bigger components and dime store magnifier glasses have happened.  Bigger rig is next.

It's not the troublesome radio, it's the ability to repair it and the amount of risk taken. Many of wouldn't think a second about repairing a Ranger, easy to repair and low risk (since we likely didn't pay x thousand dollars for it). The same could not be said for a FT1000XZ V5.2a Track and Field or similar new radio.   

Right.  I wonder how many guys ever pull the covers off their $5000 Yaesu?  It's getting harder for me to get motivated to get into my 1000MP Mk V now that I recapped a few older items.   Fun has a lot to do with it.  Replacing big easy to see discrete hand wired components is fun.   Peering at a SMT double sided board under bright lights and a big magnifying glass with home fabricated iron tips and tweezers isn't fun.  It's...sweat and nervousness. 

Yeah, but wait til you work on an FT-1000 Disco Duck Field and Stream rig....

Not sure if that one is through hole or SMT but in any case I'm told the 1000 series is easy compared to what's getting built and sold now.    I always heard the 1000D sounded great on AM by the way.

Rob

[ke7trp]

I have a 1000D.  I ran audio into it. It sounded nice I guess.  For AM, there is nothing like an old tube Reciever and Class C rig though.  I lost interest and went back to glow in the dark rigs.

Clark

[N3DRB The Derb]

whelp, it's better but not cured. I can stay on the maul maybe 5 minutes tops before the plate current very slowly starts to creep upward. I am now going to check on some resistors down in that area. Swapping PB 1076 boards had no effect, so it's something on the mainframe of the rig. Maybe sub a set of finals even though these seem to have plenty of emission. one of the tubes looks more piss beat than the other - maybe 1 tube is taking most of the gaff.

I had maybe a minute and half keydown time max before. It's to the point now where I can actually js some clip leads on there and take some live measurements without worrying about having to jerk the power too soon.

at least I know my power wont give me any problems when I get it. I really hate working in this thing, the wire gauges are so small and the pvc on the wires is so fragile.

My last job before I got sick was troubleshooting and repairing SMT PC computer boards under a Skorpion binoc magnifier. I hand soldered SMT! I cant imagine now how I ever did it.

[ke7trp]

When you figure it out, Let us know..

I have had 101's do this over the years.  Almost always, Replacing the caps fixes them.  I have an FT101EE that I used for years on SSB.  Then one day I tried it on AM with the SB220.  I found that after about 1 to 2 minutes, the Current would slowly rise.  Eventualy you had to let off the key. 

I replaced the caps, Swapped boards,  Tubes, alignment, Driver tube ect..  Never could find it.  I spent hours on it man.  It was not the bias either.  I played a tone through the thing on SSB for 15 minutes at 100 watts PEP and it was steady.  Hold a carrier for 3 minutes and all of the sudden the IC would rise.  Even if I started at 10 watts carrier.

eventualy I lost interest and used it on SSB. I own other 101s and I just grabbed another out of the Store room.  I know I can fix it.. I just gotta find the time to figure out what the heck is going on.  My next step was a can of Air so I could blast caps and resistors with cold.  The 101 is so tight in areas that its nearly impossible to trace things down with a probe.

I know its not a factory fault.  I had my Friend key his FT101EE up at 20 watts carrier as a test. He called 30 minutes later and said, The IC has not moved one bit.

Clark

[K5UJ]

Intersting.  Maybe it just needs to be blasted with a big mauling fan.  I know they have a stock fan but maybe it's a little ssb/cw fan.  Good luck Derb, I'm looking forward to working you.