Questions tagged [equipment-troubleshooting]
Questions asking how to solve problems with ham radio equipment.
49
questions
12
votes
3
answers
5k
views
How do I troubleshoot a Baofeng UV-5R that won't receive?
I have a couple of Baofeng UV-5R radios. I have a profile in Chirp that works great on one of them, and I foolishly pushed that profile straight over to a UV-5R without checking firmware versions. ...
- 351
8
votes
3
answers
1k
views
Why do I only hear broadcasts from 150 kHz to 29.999 MHz?
I am currently studying for my amateur radio license. Until I'm licensed, I'm trying to use a Sony ICF-SW7600GR receiver to listen in on amateur radio "phone" transmissions. No matter what I do, ...
- 213
8
votes
2
answers
401
views
How to reduce VFO sensitivity to the hand capacitance?
I got a little tired of Si5351 and decided to build an analog CW transceiver. It's almost done and works pretty well. However, I discovered one problem. When I reach the VFO control with my hand the ...
6
votes
3
answers
2k
views
Noise & shielding, SDR Dongle
First, I'm very new to SDR. This may turn out to be really obvious. I just want to verify my thoughts before I spend more dollars.
I have a USB dongle with the RT28xx in it. Works great. Side by ...
- 1,027
5
votes
2
answers
2k
views
Squelch never seems to "open the gate" on Wouxun KG-UV9D
I just got my Technician's license a few weeks ago and I'm trying to figure out if this is user error or if I need to return my radio.
My understanding of squelch is that when the received signal ...
- 150
5
votes
1
answer
103
views
Signal generator giving DC output?
My signal generator is giving DC at its RF OUT port. At 500 MHz & 1GHz it's giving nearly 1.5V DC when I measure the voltage between the centre pin & outer conductor with a multimeter.
I don'...
- 51
5
votes
3
answers
455
views
Heathkit SB-102 Plate Current out of control
I bought a "technician special" Heathkit SB-102 transceiver. Everything seems to work well until I attach a dummy load and try to go through the "initial tune up" procedure in the manual.
At the ...
- 3,997
4
votes
2
answers
2k
views
Yaesu FT-991A: FM and C4FM modes don't work on HF bands
I bought a second-hand Yaesu FT-991A. It works pretty well and by the look of it's internals I don't believe it was ever repaired.
However I noticed one weird thing. When I try to use FM or C4FM on ...
3
votes
4
answers
3k
views
Repairing a Tecsun PL-660
Two years ago, my father and I both received a Tecsun PL-660 radio as a Christmas gift. We both have had good experiences with our radios and generally enjoyed them until they recently both stopped ...
- 131
3
votes
3
answers
1k
views
The amplifier does not work for hack rf one
Good day! I ask for help with repairing the hackrf one amplifier. Doesn't work at all. Accepts signals without amplifier, and LNA and VGA adjustment in SDR sharp works too!
But when I put a tick on &...
- 183
3
votes
1
answer
432
views
Troubleshoot ICOM IC-745 intermittently shows no power on transmit
I have an old IC-745 I bought used last year. Recently it seems to be malfunctioning intermittently. It is receiving well on all bands as far as I can tell. Sometimes when transmitting, there is no RF ...
- 160
3
votes
1
answer
1k
views
BF-F8HP radios do not receive on 2m unless menu is open
I just got 4 BF-F8HP radios, 2 knockoffs, and 2 "legits"; definitions of knockoff and legit come from a website I found. All 4 of them are having this issue.
I can transmit fine on both 2m ...
- 133
3
votes
1
answer
820
views
Why is IC-7300 transmitting at zero power in "Rig" split mode with WSJT-X and FT8?
I am successfully running FT8 with WSJT-X on Windows 10 with my IC-7300. I am using IC-7300 as the rig.
On reading the official WSJT-X User Guide (and various ...
- 873
3
votes
1
answer
197
views
Kenwood TS 520 S Meter accidentally run without an antenna connected
I powered up my Kenwood TS 520 without connecting the antenna and after 1 hour realized it was not connected, after connecting the antenna I noticed the S-meter was not giving me a reading and I have ...
Ian Brown
2
votes
3
answers
1k
views
What causes my direct conversion 80m receiver to receive AM broadcasts?
I am making a Direct conversion receiver from this circuit at this website.
I made it for the 80m band and I changed:
The frequency of VFO to about 1.75 MHz
L1 and L2 to a bandpass filter for 80m
...
- 21
2
votes
2
answers
151
views
Connecting a Katsumi Elekey EK-150 to my transceiver
I picked up a used Katsumi Elekey EK-150 (manual) electronic keyer.
I'm trying to get it working with my Kenwood TS-570S (manual), which has a 3.5mm Key jack. With a male-male audio cable connected to ...
- 185
2
votes
1
answer
247
views
Faulty MFJ-259 - meter hits end stop on power up
I have a faulty MFJ-259, the early model I believe. When I power it up, the power light doesn’t illuminate, and the meter needles hit the right hand end stops. I immediately power down as I guess ...
- 41
2
votes
2
answers
713
views
Erratic behavior on Baofeng UV-5R Plus
I bought a UV-5R Plus (8 watt radio in the same casing as a normal Baofeng), and I've noticed some strange behaviors.
Occasionally when I key up on my local repeater, the radio turns itself off and on ...
- 121
2
votes
2
answers
836
views
Yaesu G-5400B rotator controller problem
I'm currently facing a little problem with our Yaesu controller. I have done all the calibration and the controller appears to be working fine. Unfortunately, it does so for short duration (a couple ...
2
votes
1
answer
149
views
Did I brick my Yaesu ft-780r
I bought a second-hand #Yaesu #FT780R real cheap (€30). The fuse was dead, I replaced it. It turns on. N-type antenna connector: ordered an adaptor, to be delivered today. While waiting for the ...
2
votes
1
answer
176
views
Simple AM Radio Troubleshooting
I just got all the parts to make a simple AM transmitter from Scitoys. I followed the instructions from different websites and they still don't work. I don't know why it's not working. On my ...
- 85
2
votes
1
answer
705
views
Does anyone repair Flex radios other than Flex Radio?
A local ham that I have an evening sked with on 75m (Paul, W0EBV) sent his Flex 5000 SDR transceiver to Flex Radio Systems to get it repaired a few months ago. However, it seems that Flex is either ...
- 7,686
2
votes
1
answer
5k
views
Baofeng UV-B6 transmits no audio
I have this Baofeng UV-B6 (the same as B5), and after using CHIRP a few times, transmission stopped working. In fact, it starts transmitting, but no voice is sent whatsoever — dead carrier. RX works ...
- 143
2
votes
1
answer
1k
views
Kenwood TM241A making weird transmissions
I just got a used Kenwood tm241a.
It was working fine on my friends antenna until I took it home and hooked it up to a used Larsen nla-mm antenna I bought at a ham-fest.
It seemed to work fine on ...
- 7,530
2
votes
1
answer
95
views
IC7300 soundcard issues
I have a brand new Dell XPS laptop running windows 11 pro. The rig is an IC7300 which I had running WSJT-x (JTDX) as well as other digi modes using ham radio deluxe fine on an older (10 year old ...
- 21
2
votes
0
answers
108
views
What could cause an Icom IC-756 Pro II to suddenly stop transmitting?
My HF radio (Icom IC-756 Pro II) suddenly won't receive or transmit. I recorded the sound it makes when receiving and uploaded it to https://w7bkg.org/wiki/File:Radio_Issue.wav . It sounds the same on ...
- 179
2
votes
0
answers
117
views
Diagnosing IC-7100 Drive Amp Bias | PA Won't TX
A faulty in vehicle DCDC charger has fed 16V or so into my brand new IC7100, killing the main board and preventing it from transmitting. I've replaced the mainboard with a brand new one however I'm ...
- 163
1
vote
2
answers
69
views
Alinco DJ 500 is having a problem hitting 440 repeaters, the PL and the offset are good and the input IS IN THE BAND. Other HT works great with rpt
My Alinco dj 500 worked great for years and suddenly I can’t hit any of the local 440 repeaters with it. My other ht (tytera md380) works great with these repeaters. I have the right pl and the ...
- 11
1
vote
2
answers
2k
views
Baofeng UV82-HX charger problem
I am having problem charging my Baofeng UV-82HX HT. No sooner do I put up the HT on the charger, it starts showing the error lights - green stable, red flickering.
I bought this off the shelf in Nov ...
1
vote
1
answer
219
views
Reception for FM stations is offset, but AM stations aren't
I have a Realistic STA-78 AM/FM Stereo receiver I recently rescued from my grandmother's attic. It hadn't been played in a while, but it appears everything is in working order except the FM dial. It's ...
- 13
1
vote
1
answer
197
views
Why is the Air Band distorted at times with SDR Sharp?
I am using SDRsharp to monitor air band with an RTL-SDR dongle. Sometimes I receive ATC voice clearly but at times it's distorted,
I am using RTL AGC gain of 29dB with no tuner gain. My filter ...
- 11
1
vote
2
answers
146
views
Kenwood TM-D710E in packet mode: does not transmit
I own a Kenwood TM-D710E.
I connected it via the COM-connector on the panel to a Raspberry pi.
On the panel I selected "packet12" (with the TNC button). After
that, I can send TNC commands ...
1
vote
2
answers
402
views
Yaesu VX-8DE bricked after cloning. Any methods to revive it?
I seem to have bricked my VX-8DE yesterday after cloning it from a PC (using CHIRP)
I was able to copy the data from the radio without problems. I edited it in chirp, then sent it back to the radio. ...
- 143
1
vote
1
answer
353
views
Kenwood TS-440SAT Button Bounce or error code?
I was given a TS-440 that was lightly used. Being old it does need some work. This week I am doing the "Button Bounce" fix. Several of the buttons were bouncing so I pulled the component and ...
- 41
1
vote
1
answer
157
views
IC-7300 internal tuner failing when before tuning I have a 1.5:1 SWR?
I have an IC-7300 and have tried it with a couple of antennas. In each case the internal tuner works sometimes, and not others. That is not a surprise in itself, but sometimes when the untuned SWR is ...
- 11
1
vote
3
answers
487
views
FT-450D not transmitting with microphone
I've been using FT8 on my Yaesu FT-450D for quite some time. I decided to try to talk on phone frequencies and discovered neither one of my mics will transmit. My mics are the original hand mic and a ...
- 11
1
vote
1
answer
755
views
What denotes no RF output in SSB and CW? [closed]
I have that problem currently with my HF transceiver: no power output at all in SSB and CW, no matter which band / Frequency, but everything is ok in AM, FM and RTTY...
There is also a big difference ...
- 11
0
votes
2
answers
979
views
Yaesu FT-817 Won't transmit Dig, SSB or CW
I have a problem with my Yaesu FT-817 it Won't transmit Dig, SSB or CW, But it does transmit AM, FM and Pkt on all bands. Does anyone know what the problem might be. The Radio receives fine on all ...
- 1
0
votes
1
answer
177
views
Why does my transmitter spam the SDR waterfall with this strange pattern?
I was recently playing with a combination of SDR and a Baofeng using two separate antennas and I noticed something strange when I transmit using the Baofeng:
I heard that it's normal to observe ...
- 111
0
votes
3
answers
580
views
Where can I find a service manual for the TECSUN PL-660 to replace the failed circuit board flex cable myself?
Diagnosed three nonfunctional TECSUN PL-660 radios (one from eBay Anon-CO, and two from Amazon) where can I find a service manual to replace the failed circuit board flex cable board assembly part?
...
- 1
0
votes
1
answer
237
views
Kenwood TH-D72 Freeze on Splash Screen
Some friends and I recently placed a Kenwood TH-D72 on the summit of Saddle Mountain in Oregon, USA, and set it up as a temporary digipeater for use with APRS.
The TH-D72 successfully digipeated ...
- 659
0
votes
1
answer
365
views
Issue with Icom R-71A
I have an old ICOM R-71a receiver that is giving me grief. The problem started off with audio and rf cutting out completely after being on for a few hours. The frequency display would work but nothing ...
- 119
0
votes
1
answer
204
views
Kenwood TH-F7E power supply troubleshooting
I have a Kenwood TH-F7E handheld transceiver, bought second-hand a bit less than a year ago. Until about 3 weeks ago, it worked perfectly, then I put it in a drawer and didn't touch it until yesterday,...
- 196
0
votes
1
answer
809
views
Problem with Baofeng BF-888 radios
I have 2 Baofeng bt-888 radios coming out of the box. The problem is that the radios still growl on all channels and the light stays green. Le Griche stops when we send a communication or when we ...
0
votes
1
answer
582
views
Another Yaesu G-5400B output voltage question
This question is very similar Yaesu G-5400B rotator controller problem, with a bit of a twist.
I'm getting a consistent 5.84 VDC up to the rotators and the expected 0-5.84 VDC at terminals A1-3 and ...
0
votes
0
answers
31
views
No Tx on Wsit-X
Installed Wsit-X on windows 10, it only transmits when I press tune, However, It is not transmitting even when I press Enable Tx or Tx Next or both.
- 1
0
votes
0
answers
169
views
Access problem (?) Ubuntu 22.04 LTS
Radio: FT-991
I work usually in Mint 20.3 Mate;
FLRig, FLDigi, JS8, JTDX, WSJTX all run ufb
Installed a Ubuntu 22.04 LTS (on another Laptop)
Now:
FLRig, FLDigi: after setting permission / Owner - ...
- 47
0
votes
0
answers
32
views
Titan antenna VSWR and radio problem
I just installed a new Titan DX antenna and I am using psk31 with fldigi. When I transmit on 20m at 14072, the SWR is 1.65 and it shuts off my computer and the radio keeps transmitting.
However, on ...
0
votes
0
answers
205
views
Troubleshooting ICOM PS15 Power Supply
I got a power-supply gifted by my friend. When I powered ON, the main (120V) FUSE blows up. I started by disconnecting the transformer from the control circuit and powered ON. This time the fuse is ...
- 109