This is just a quick post regarding a blown 5A fuse on the AVR board in a Yaesu FT-726R. I switched my radio on the other day and it lit up for about a second before everything went dead. I opened the radio and found the 1 1/4″ 5A fuse on the AVR board had […]
Yaesu FT-840 Encoder Fault Repair
The Yaesu FT-840 was, and still is, a very popular ‘shack in a box’ HF radio. The basic specification is: ‘The Yaesu FT-840 is a compact transceiver with up to 100 Watts output power on all HF amateur radio bands in CW, SSB and FM modes, and up to 25 Watts in AM. Dual/triple conversion […]
How to test the magnetron and diodes in ...
My Sharp R-3G54(B)T Microwave Oven, having survived careful but frequent use over THIRTY YEARS, finally passed away a couple of days ago. It was well built in Thailand in 1993…I’ve repaired a few minor problems over recent years, but this time it was terminal, although it didn’t need to be. WARNING: The voltages inside a […]
AVO No 1 Radiac Survey Meter
AVO No 1 Radiac Survey Meter…or Geiger Counter If you attend Ham Radio Rallies in the UK, especially in the North East of England, you will know Alan Clegg a.k.a. ‘The Valve Man’. He bears a striking resemblance to Santa Claus and, quite often, helps people find wonderful things that bring a smile to their […]
Yaesu FT101 Mains Connector Wiring for U...
I recently bought an original Yaesu FT101 in an ‘as seen’ condition. There was no accessory socket blanking plug or mains connector supplied with it. WARNING: this information is provided on an ‘as-is’ basis. You undertake the wiring of this socket of your own volition on the understanding that you are competent to do so […]
How to repair an IKEA 3.5v 600mA Power S...
Some time ago I bought a clip-on lamp to use on my workbench. It was a bright white LED lamp that created no noticeable RF interference and it had a bendy, segmented neck, so I could angle the light where I needed it. It was ideal, although now and again it would dim a little […]
Wideband Modification for your Yaesu FT-...
The FT-817 from Yaesu has been one of the most popular portable QRP radios ever made; the discontinuation of the FT-818, its successor, was announced in early 2023. They give you essentially, a shack in a box. Full HF coverage plus 6m, 2m and 70cm, using all popular operating modes: USB/LSB/CW/AM/FM/Packet/PSK-31/RTTY. Power output is up […]
My Collins KWM-380 is sick
Yesterday I switched on my Collins KWM-380 as I often do. The lights and LEDs came on, the few short beeps emanated from the speaker, but no signals or S meter deflection. No tuning ‘blips’ as the main tuning knob is turned on the megahertz dial either. The volume control gave an increase in hiss […]
Resurrecting a Philips PM6671 High Resol...
I do like older test gear…it’s normally repairable quite easily and it’s possible to buy it for a fraction of its original price. Equipment that once cost thousands, can be had for just hundreds, or sometimes tens of pounds. I went to the 2022 Galashiels Radio Rally on the 30th of October and spotted a […]
Microwave Modules 15dB Attenuator
The Microwave Modules MMT1296 and other transverters, rely on a 15dB attenuator between the transverter and the driver radio for matching. When these transverters were designed, 10W output base and mobile transceivers were the norm. When you buy a second hand transverter, these attenuators are often missing. I had a similar experience and wondered what […]