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Thread: FT- Tips and Tricks

  1. #11
    Administrator N8YX's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by WØTKX View Post
    I repaired the shaft on a Dentron Supertuner using a Delrin rod of the correct diameter

    It held the set screw for the knob better than metal after drilling a small hole for the screw
    Remind me to tell you how often I cussed those tuner shafts when I had one in the shack.
    "Everyone wants to be an AM Gangsta until it's time to start doing AM Gangsta shit."

  2. #12
    Whacker Knot WØTKX's Avatar
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    Yea, suckage. i fixed it, and sold it. :)
    "Where would we be without the agitators of the world to attach the electrodes
    of knowledge to the nipples of ignorance?" ~ Professor "Dick" Soloman



  3. #13
    Administrator N8YX's Avatar
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    Tip #4 - always check the simple things first

    While diagnosing a problem with the TX Clar(ifier) LED in an FT-980, I carefully pored over the circuit diagrams in the Technical Reference, took my best stab at the source of the trouble (a faulty output driver; SN74LS373N) and proceeded to disassemble the rig, desolder the chip from the CPU board, fit a socketed replacement, reassemble the radio...and watch the problem persist.

    The LED in question is used to indicate that the "Clarifier" function is active on Transmit. Note that the '980 doesn't feature an RIT/Clarifier knob - that function is implemented in the manner which Ten-Tec did it on the Paragon and Omni V. You press a button for the desired incremental tuning mode (receive, transmit or both) then use the VFO knob to adjust the frequency.

    This LED was stuck "on", even though the TX Clar could be turned on and off via the front panel button. A little digging around on the CPU Board (and the specific pins of the '373N) showed the output to be held Low. The wiring harness was removed from its CPU Board connector and checked for shorts - and in fact, the conductor which controls the TX Clar LED was shorted to ground. Next, the lead in question was desoldered from the Keyboard unit (which contains the LED). Short still preset. This implied disassembly of the harness. So...I removed some hardware to allow the rig's front panel to be tilted down for servicing - and after a little bit of tracing the wire, found the problem: It had become wedged between the sheet metal which comprises the main chassis and the front panel carrier bracket.

    A little snipping/rework followed by proper harness dress fixed everything. This bears consideration in any rig whose front panel is capable of being swung down for service and which has bundles of wiring near the structure intersection points. Make sure the harnesses aren't capable of being guillotined when the assembles are swung closed.
    "Everyone wants to be an AM Gangsta until it's time to start doing AM Gangsta shit."

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