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Message |
    
Kid_vicious
Senior Member
Username: Kid_vicious
Post Number: 1689
Registered: 9-2004
| | Posted on Wednesday, May 24, 2006 - 6:25 pm: | 
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do LED's begin to dim when they are old or do they just stop working?
i have an older radio here that has one dimly lit LED in the channel display.
i mean one segment of one LED, not the whole digit.
it is dimly lit on all channels that it is on for.
one other digit seems to flicker every once in a while as if its going out next.
i know, i know, what about loose connections or bad solder connections.
ive wiggled and poked everything (get yer mind out of the gutter!) and nothing changes.
took the channel selector off of the board, and cleaned it with contact cleaner the best i could without disassembling it, put it back, reheated all solder connections, and same problem.
so would replacing the LED display unit fix it?
or do you guys think there is some other problem?
im kinda stumped, usually this ends up being a wiggle till you find the culprit repair.
help!
matt |
Therealporkchop
Advanced Member
Username: Therealporkchop
Post Number: 749
Registered: 11-2002
| | Posted on Wednesday, May 24, 2006 - 8:52 pm: |
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From my experience it's a dimming with age thing. But now I've been wrong before, only like once in about 30 or so years, but wrong once. So this would be like the second time if I'm wrong now.
For no more time and money involved, just replace it and see what happens. Think about it, you ain't got nothing else to do. |
Kid_vicious
Senior Member
Username: Kid_vicious
Post Number: 1692
Registered: 9-2004
| | Posted on Wednesday, May 24, 2006 - 9:51 pm: |
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heyyyy!!!
i have a life; its just a boring one.
that was pretty funny chop, and thanks for the input.
thats what i was looking for; someone who'd had some dimming LED's and replaced them adn it worked.
and im sure i've got and LED display around here. hope its pretty standard.
thanks again, this is for a TRC 448. im getting excited about this radio. if you have a chance to pick one up on the cheap, do it. it looks to be quite a talker.
later,
matt |
Bruce
Senior Member
Username: Bruce
Post Number: 3876
Registered: 9-2003
| | Posted on Thursday, May 25, 2006 - 7:04 am: |
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KID ......
I have see this too and if you have a good diagram on that radio check the voltages across a brite and dim segment and see if you can find a diffrence |
Therealporkchop
Advanced Member
Username: Therealporkchop
Post Number: 751
Registered: 11-2002
| | Posted on Thursday, May 25, 2006 - 3:27 pm: |
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Hey there is a good piece of advice Bruce.
I didn't think about that, but that wasn't my problem. Of course if you replace the display and have the same problem, then you know to start hunting. I don't guess by chance you've checked the voltages already have you? Don't you know your life is put on hold because of a radio? Or atleast mine seems to be done that way.
Here is a funny story, or it is now anyway. This guy brought me his radio and told me it wouldn't receive properly. I hooked it up and it would transmit fine, real strong and everything. Talkback worked perfectly, there just wasn't any receive audio. This was a 48T, so I figured bad solder joint or something broke loose cause it was in a truck. I figured he had tightened the thumb screws too tight in the side. I opened it up and checked everything twice. Couldn't find the reason it wouldn't receive like it should. Sometimes, really strong or close stations would come in, but they sounded like they were between channels.
Well, I basically took the whole radio apart looking for broke wires, bad solder joints etc. I checked the alignment and checked the voltage at the test points. Everything seemed in line and on time. So what gives with this radio, I thought?
HA-HA, well as it turned out the problem was operator error. I rechecked the whole radio 3 more times and still couldn't find anything wrong. I mean I even removed transistors and started testing them. The problem...one of the switches on the front of the radio wasn't flipped all the way. The guy had been tinkering inside the radio and had removed the faceplate cause it wouldn't back light properly. I can't remember which one it was,but it was funny after I had sat for about 1 hour and just looking at it thinking of ways to destroy it...
So check the stuff that there is just no way could be wrong first. It just might be... |
Kid_vicious
Senior Member
Username: Kid_vicious
Post Number: 1703
Registered: 9-2004
| | Posted on Thursday, May 25, 2006 - 11:02 pm: |
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chop, i was so hoping its something like that, but im getting discouraged.
i pretty much do an idiot check first thing when a problem arises. (me being the idiot who probably doesnt see something right in front of his nose)
at work i work with computer controlled winch motors, and there are LOTS of facets to the system.
since im by no means an expert; troubleshooting is about all ive got at my disposal.
and i use it!!!
matt
bruce, great idea, and i will try it tonite.
i have the sams for it, but its a scan on CD so some photos are not the best.
thanks for the help. |
Gumpit
Junior Member
Username: Gumpit
Post Number: 12
Registered: 11-2005
| | Posted on Friday, May 26, 2006 - 6:11 pm: |
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I have seen Dave in the_mod group take apart many channel selectors and clean them.He does them in about 5 minutes.You can ask him if there is anything particular you should do,but all I know is when he is done.It works like new.But I would also practice on a few cheapy radios first.Gumpit |
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