| Author |
Message |
    
67gto
| | Posted on Friday, October 24, 2003 - 10:28 pm: | 
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Hi,
I have a nice Skipper 300 with the original 8950 tubes in it. The amps works great on TX but after I key down a few times it seems like the relay sticks because my Receive drops out. I can get it back if I key up fast and let off the key a few times. Sometimes when I unkey it does not stick and I can hear everything. What can I do to fix this? Can I try to clean the relay? Is it easy to replace and can I find the part easy.
THANKS,
GTO |
307
| | Posted on Saturday, October 25, 2003 - 7:58 am: |
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Before you "clean" the relay , remove one end of the "spring" and twist it one time (360 degrees) , then put it back on to make it "tighter". Seen this over and over....
307 |
Crafter
| | Posted on Saturday, October 25, 2003 - 1:12 pm: |
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Dont use sand paper to clean them!!!!!!!!! At most use a brown paper bag and use a piece of it folded. |
Kc0gxz
| | Posted on Sunday, October 26, 2003 - 1:57 am: |
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307
Neat trick. I never heard that one before. You can bet I'll be remembering that one!!
Jeff. |
67gto
| | Posted on Thursday, November 20, 2003 - 9:43 am: |
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Maybe I am missing something. I cannot see a spring. If I cannot fix it, where can I get another relay? Will any electronic parts store carry them if I bring it in can they match it up with another one. I have no idea about relays. I do not want to fool around with the one in my amp and break it. If I know I can get a new relay then I will play with mine and see if I can fix it.
THANKS
G T O |
Viking
| | Posted on Thursday, November 20, 2003 - 10:40 am: |
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From another post I read, try changing the coax length between the radio and the amp. Longer that is. The theory, I believe, is that there's "floating RF" locking the relay. |
67gto
| | Posted on Thursday, November 20, 2003 - 4:25 pm: |
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Viking,
Thanks for that info but I really think it is the relay. I have used 3 foot, 6 foot and even 9' with the same problem. It works fine for the 1st few key ups, but once I have keyed more then about 20 to 30 times it starts sticking.
G T O |
Marlboro_Man
| | Posted on Friday, November 21, 2003 - 6:03 am: |
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67GTO... Try these people for your relay!!
http://www.paladin-tools.com/randolphparks.html
Marlboro_Man
|
Ca346
| | Posted on Friday, November 21, 2003 - 7:43 pm: |
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Or try this outfit for relays in California:
"http://www.allelectronics.com/cgi-bin/category.cgi?category=500&type=store"
I have purchased electronics from them and like COPPER, they are fast and reliable!
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67gto
| | Posted on Saturday, November 22, 2003 - 12:42 am: |
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Thanks for the info.
But I cannot find the correct relay.
I need a
R10-E1-M2
V185 12VDC
G T O |
Bracketbird
| | Posted on Sunday, November 23, 2003 - 8:48 pm: |
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The spring twisting deal has worked for me several times. ive always used a wore out emory board for cleaning but i will give the bag trick a try |
67gto
| | Posted on Wednesday, November 26, 2003 - 4:43 pm: |
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Hi,
I found a new relay and it does the same thing. After a few key downs the receive goes about 50% off and I can only hear strong signals. What else could it be?
THANKS,
G T O |
2600
| | Posted on Friday, November 28, 2003 - 11:10 pm: |
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Could it be that the relay is forgetting to "Un-Key" when you release the mike?
Does flipping the standby switch from "Operate" to "Standby" get your receiver noise level back?
That amplifier was made with a receiver preamp. It has its own relay, and the receiver connection goes through it, too. Well, if the relay is good it does. Tapping on the other relay will probably get your receiver noise level back if the preamp relay is the culprit.
73 |
67gto
| | Posted on Friday, November 28, 2003 - 11:38 pm: |
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Hey 2600,
That is whats going on. I do not know that much about amps and I thought it only had one relay so that is why I changed the only one I saw. Where is the preamp relay? Is it on the bottom of the amp? I never did open the bottom cover of the amp. Now that I think about it the amp really sticks when the preamp is on so I usually do not use it.
THANKS,
G T O |
2600
| | Posted on Monday, December 01, 2003 - 1:21 am: |
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If I'm remembering right, there is a printed circuit board bolted to the rear panel of the cabinet. That's where your socket-mounted R10 main relay is. On it is a nearly-square white or yellow plastic lump, an inch by an inch and a quarter, or so in size. That is the preamp relay, usually a Potter and Brumfield R50-E2-Y2. They are famous for becoming intermittent. Since your receive side goes through the preamp relay, it's the likeliest culprit. The R50 is hard to find, sometimes. Another brand, American Zettler, used to make a substitute. I think they called it a "AZ931 12VDC". That one's rare, too.
The cheap cure is to remove the preamp relay from the board, and replace it with a short skinny wire jumper across two of the circuit-board holes. If only I could remember which two. I'll see if I can dig that little factoid out of the heap and check back later.
73 |
67gto
| | Posted on Monday, December 01, 2003 - 9:52 am: |
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THANKS 2600
I really do not use the preamp so if you could find out I really would appreciate it.
THANKS,
G T O |
67gto
| | Posted on Tuesday, December 02, 2003 - 4:13 pm: |
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I found this relay listed at RF parts.
R50E2Y2-12V C
Flatpack DPDT 2 12 250 1.1 x 0.9 x 0.4
A2531-09-1
$19.95
This should work?
THANKS,
G T O |
67gto
| | Posted on Wednesday, December 03, 2003 - 12:50 pm: |
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HEY 2600
I looked and they have two R50EY2 Relays?
Do I need to change both?
THANKS,
G T O |
Jp1116
| | Posted on Wednesday, December 03, 2003 - 3:26 pm: |
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I think I got lost along the way but here is my two cents worth.
Run the amp for a day with the preamp off and see if the receive acts up. If it does it is not the flat preamp relay (the relay centered on the board) because it doesn't get power to come on until the preamp switch is in the on position. This is assuming you have normal receive to begin with.
If the problem only shows up after the preamp is turned on, then it would probably be the R50 relay, once again the one in the middle.
The one higher on the right of the board, looking from the front, and closest to the transformer does two things. One pole of the relay switches in the secondary of the transformer to provide the B+ voltage to the tubes. If bad you would have either no high voltage which would mean no output or voltage to the tubes all the time.
The other pole removes power from the preamp circuit (if turned on) when you key up and provides power to the R10 relay to switch the input and output through the tubes when keyed. Problems with this contact of the R50 relay would cause the preamp relay not to engage if it sticks closed and you turn on the preamp. It will also cause the R10 relay to stay closed, and kill your receive, if it sticks but you would only show output when keyed up and not even radio output while in standby. Or R10 will not engage at all if it doesn't make contact and you only show the output of your radio because the amp will not key.
Hopefully one of these covers your problem. |
67gto
| | Posted on Wednesday, December 03, 2003 - 7:18 pm: |
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Jp1116,
I never use the preamp and still have the problem. If I turn the preamp on it will cut the receive much faster then with it off. I can usually key at least 15 times before the receive quits. If I turn the preamp on then I can key maybe 5 times and it goes out. It takes longer for the receive to go out when the preamp is off so that is why I leave it off. The preamp does work also. I have no problems with transmit at all.
THANKS,
G T O |
67gto
| | Posted on Monday, December 08, 2003 - 10:05 am: |
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I found a R50 at a shop on Saturday.
Should I replace the one in the middle?
From what I am reading I think the one in the upper right corner is good.
I do not know what to do. I really never use the preamp so if I could just jump it out that would be better and then I could just replace the one in the right corner.
Any suggestions??
THANKS |
67gto
| | Posted on Tuesday, December 30, 2003 - 6:07 pm: |
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Hey 1116,
Which one should I change out?
THANKS
G T O |
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