| Author |
Message |
    
Sledgehammer
| | Posted on Tuesday, December 30, 2003 - 8:59 pm: | 
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I just purchased a President Madison off E-bay and talked on it for about 5 minutes and the radio just lost power and started smoking from the red wire that goes into the little board in front of the transformer. I'm not a radio tech but I have experience in soldering and general testing .I'd like to repair the bad components in this radio just for kicks. What kind of problem does this sound like and where would I start looking for fault? Any feedback is welcome even if you want to tell me to toss it!! |
2600
| | Posted on Wednesday, December 31, 2003 - 12:34 am: |
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If you have a DC power supply and a mobile power cord, try to run the radio on DC power. If the radio has failed and overloaded the internal power supply, it will pop the fuse in the DC cord. If the radio is okay on the external, consider that it will probably cost more to have the internal DC supply fixed than the price of an external supply. Power supplies are cheap these days. Repair work isn't.
If the radio pops the DC fuse (or the external supply), my prediction is that a "golden screwdriver" was applied to the radio, probably to goose the wattmeter as far as it would go on transmit. Cleaning up the 'shrapnel' from that kind of breakdown means finding all the damaged parts BEFORE the mike gets keyed the next time. If you miss one bad part, and replace only some of the damaged stuff, your NEW parts may go "poof" the first time you key it.
73 |
Sledgehammer
| | Posted on Wednesday, December 31, 2003 - 12:05 pm: |
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The radio still smokes on DC. I hooked it up to a 10 amp tripp-lite and it did the same thing it was doing when connected to AC. No fuses blown and no breakers tripping. There is a definite short in the radio somewhere. This radio has some definite mods done to it.There is a power knob and two switches in the back that I believe control frequencies. There is also a 5 or 6 position knob where the phones jack used to be on the front of the unit. Also when I turn the power on I noticed the needles move backwards ever so slightly. Not good. |
Crafter
| | Posted on Wednesday, December 31, 2003 - 9:53 pm: |
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Sounds like a "O" kit for extra channels probally a 858 PLL. |
2600
| | Posted on Saturday, January 03, 2004 - 5:39 am: |
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Uh whoa, this isn't the original Madison with the 4-PIN mike socket, is it? If so, that radio is old enough to buy a drink legally.
The later version sold after about 1980 has the 5-pin mike socket. That one looks more like a Cobra 2000 or 148GTl on the inside.
The 4-pin version has some parts in it that have been discontinued for years. Bringing it back to life could call for looking under the right rocks for the parts it will need.
The DC supply to that radio should have a 3-Amp fuse in line with it. More current than that will just add to the list of damaged stuff.
It's sounding more and more like a 20-plus year-old car that's been driven over a cliff. May be totalled.
73 |
Sledgehammer
| | Posted on Saturday, January 03, 2004 - 9:57 am: |
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This has a five pin mic socket. This radio definitely been driven off a cliff atleast twice! I had to let this thing sit on my deck and air out for a couple of days when I first got because it would make my whole house smell like an ashtray! This radio is not worth putting a ton of dough into but cool enough to try to get up and running. |
Tech808
| | Posted on Saturday, January 03, 2004 - 10:37 pm: |
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Sledgehammer,
Tried e-mailing you your New CEF Number and e-mails keep coming back.
You are now CEF #266
Welcome aboard!
Lon
Tech808 |
Sledgehammer
| | Posted on Sunday, January 04, 2004 - 2:11 pm: |
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Thanks 808 I got your e-mail. |
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