Howdy Y'all,
Quite a while back I had written to the list about the FT-51R misbehaving
(refusing to turn on again) when replacing a spent battery pack with a
freshly charged one. This seems to happen regardless of which pack is being
removed or replace (FNB 38, FNB 35,etc). I promised to report on the results
of the big Y's attempts to fix it:
The rig went back to them twice, each time accompanied by a detailed
description of the problem. After the first time, in which the rig was
mistakenly "repaired" by Lentini, where I bought it, despite it being under
warrantee, no improvement was found. So back it went, this time directly to
Yaesu, with an unhappy letter asking that they replace the rig. (BTW, these
trips involve sending the rig back and forth from 4X to the States, a
time-consuming saga in itself). Yaesu were not interested in replacing the
rig, even though I had gotten only days of usage out of it despite owning it
for months. Instead, on the invoice they wrote:
"REPLACED CONTACT ASSEMBLY, ALIGNED AND TESTED TO FACTORY SPECIFICATION"
the parts list included:
FT-51R CONTACT ASSEMBLY
SPRING CONNECTOR
Presently, the rig does light up about 75% of the time when replacing the
pack, which is much better than it used to be -- it's the other 25% that is
so annoying. I have learned that if I wipe a finger across the pin-like
battery contacts on the bottom of the rig before putting on a new pack, this
raises the percentages to around 90%... I have a theory that the problem is
not mechanical at all, but rather is connected in some way with the rig's
self-protection circuit from over-voltage input (over 11 volts), or with its
(usually mistaken) attempt to identify which pack is attached to it (menu
item #25). I think that as a pack's voltage drops, this value is stored in
the rig somewhere (maybe a capacitor holding charge?) and mistakenly used as
a reference when a new pack is installed, causing the protection circuit to
kick in. That would explain why the finger on the contacts tends to solve
the problem - it discharges the stored voltage. This may be a lot of BS, so
I'm interested in hearing other's experiences with this problem.
Now to the hints:
The autodialer memories have enough room in them for both the access code to
my autopatch and the phone number itself, but the autopatch needs a pause
between the access code and the actual phone number. Pauses can be inserted
while programming the autodialer memory by using the "REV" button. One can
insert as many pauses as necessary, keeping in mind the 15 digit limit for
each memory.
Something that is not real clear from the manual is which parameters can be
stored in individual memories, and which ones are global for the entire band
or rig. I would have liked to see a chart detailing this. As it is, I really
like the ability to store TXpower individually in each memory, so I can
switch from one repeater to another in my usual stomping grounds without
having to readjust power to save battery juice. I can even program a couple
instances of the same repeater, one for when I'm nearby and one for when I'm
further away, and store these things in sets, each set for a specific
location, which is easier than resetting power manually from the keypad.
Hope someone can benefit from these ideas. I'm interested in feedback, mods,
or other ideas regarding this radio.
73 de
-Avi
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