Topband: Pro III rx jack and SEND relay- issues on Top Band-

[Bryon PAUL Veal n0ah]

I spoke to Icom this morning about the rx jack on the Pro III.  It was never changed from the original Icom 756 or Icom Pro- in other words, they strongly recommended protecting it with a front end unit when using it with a rx antenna like a beverage, etc......

The reason I called this morning was to try and trouble shoot 2 problems I was having with the rig during the ARRL contest this past weekend- 

First, the Send jack relay of the Pro III hooked up to control the front end protector from RadioDan.com was staying short circuited at times without explanation.  I spoke to Dan, W7RF, right away the morning of the contest-After checking all test points, the front end protector was operating properly- (awesome customer service!!)  

While transmitting, it happened without explanation, and corrected itself without explanation.  In fact, when I was on the phone with Dan, it unlocked- It would stay short circuited for a few minutes then free up- Most of the time, everything worked as expected-These events took place hours apart. I replaced all the RCA jack cables- did not correct the problem- It happened twice during the first night of the contest, un locking after a few minutes.  So for the last half of the contest, so I just disconnected it and by passed the front end protector to finish up listening with the vertical most of the time- 

Second, about 2/3rds of the way through the contest, the primary character being sent was getting clipped when I was using the Dentron 2000 tuner- so instead of stations hear N0AH, they were hearing what sounded like a distorted E in front of the rest of the call like e0AH........That has never happened before- so taking the tuner out of line, no clipping- 

Since the rig operates fb without everything hooked up to it, Icom tech support suggested RF feed back getting into things and suggested I bead all the cables going in and out of the rig between the front end protector and the tuner-    

Before I spend the money, does this suggestion sound correct? It only happens on 160M.  And I don’t use an amplifier- Just 100 watts- The rx antenna is a K9AY single loop and is the apex of the antenna is about 50 feet from the tx antenna-  

Has anyone else with a Pro III experienced these issues with the Send relay sticking after activating by transmitting, (while controlling a front end protector or amp), or problems with clipping using an external tuner?   Does stray RF sound like the cause?

Any suggestions welcomed-  Great contest- had a blast! 

73  Paul  N0AH and Anna, W0ANT