[Yaesu] FT-101ZD TR Relay Problem?

[Adam N.]

Dennis,

I recently went through this routine with an FT-107M I brought back from 
sitting idle too long.  My rig's symptoms were intermittent TX: 
Sometimes OK, sometimes taking 1-3 seconds to ramp" up to full power.

The culprits were miniature board-mounted relays.  The 107 has 3, maybe 
4 relays total.  I went after all them with Deoxit and it fixed it. 
DeOxit on your other switches and controls might be a good idea too as 
my rig's toggle switches were all pretty dirty/non-functioning until 
Deoxit.  Lube on the PTO gearworks is also a good idea.. mine is now 
smooth as silk.


73,

Adam N
N4EKV
Oakland, CA
www.n4ekv.com


Dennis L. Wade wrote:

> Hello,
> 
>    After almost 15 years, I've dragged out my gear from storage to get 
> back on the air.  Recently, I've erected an antenna and hooked 
> everything up, so there is no real "it worked fine yesterday" frame of 
> reference.
> 
>    The problem I noticed was that sometimes, but not all, on returning 
> to receive from transmit, the signal levels would be considerably down 
> from their "normal" levels.  This low receive condition would persist 
> for a long time, only occasionally returning to normal levels.  After 
> some investigation, I've concluded that the TR relay is probably at 
> fault with fouled contacts.  What threw me was the lack of symptoms on 
> transmit:  I thought I'd see erratic SWR and or power out indications, 
> but apparently the problem is limited to the receive side.  Only the one 
> contact is dirty?  I'll have to open it up and see.  Any one else have a 
> similar problem?  Any other likely suspects?
> 
>    While I have the thing open, is there any other preventative 
> maintenance I should perform?  My `ZD has remarkably low hours, and is 
> in nearly mint condidtion having been stored in the original plastic in 
> their original boxes.  But, 15 years is 15 years...and I'd like to head 
> off any problems if I can.
> 
>    Did Yaesu offer an AM board for this unit?  Just how pricey is it 
> these days?
> 
>               Thanks in advance for your advice.
> 
>                          Dennis
> 
> Dennis Wade
> KG6ZI
> Carmichael, CA
> 
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