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Thread: Off Topic- Radio troubleshooting question

  1. #1
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    Default Off Topic- Radio troubleshooting question

    Anyone have any experience with C.B. radios? A driver at work brought me his non functioning radio and asked if I could fix it. It won't come on. I checked the inline fuse and checked the red and black wire for continuity. I've got power going to the back of it, where the leads plug in, but nothing happens.

    Is there an internal fuse or circuit breaker? Any ideas on it failing to power up? Is it cooked? Maybe someone hooked it up to 24v instead of 12v and didn't tell me??

    Or, like a lot of stuff these days, does he just discard it and get another one? Way too much stuff is made to be "disposable"- nothing lasts.

    Anyway, any advice or suggestions would be appreciated.

    Thanks.

    Steve
    2014 Upgrades!: 24x40 sugarhouse & 30"x10' Lapierre welded pans, wood fired w/ forced draft, homemade hood & preheater
    400 taps- half on gravity 5/16, half on gravity 3/16
    Airablo R.O. machine - in the house basement!
    Ford F-350 4x4 sap gatherer
    An assortment of barrels, cage tanks & bulk tanks- with one operational for cooling/holding concentrate
    And a few puzzled neighbors...

    http://s606.photobucket.com/albums/t...uckethead1920/

  2. #2
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    My qualifications -

    5 years USCG Radioman (defunct rate) and 32 years as licensed ham radio operator (general class)....

    Probable diagnosis -

    Smoke tested.....

    Remedy - buy another one....

  3. #3
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    Default

    "Smoke tested", lol! Yeah, I was leaning that way too. I will let the owner know that an experienced radio technician feels that, "the radio is damaged beyond repair". If that doesn't do it, I'll say "Someone cooked it- who hooked it up?". I'll see what the reaction is to that.

    Thanks for the diagnosis!

    Steve
    2014 Upgrades!: 24x40 sugarhouse & 30"x10' Lapierre welded pans, wood fired w/ forced draft, homemade hood & preheater
    400 taps- half on gravity 5/16, half on gravity 3/16
    Airablo R.O. machine - in the house basement!
    Ford F-350 4x4 sap gatherer
    An assortment of barrels, cage tanks & bulk tanks- with one operational for cooling/holding concentrate
    And a few puzzled neighbors...

    http://s606.photobucket.com/albums/t...uckethead1920/

  4. #4
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    Yeah...the formula for that is:

    DC power + wrong polarity = smoke + non-operating

    That little note on many electronics these days that says "no user serviceable parts inside" is generally correct. I've certainly had my share of trying to fix things like that, but almost all attempts have produced nothing but fireworks and smoke.
    Dr. Tim Perkins
    UVM Proctor Maple Research Ctr
    http://www.uvm.edu/~pmrc
    https://mapleresearch.org
    Timothy.Perkins@uvm.edu

  5. #5
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    Lol! I was expecting fireworks and smoke when I started troubleshooting it. But the fireworks and smoke must have been experienced by the first "user" when it was still in the truck!

    I wonder what air freshener works best to mask the lingering scent of hot electrical components? Lol.
    2014 Upgrades!: 24x40 sugarhouse & 30"x10' Lapierre welded pans, wood fired w/ forced draft, homemade hood & preheater
    400 taps- half on gravity 5/16, half on gravity 3/16
    Airablo R.O. machine - in the house basement!
    Ford F-350 4x4 sap gatherer
    An assortment of barrels, cage tanks & bulk tanks- with one operational for cooling/holding concentrate
    And a few puzzled neighbors...

    http://s606.photobucket.com/albums/t...uckethead1920/

  6. #6
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    Quote Originally Posted by Bucket Head View Post
    I wonder what air freshener works best to mask the lingering scent of hot electrical components? Lol.
    I bet burnt maple syrup smell would cover it up and make you forget all about the failed radio.
    Dr. Tim Perkins
    UVM Proctor Maple Research Ctr
    http://www.uvm.edu/~pmrc
    https://mapleresearch.org
    Timothy.Perkins@uvm.edu

  7. #7
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    Quote Originally Posted by Bucket Head View Post
    Anyone have any experience with C.B. radios? A driver at work brought me his non functioning radio and asked if I could fix it. It won't come on. I checked the inline fuse and checked the red and black wire for continuity. I've got power going to the back of it, where the leads plug in, but nothing happens.

    Is there an internal fuse or circuit breaker? Any ideas on it failing to power up? Is it cooked? Maybe someone hooked it up to 24v instead of 12v and didn't tell me??

    Or, like a lot of stuff these days, does he just discard it and get another one? Way too much stuff is made to be "disposable"- nothing lasts.

    Anyway, any advice or suggestions would be appreciated.

    Thanks.

    Steve
    A few years back they were pretty cheap on EBAY cause everybody was getting rid of them. Not sure if that is still the case.
    If you think it's easy to make good money in maple syrup .... then your obviously good at stealing somebody's Maple Syrup.

    Favorite Tree: Sugar Maple
    Most Hated Animal: Sap Sucker
    Most Loved Animal: Devon Rex Cat
    Favorite Kingpin: Bruce Bascom
    40 Sugar Maple Taps ... 23 in CT and 17 in NY .... 29 on gravity tubing and 11 on 5G buckets ... 2019 Totals 508 gallons of sap, 7 boils, 11.4 gallons of syrup.
    1 Girlfriend that gives away all my syrup to her friends.

  8. #8
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    Okay, so here's "Part B" of this radio story. After telling the driver the radio may well be cooked, I got a "That's impossible. Check it again!" from him. So before I did that, I took my test light out to his truck (well, not his- their rentals, from Ryder) and checked the feed wires. No power there! So then he says he tried the radio on two other trucks and it still didn't work! So now I'm questioning where he is "trying" this radio, why is there no power to his leads on the other trucks if that is the case and is there a possibility that the radio does work.

    So today I take in my 120v to 12v converter power source and hook the radio up on the bench. You guessed it, it works! None of the trucks have power going to the leads! We don't work on the rentals so what he does from here is on him.

    So the moral of the story is never assume power leads have power going to them (even on a new truck!) and there is always another part of "the story" that your not getting!

    Steve
    2014 Upgrades!: 24x40 sugarhouse & 30"x10' Lapierre welded pans, wood fired w/ forced draft, homemade hood & preheater
    400 taps- half on gravity 5/16, half on gravity 3/16
    Airablo R.O. machine - in the house basement!
    Ford F-350 4x4 sap gatherer
    An assortment of barrels, cage tanks & bulk tanks- with one operational for cooling/holding concentrate
    And a few puzzled neighbors...

    http://s606.photobucket.com/albums/t...uckethead1920/

  9. #9
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    May 2013
    Location
    Sugar Camp, Wisconsin
    Posts
    298

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    Hey Steve
    I hook up my 2 meter rig in my car just using a "cigarette lighter plug" There is enough amperage there for even a higher power transmitter. Its an easy install on any truck then...............as long as they have a "cigarette lighter plug" or as they call them today "Aux Power Outlet"
    Jay KA9NKA
    Zucker Lager

  10. #10
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    Cigarette lighter plug -- a rapidly disappearing term.

    The old John Deere 610 bulldozer we used to have at PMRC had two things on the dash (besides the key) as I recall: an ammeter and a cigarette plug. Some things used to be really important years ago.
    Dr. Tim Perkins
    UVM Proctor Maple Research Ctr
    http://www.uvm.edu/~pmrc
    https://mapleresearch.org
    Timothy.Perkins@uvm.edu

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