HT220 problems, again

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Robert HT220
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What radios do you own?: JT1K VHF, MT1K VHF/UHF/800C

HT220 problems, again

Post by Robert HT220 »

My VHF HT220 is giving me some problems:

1: The PTT switch is sticking, how can I stop that? It's not the bar itself, but the switch inside the radio. WD40???

2: This is the selective call model, which beeps like a Minitor. Well, it doesn't beep anymore when I turn it on. I don't know if a wire busted loose somewhere or what.

3: And the worst part, it doesn't transmit. It was transmitting before, now it won't. It recieved just fine when I had it outta town, was loud and clear. Also, the speaker makes a "POP" sound when turned on, I have no idea what it's problem is.

HELP!!!

Robert
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Dave
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Post by Dave »

I think it's time to change your name to Robert MT500 or get really crazy and go to Robert MT1000. But on a more serious note....it sounds like it's time for the trash can.
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Robert HT220
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What radios do you own?: JT1K VHF, MT1K VHF/UHF/800C

Post by Robert HT220 »

Tell me about it. I just mess with these things so I have something to do. :lol:

Robert
bernie
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Post by bernie »

My two bits worth:
The HT220 was the current model when I was hired by Motorola in '71.
I have repaired hundreds of them. There are many very fine wires, which are easilly broken.
If you are willing to get the manual, and study it, you will find that it is not too difficult to repair.
You have to understand the basics so you can trouble shoot it.

Otherwise, I think you should use it for a paper weight and get a modern radio.

Relatively speaking, the HT220 was a very expensive radio.
In those days, the order for the radio was taken ONLY by a factory sales rep. Each radio was hand built to the customer requirements.

Each and every feature is hard wired. bulkey Vibrasponder reeds for
PL, and sel call.
A couple of IC's, everything else is descrete components.

Now days, the electronics are robot assembled, and now very efficent, compact, and reliable.
The control of the hard ware is by a micro computer, so all encoding, as well as decoding is in software.

I like antique watches, not radios.
Aloha, Bernie
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Robert HT220
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What radios do you own?: JT1K VHF, MT1K VHF/UHF/800C

Post by Robert HT220 »

I'm not saying that they are pieces of junk or anything. I have one that is on my FD's primary channel, and the countywide FD dispatch, and it's great! Every once in awhile I key it for like 2 sec's to check that it transmitts. No problems with it so far...........Except for this one. :)

Robert
VSP3902
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Post by VSP3902 »

Not that this helps your 220, but I have one that I depend on for my daily duty radio. OK, so it's just used as a mobile extender, but i gotta say it's kinda embarrassing talking on a radio as old as I am when the local PD guys show up with their "space-age" mt1250's.
Good luck getting yours to talk, mine works better as a clubbing implement.
"The stew sure is good"
"That so? I just slaughtered this horse last Tuesday, I was afraid she was fixin to turn"
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Robert HT220
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What radios do you own?: JT1K VHF, MT1K VHF/UHF/800C

Post by Robert HT220 »

Oh well, at least I know it makes squelch noise!! Naw, I almost got it to work. I took it apart, messed with some wires and stuff, and put it back together and it worked for a while, then stopped. I know the battery's good, it shows up 16.9 on the volt meter. It shouldn't be too hard to fix, but ya never know. If I can't get it to work it's just another in the collection of mine. :D

Later

Robert
EngineerZ
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Re: HT220 problems, again

Post by EngineerZ »

Robert HT220 wrote:My VHF HT220 is giving me some problems:

1: The PTT switch is sticking, how can I stop that? It's not the bar itself, but the switch inside the radio. WD40???

2: This is the selective call model, which beeps like a Minitor. Well, it doesn't beep anymore when I turn it on. I don't know if a wire busted loose somewhere or what.

3: And the worst part, it doesn't transmit. It was transmitting before, now it won't. It recieved just fine when I had it outta town, was loud and clear. Also, the speaker makes a "POP" sound when turned on, I have no idea what it's problem is.
Robert
It sounds like the problem with your radio is the spring assembly between the PTT* bar and the actual PTT switch inside the radio. The actual PTT switch used in the HT220 has a "soft feel" to it and does not have much of a click to it. The real "clicky feel" of the PTT button comes from a spring and some plastic pieces that sit behind the bar. I have seen these parts wear out.

It's been a while since I worked on this problem, so I don't remember exactly what the failure is. But what happens is that the PTT button loses it's spring action and the switch inside tends to stick. I'll speculate and say that what was happening when your radio wasn't producing squelch noise or beeping was that it was stuck in transmit mode. You probably bumped it or moved it around enough to knock it back into receive mode...

In the past I've fixed this problem by robbing the spring assembly out of an old, no longer used "parts radio". You have to remove the PTT bar by pushing out the pin at the top with an awl, nail, or other pointy tool. (Once it's started you can pull it out with a pair of pliers...) Once you have the bar off it's a simple matter of dumping out the old assembly and putting the replacement in it's place. Once you have all the pieces back you put the bar back into place and push the pin back in.

--z

*PTT is a registered trademark of Nextel
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Robert HT220
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What radios do you own?: JT1K VHF, MT1K VHF/UHF/800C

Post by Robert HT220 »

OK, cool. I figured that might have been the problem. I haven't worked on it yet cuz I'm busy with some Minitor I's now, I'll check it out.

Robert
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APX
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13 years later...HT220 stuck PTT spring linkage repair

Post by APX »

My pre-man-on-the-moon-date-coded CSQ 1.8W VHF HT220 Omni had its PTT stuck on TX, so drifted out the roll pin out with a 1/16" roll pin punch (with a rounded bump on the face to keep it centered on the pin and to keep the pin round) using a small copper hammer. In the middle, the PTT bar has a big spring between it and the chassis. At the lower end of the PTT bar, opposite the roll pin, is the PTT switch mechanism. Under the PTT bar is a red silicone cover. Under the cover is a nylon concentric cylinder assembly. The outer nylon cylinder is hollow and contains the inner nylon cylinder. The inner nylon cylinder is hollow and contains a small spring. There were small protrusions on the outside of the inner nylon cylinder that, at one time, engaged slots in the outer nylon cylinder to limit the extension of the spring, but those protrusions aren't what they used to be in 1969, so the small spring hyperextended the nylon concentric cylinder assembly, depressing the microswitch plunger upon which the small nylon cylinder bears and causing the HT220 to be keyed continuously.

The solution is easy. The small spring is longer than it needs to be. Rather than cutting it and changing its spring characteristics, I slipped it over a bent paper clip and compressed it past its elastic limit until its length was reduced to 0.250". That allows the tiny nub of the former protrusion to retain the inner nylon cylinder within the outer nylon cylinder while maintaining the original PTT feel of the HT220. Reassembly is the reverse of disassembly.

In the one-in-seven-billion chance, you happen to be the only other person on the planet still interested in the HT220, perhaps the foregoing will be useful to you.
RFI-EMI-GUY
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Re: HT220 problems, again

Post by RFI-EMI-GUY »

Holy cow does that bring back memories. :D Somewhere, probably buried under a ton of things, I have one of those nylon telescoping plungers with the spring inside, In fact I recall it is inside a small plastic container with some of those tiny fuses for the HT220 or maybe HT100 (I had one of those!) or the MX series. I think, Motorola also used some sheet of cork in those radios, along with the very high tech Teflon wires and fiberglass PC board. Those wires by the way, will get pinched and short to the chassis if you are not careful on reassembly.

What I admired the most was the aluminum frame and the texturing that was crafted in for grip.

Then came the MX300 with Kapton wiring and modular construction and all was lost for the HT220's! Fast forward and now I am still a die hard SABER fan, Everything Motorola built after the SABER was inferior in my opinion.
TV DINNER BY THE POOL, IM SO GLAD I FINISHED SCHOOL. FZ
JRUTA
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What radios do you own?: APX6k Visar

Re: HT220 problems, again

Post by JRUTA »

RFI, as am I! Matter of fact I recently bought a NIB Saber after searching for years! Love that radio! Granted, it's more of a collectors item now (still HAM usable though) but truly Motos best.
RadioSouth
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Re: HT220 problems, again

Post by RadioSouth »

Everything Motorola built after the SABER was inferior in my opinion.[/quote]

I'm on the same page. Sabers and Mt1000/HT600 for me but narrowbanding forced me to Jedi's, not bad but not like a Saber or Genesis either.
At work started with HT220 then onto MT500 then MT1000. All worked great until they switched to MT2000's found many more dead spots and
held onto the MT1000 long as they let me, the MT2000's were just not the same in fringe areas.
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WA3VJB
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Re: HT220 problems, again

Post by WA3VJB »

You guys should form a club so I could join as a member.

Got my first HT220 in 1976, a "Marine" VHF model with the factory 1W/5W plate and amp, 6 channels (two pair on the mainframe, plus the 4 pair board). I still have it and it still works! Noisy audio pot, that's about it. Even have the A93 RF adapter that takes it to a right angle BNC, yo !

Modernized in 1995 or so with a mess of HT600 and MT1000 that I've accumulated. Another great series of radios. Still run a 99-ch VHF MT1000 that I got on this board, as a matter of fact, with my thanks and appreciation to folks like yourselves who help provide good homes for orphan radios.

Best to all y'all.
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