2 DEAD SVA's What makes them be bad?

ricciticcitembo · Post by **ricciticcitembo** » Sat Apr 06, 2002 6:36 pm

I knew my luck on Ebay was going to run out. And it ran out on this fine buy it now for 120 dollars 2 SVA units from . I had already built a cross band repeater out of two sabers without the convertacoms, but i thought it might be cool to have one anyway. I bought one of those cool display mics from John Panic to go with it.

The convertacoms both power up with green lights. Flash red briefly during self test and do nothing else. The little lights on the right hand side do NOT turn on any color when i insert the radio. All the contacts are clean inside, and i tried 5 radios. One of the SVA's worked ONCE perfectly when i slammed it hard on the table, but i have not been able to duplicate that again.

All of my radios work in my friends SVA which he bought from somebody else on Ebay, as does the mic.

The heat sink does not get warm in the SVA so obviously it is not even ON. I have continuity checked all of the wires from the saber connector to the PC board.

So before i take out the PCB and put it where it belongs (in the trash) and make up my own convertacom circuit, I just wanted to know if anybody knows what usually goes wrong with these things.

PCSAR 4x4 652 · Post by **PCSAR 4x4 652** » Sat Apr 06, 2002 7:30 pm

Check the internal and exernal fuses.
Yeah, Yeah, sounds dumb, huh?
My friend has a MVA and his stopped working - blew a fuse. HMMM.

Elroy Jetson · Post by **Elroy Jetson** » Sat Apr 06, 2002 8:04 pm

SVA's are dust magnets. They have NO protection against dust, dirt, and liquids being spilled inside them, and most of them will eventually fail if they don't get the occasional "spring cleaning" which involves major disassembly.

Elroy

ricciticcitembo · Post by **ricciticcitembo** » Sat Apr 06, 2002 8:28 pm

Well, I checked the fuse, and its good.
Funny thing Elroy mentioned about liquids being spilled... The PCB DOES show evidence of hazy residue from something dripped in it.
In addition to lots of dust and dirt. I have cleaned it all up but i guess its too late for that now. Oh well this will be a lesson...Do not Buy untested SVA's

N4UMJ · Post by **N4UMJ** » Sat Apr 06, 2002 9:05 pm

I too was a victim of 2 bad SVA's on e-bay.
Luckily the price wasn't too bad but it still was a total loss. The seller was honest and the units were marked bad so I knew what I was up against.

I disassembled both of them but had no luck in troubleshooting them.

My question on SVA servicing is what is the key to opening the units up without cracking the plastic tabs? Both SVA's I opened suffered damage to the plastic latches and housing.

After all this I said the heck with it!

I did finally find one good SVA on e-bay.
(1 out of 3!)

You just can never tell......

Ed

ricciticcitembo · Post by **ricciticcitembo** » Sat Apr 06, 2002 9:47 pm

On the rear of the SVA, pry on the three tabs. one on either end and the one in the middle. Then slide the top of the shell forward 1/4 inch or so, and Lift off ! NO DAMAGE at all! opens exactly like my SGI Indy. Too bad it doesn't work like the Indy.
Where I got my 2 dead SVA's from:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... 1711717490

N4UMJ · Post by **N4UMJ** » Sat Apr 06, 2002 10:17 pm

Ah...! So that was the trick.

Thanks for disclosing the secret to this puzzle.

Sorry you did not come out better on the auction.

My all time worst e-bay item was a Saber III (no picture auction) that had a price that was too good too resist($175). When I got the Saber I noticed it had some debris in the clear window. I turned it on and it had audio but no transmit. I then disassembled the radio and it was a total loss. This thing inside was rustier than a bucket full of nails at the beach! I still have digital images of it here to remind me what it looked like.

I was able to resell some of the unaffected parts (case etc.) and reclaim some of the cost but the electronics were ruined.

By the way...The seller unregistered himself the following week. I did not pursue it.

Ed

N4UMJ · Post by **N4UMJ** » Sat Apr 06, 2002 10:40 pm

While we are talking about servicing SVA's...

Currently on e-bay:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... 1343536037

Ed
N4UMJ

PCSAR 4x4 652 · Post by **PCSAR 4x4 652** » Sat Apr 06, 2002 11:57 pm

I wonder... Does your SVA have a wheel on the side with a indent dot and I, II, III around it. I just got one for my MTS2000 and it didn't work. After reading through the manual and finding nothing on this selector wheel (set on III) I switched it to II. It brings the backrest plate up a notch and changes something inside. I believe the change to be from MODEL II/III to model I. Now it works perfectly.

ricciticcitembo · Post by **ricciticcitembo** » Sun Apr 07, 2002 12:11 am

hmmmm... No the SVA doesn't have that, but it does have 16 battery contacts in it to accomadate different length radios/batteries which is neat.

I have that I/II/III thingy on my MTVA too. Thank you for telling me what it does. I have not tried it yet because It is missing the control box and is just a radio holder without that box. An other fine Ebay purchase. Even after I explained it to the seller how it works, and he assured me it was complete with everything..... No freakin Box!
I think I am about finished with all of this retarded Motorola Crap on Ebay. I'm done venting now.

Elroy Jetson · Post by **Elroy Jetson** » Sun Apr 07, 2002 11:25 am

I always pop SVA's open with a rubber mallet. One whack on the back of the top cover, pushing it forward, and it's free. Never damaged one, either.

Elroy

N4UMJ · Post by **N4UMJ** » Sun Apr 07, 2002 11:49 am

So my 3 Extra Large Sears Craftsman Flatblade Screwdrivers were the wrong tools?

If there is a next time I will grab the nearest mallet(unbelievable!)

Thanks for the advice,

Ed
N4UMJ

<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: N4UMJ on 2002-04-07 15:50 ]</font>

williamh · Post by **williamh** » Sun Apr 07, 2002 12:18 pm

i got two sva's off e-bay and they both work great . i have bought several radios etc. off ebay and only got one that was crap , and when i contacted that guy he replaced it . he took three months , but he did .

so far , so good