Saber Question

MT2000 man · Post by **MT2000 man** » Sun Dec 16, 2001 8:35 pm

Hi all, I have a quick questions for all you saber experts out there. On one of my sabers, the receive audio is scratchy. Well, not scratchy, but like something's rattling in the speaker. Its a very little "rattling" noise. You can hear it when you break squelch, and also on receive (low and high volume, but not as much at high volume). My MT2000 does this as well sometimes, but the saber does it all the time. Any ideas? (correct me if I'm wrong, but i remember some time ago someone said its a loose "spring" or something to that effect) Any help will be great, thanks

cracked · Post by **cracked** » Mon Dec 17, 2001 6:23 am

could you record an audio clip? i service saber I radios but i can't say that i've heard anything like you describe before.

N4UMJ · Post by **N4UMJ** » Mon Dec 17, 2001 8:53 am

I have a couple of older Sabers with the same metallic vibrating sound when the right audio resonance is hit also.

One of the Sabers I purchased had a piece of thick cardboard (like a business card folded) between the FDS and the receiver module. I suspect this is the spring you may be referring to. I assume this was to stop a vibration of some sort.

Also, the metal cover that the speaker is attached to just snaps in (sort of loosely too). I think that is the cause of the vibration in my Sabers. I may try a good layer or two of good quality teflon tape to fill the metal to metal gap and tighten up the fit a little. The tabs on the metal cover below the speaker can also be bent out a little to ensure a tighter fit.

In a worst case scenario you may have a speaker cone/coil that is bad(can't remember the exact term for it.)

These little noises or vibrations can be a real nuisance!

Good Luck!

Eddie

phrawg · Post by **phrawg** » Mon Dec 17, 2001 12:01 pm

is it by chance a submersible saber or for some reason does it have a watrer resistant
membrane in front of the speaker ? (fastened inside the case). If so a lot of that variant of sabers sound horrible at varying volume levels.

MT2000 man · Post by **MT2000 man** » Mon Dec 17, 2001 2:44 pm

Hi, no its just a regular saber with the defined problem (not a problem, but more like an annoyance), like I said before, I even tried tightening the housing

but that didn't work, so its probably internal. The sound is a very small "vibration" if you will, or rattling within the speaker.

Thanks for all your help.

Dave · Post by **Dave** » Mon Dec 17, 2001 3:03 pm

If it was my radio or a customers radio and it had this irritating vibrating sound, I would replace the speaker. If you don't see any loose parts and there isn't any dirt or tiny metalic particles stuck on the speaker then I would say a new speaker should clear up the problem.

Monty · Post by **Monty** » Mon Dec 17, 2001 4:09 pm

Hi:

Rattling, or Crackles when in receive
can be due to a number of reasons:

1. A main one of course is a Bad Speaker, and
well, with these speakers being made overseas
these days, they due tend to have the Speaker
Cone to become warpped over a period of time.

2. Also, manytimes I see the Speaker felt
Grill is the cause. Over a period of time, the Grill becomes warpped, and touches the
surface of the speaker when its starts moving.

This is very true if the radio is subjected to damp weather conditions.

3. When making a examination of the speaker,
make sure there is no debrie in side the speaker, and also, make sure its secure in the radio. Nowdays, many have " tabs " that
hold the speaker in place rather than a 4-40
screw and clip.

<b>A sure way of determining the perfomance of the internal speaker is to try a External Speaker Mic and see how it sounds.</b?>

Monty

medic1020 · Post by **medic1020** » Mon Dec 17, 2001 4:47 pm

I had the same sound with my saber 3 and it was the speaker. I might have lying around the house. Just give me your emial adress and we'll communicate. It's something I got for free so i'll give it to you for free.

Allan

MT2000 man · Post by **MT2000 man** » Mon Dec 17, 2001 4:58 pm

Ok, check you private messages.

Post by **/\/\y 2 cents** » Mon Dec 17, 2001 5:10 pm

it sounds to me like you have a bad speaker cone....get a new speaker

10-95 · Post by **10-95** » Mon Dec 17, 2001 5:10 pm

Take it apart and look under the front shield, you see the VCO top center with the synth module below it. At one time the pre 1991 sabers had that problem and the fix was a rubber pad that was stuck to the top of the vco module . It is a 3.00 part from Motorola and worth buying. The later run of sabers came with the pad installed.

Hope that helps
Frank

N4UMJ · Post by **N4UMJ** » Tue Dec 18, 2001 11:44 pm

I got a chance to work on my Saber that had the metallic vibrating sound when the volume was cranked up.

My case may be different from yours, but as
the vibrating sound was occurring I found I could stop it by applying some light pressure to the speaker grill area. Releasing the pressure would cause it to start again. Removing the chassis and applying power to it outside of the case showed no vibration or rattling sounds when the volume was turned up. Crystal clear sound.

I examined the inside of the chassis and could not locate anything that was the source although I did wedge some paper in between some parts (including the rcvr. module) that would rattle when lightly tapped. Reassembled everything and the noise was still there

.

This vibration that was occurring was coming from the front (metallic)Mic/Speaker Shield to the Saber casing (plastic)contact where the two come together at the speaker grill area. I decided to build up the fit with a layer of teflon tape one layer at a time until the chassis had a slight resistance when slid into the Saber casing. I used a narrow strip of high quality teflon tape about a 1/4" or so wide down the center of the speaker grill on the front shield. This blocked a few of the holes for the speaker but this did not prove to be significant.

Slid everything back together and now when the volume is cranked up there is not a hint of any vibration

.

After over a dozen or so case remove/installs and a little tape, I finally got the problem cured!

I suspect a layer of felt would be a good solution to this (have seen this on other Motorola's) but I can see that getting all bunched up when you slide the two pieces together if it is not adhered well. At least this high quality tape stays put when applied and worked fine in this case.

Eddie
N4UMJ

bls106 · Post by **bls106** » Wed Dec 19, 2001 10:02 pm

I've got a similar problem with Submersible Sabers. Only it seems to be just one, and only in the secure mode.

Any ideas other than the expensive one running through my head.

Please cc any replies to my email as well. Don't get much time to play here lately. Thanx