Radio Alignment and odd PTT behaviour

[sonjamichelle]

A couple of questions:

1. Is there anyone in Austin, TX or San Antonio, TX that can help me realign/tune my sabers?

2. I have a UHF Saber III w/Securenet ability. I've programmed it with the freqs, but when I press the PPT all I get is a cdonstant tone. I also do not receive any transmissions. Every appears to be correct in the plug. A possible align/tune problem? Some other weirdness? Something simple I'm missing? Or is it a brick. I hesitate to bring it to a nearby shop here in San Antonio. I took one in, they said it could not be programmed and needed parts. Offered to sell me a new radio instead. Just this last weekend I programmed it just fine. Though it needs an align/tune more than likely. Sounds pretty choppy.

[Cowthief]

Hello.

One of the things you will find is that there are very few real radio techs left.
IC was, at one time, a 100% first rate shop, but a lot of the guys are now SK.
I was one of the "new kids on the block", I understand the firmware very well, do OK on the hardware.
But, bottom line, unless the radio is all but brand new or something really simple, it is just not worth the effort to fix.
I can spent 1 day replacing all the caps in a spectra, fixing the trouble the leakers left behind.
At a shop rate, that is over $500.
Is the radio worth it?
But, as a ham, I can spend a weekend with 4 or 5 spectras, no big deal.
So, consider what you are getting into.
If you want to have a hobby, go for it!
If you want to consider the economic side, as a business, you will go with radio replacement at least part of the time.

[radio-link]

Hello.

I can spent 1 day replacing all the caps in a spectra, fixing the trouble the leakers left behind.
At a shop rate, that is over $500.
Is the radio worth it?
But, as a ham, I can spend a weekend with 4 or 5 spectras, no big deal.

This is exactly the point! It really makes me sad when I have to tell a customer "throw it away, it is not worth the money it costs to fix it". But on the other side, many nice transceivers made their way home to me, spending a rainy sunday on fixing the beast, and having a big$$$ radio at absolutely no costs can be pure fun :-)

[N9LLO]

Sounds like you may have mode slaved securenet enabled on all channels and no securenet key loaded. Mode slaved secure option is a selection on each mode program screen on the bottom left.

Chris
N9LLO

[1 Adam 12]

Is it a constant tone or a beep..beep pulsing tone?? If its a constant tone its more than likely a either a toasted secure module or an alignment issue. If there is a secure module..but no secure key loaded you will get a pulsing tone. By any chance was this radio on another portion of the band split such as 403-430 and you or whomever you got it from reprogrammed it.... ??? If so that would also explain why the radio is out of lock. One way to verify this is to take the radio out of the case and lift the front shield of and verify the bandsplit and either a secure module or bypass module and by looking at the part numbers on the components determine the bandsplit. The fact that it won't recieve another radio and that you only get the tone when you PTT suggests possible tuning or component issue

[phrawg]

If worse comes to worse I am in Houston and very familiar with
resurecting sabers. If I can help let me know. Phrawg

BTW guys, I have here a saber vhf mid split with a mod for
user adjustable carrier squelch with the knob where the usual
rocker switch is. I shall have to take some macro photos of
the job and trace the circuit and make available if no one else
has done so. It had marine channels in it when I got it.
On 2 meter ham now.

[HumHead]

No receive and a constant tone on transmit are also the symptoms of a Saber that has a loose or missing reference crystal.

When radios are surplussed from the government the (old) procedure apparently calls for them to be de-miled by removing the crystals. Since the Sabers are synthesized, they go and pull the only crystal in the radio- the refernce oscillator, usually leaving the original military codeplug in the radio. Not too brilliant, but all according to regulations.

There are pictures of the reference crystal, and its location, in this thread: http://batboard.batlabs.com/viewtopic.php?t=45170

Good luck!

[kc7gr]

Hello.

One of the things you will find is that there are very few real radio techs left.
IC was, at one time, a 100% first rate shop, but a lot of the guys are now SK.
I was one of the "new kids on the block", I understand the firmware very well, do OK on the hardware.
But, bottom line, unless the radio is all but brand new or something really simple, it is just not worth the effort to fix.
I can spent 1 day replacing all the caps in a spectra, fixing the trouble the leakers left behind.
At a shop rate, that is over $500.

<snippety>

I cannot agree with the above. "All but brand new?" Come on!

Also, what in blazes does the shop you're referring to charge per hour?! I can do the Spectra leaky-capacitor jobs for between $60-$75, depending on how much gunk needs removing. I can assure you from many instances of direct experience that it does NOT take a full day to do so. Two hours, tops.

Keep the peace(es).

[Tom in D.C.]

Just getting a normal, working Securenet Saber set up can be tricky, and more so if you don't have the programming manual. I'm pretty sure from your post that you're already making good and frequent use of the F1/HELP key in the RSS to find out what you should and should not be doing. As a start I'd also suggest that you program the radio in the clear and forget about Securenet for now or at least until you get the radio working.

I once had a VHF Saber 3 sent to me and the seller had blanked/turned off everything possible in the RSS. It took me several hours to wend my way through the setup labyrinth, but I finally got there, and this was on Securenet radio with the bypass module in it. Some of the Securenet options are really confusing to get set up.

Keep us posted on how you're progressing.

[richyradio]

...I still cannot understand why you all need such an ugly geeky huge radio to carry around.....

[Will]

"...I still cannot understand why you all need such an ugly geeky huge radio to carry around..... "

Because WE LIKE them, really good audio...

[Will]

Cowthief wrttes:
" I can spend 1 day replacing all the caps in a spectra, fixing the trouble the leakers left behind. At a shop rate, that is over $500."

I can totaly agree, it takes way more than 'just' a couple of hours to repair this type of damage in a Sectra, and in some others. That comes to $62.50 per hour, a reasonable shop rate.

kc7gr writes:
"I can do the Spectra leaky-capacitor jobs for between $60-$75, depending on how much gunk needs removing. I can assure you from many instances of direct experience that it does NOT take a full day to do so. Two hours, tops. "

kc7gr, who are you kidding?? Not any of us.

[mike m]

OK richyradio please tell us what radio you are using so we can judge you ? As far as I'm concerned, from experience, there's nothing that can beat a saberIII or even a 3 in a 2 case.

Have used MT1000's good radio but no display and not enough channels. XTS3000 and XTS5000 with FPP, nice radios but way overpriced especially if you don't need IMBE. Top end GE/MaComs ok radios but still not as good as sabers in features.

Please enlighten us as to what you consider a good non-geeky radio ? And no ham crap please.


Mike

[richyradio]

.....I just can't see toting such a big radio around...sorta like carring a Bendix King radio....I guess I still like to keep low-key....I vividly remember people whispering "narc" behind me if I carried an ht-220 slimline or MX 320 around...(back when they were the "in" thing..and those radios were smaller than the saber!) for me, no ham stuff...the biggest radio I carry is an mt 2000, but normally use visar w /slim battery (too bad it is such a piece of junk) EX 500 and yes, my trusty (dispose-a-radio) collection of gp 300's...I don't need any fancy schmantzy stuff- to me, the ultimate radio is one w/ an on off switch and a ptt button... I put my radios in my back pocket, never use a belt clip, so big radios are out...plus the radios I use are dime-a-dozen, and I have multiples of each, so no lost sleep if they meet unexpected fate....

[mike m]

OK I appologize for being so touchy, yours are fine radios. It's just that I and alot of other members are partial to the saber line no matter how big they may seem to be. After all you get multiple PL selection from the keypad and a lot of other features that the newer radios just don't have plus if you only need analog they can't be beat for the price on the used mkt.
Again sorry for being such an @#$ at first it's just that I treasure my sabers like my guns.

Mike

[richyradio]

...Hey, that's ok, we all like what we like...me, I have the habit of living in the past a little bit...(thank god I can still pass for being in my 30's....) I remember lusting over motracs in the late 60's, early 70's , I was a kid then, we used to ride our mini-bikes (lawn mower engine, crude frame, sand filled wheels, "scrub" brakes- what eventually evolved into mopeds... past a fuel oil delivery company in the industrial end of town and i would hear loud, crisp audio belting out of these trucks when they left their radios on...I would walk up to the truck, and see that little beige head, with it's complimentary metal cased speaker and be in awe by how well it sounded, unlike my 27 mhz coat hanger/ tin foil communications setup... hey, don't get me wrong, even though I like talking to Bernice at International Crystal, (They are sooooo polite there) I'd much rather whip out my laptop and get instant gratification.....but to me, there was something about the "old days" that I really enjoyed (when I worked for the big M in the early eighties) compared to the way business is done now.....But I digress....I'm so used to seeing stuff getting smaller, I wonder why the saber is big.... don't worry, when your kids have their star trek badges to talk with, they'll be making fun of all of us....

[SlimBob]

...I still cannot understand why you all need such an ugly geeky huge radio to carry around.....

Saberitis, plain and simple. Once you're afflicted, there's no known cure.

[kc7gr]

Cowthief wrttes:
" I can spend 1 day replacing all the caps in a spectra, fixing the trouble the leakers left behind. At a shop rate, that is over $500."

I can totaly agree, it takes way more than 'just' a couple of hours to repair this type of damage in a Sectra, and in some others. That comes to $62.50 per hour, a reasonable shop rate.

kc7gr writes:
"I can do the Spectra leaky-capacitor jobs for between $60-$75, depending on how much gunk needs removing. I can assure you from many instances of direct experience that it does NOT take a full day to do so. Two hours, tops. "

kc7gr, who are you kidding?? Not any of us.

I'm not trying to "kid" anybody, Will, and don't you think you're being a bit arrogant by assuming that you speak for everyone reading or posting to this thread in any case?

IF it is JUST capacitors and board cleanup, the figure I mentioned is indeed all it takes to bring many bad-or-no-audio Spectras back to life on my bench. My hourly rate hasn't budged from $40/hour since 1997.

Why? Because I run Blue Feather as a SIDE business. It is not now, nor do I ever intend it to be, my primary source of income. I've got my day job for that. In other words, I run BFT because it's FUN, because fixing radios is something I enjoy doing. If it ever reaches a point where it ceases to be fun, then I will stop doing it. Period.

If you happen to think I do sloppy work just because my rate undercuts most commercial shops, all I can do is tell you that you're wrong, and that I've got several happy customers AND my day job employer's radios to prove it. I can't force you to believe anything (nor would I presume to try). The truth speaks for itself.

Now, with that said... I will grant that I have been sent a couple of radios, in the past month or so, that needed more than caps and cleaning. They also needed the audio PA chip replaced. This kicked the average TOTAL repair cost, parts and labor, up to about $100.

Frankly, I'm beyond caring whether you believe this. I have better things I choose to do with my time than attempt to justify how I run my business to someone who greets every query, no matter if it's from myself or other Batboarders, to explain their statements and their oh-so-(supposedly)-different repair techniques with stony silence.

Quit assuming that someone's trying to "kid" everyone else just because they happen to do things differently. You'll live longer with less stress in your life.