Posted: Sun Dec 09, 2001 8:08 pm
Today, a terrible thing happened. My GP350 started overheating and then stopped working all together.
I've dropped the radio several times during my ownership, today, I dropped in onto the floor and as usual the radio aws still trucking along. I with the mind-set that "this radio can't be broken" was proven wrong. A couple hours later, after using it non-stop (rx only), the battery flat out died. I was receiving signals with it just fine, until I pressed the TX button and the radio beeped the low battery warning and went dead. Assuming the battery finaly died (after using the battery for about 8 or more hours all together), I attached a fully charged one. For some reason, the radio gave me a low battery beep, but I figured I forgot to charge this replacement battery, too, by mistake, so I decided to run the battery until it just quit working. After using it for about 10 or 15 minutes, I noticed that it felt warm. Of course, I had been holding it in my hand the whole time, so I decided to shut if off and take off the battery...the metal chassis was burning hot! I was pretty alarmed at this. I let the radio cool off and put the battery back on and turned the radio back on, too. It didn't come back on for long after that- just long enough to beep and give a low battery warning beep before it shut off again. It hasn't come back on since.
Later, at home, I took it apart. Didn't see anything burnt up on the board, but I did see the white stickers on this inside of the chassis had blackened in a couple places where the components on the board are covered with a shielding with small holes in it. Something under there was getting hot. After not being able to turn on the radio, I swapped mother boards with a different GP350, and got it to turn on (the radio was running with the battery contacts and electronics from a different gp350). The radio quicky got hot again and tracked it down to a 1/2" by maybe 2" blue component with some major grounding attatchements on it. Part number "SHW5066" then underneath it "9638" I am not totally sure if this was the component getting hot or not, but the whole area, especially the large grounding pieces of metal were, as well as components in that general area of the board. I also noticed a black, rectangular, unmarked component was soldered in right, but was loose from its solder pins. There are two similar looking components on the chassis piece behind the battery contacts (was not a fuse). Could this be what is causing my radio to overheat and function improperly? If so, It may have broken loose in the fall. What is the blue thing on the board with all of the grounding contacts on it (part SHW5066)?? Has anyone else had similar problems?
Also, I'd like to add that while the radio does not turn on fully assembled, exchanging the motherboard with another radio, allows it to work, and also exchanging the PC board where the battery contacts are with a different GP350 turns that GP350 on, too. So, for some reason the chasis and the motherboard don't want to work together. But they will work when switched with other radio's components.
Please help me out.
Finally, if this message does not make a whole lot of sense, it is because I am pretty tired. I will re-read it and hopefully fix it. I am also sorry that I don't know what all of the components are, but hope that someone- anyone can decipher it.
Thanks
-Josh
I've dropped the radio several times during my ownership, today, I dropped in onto the floor and as usual the radio aws still trucking along. I with the mind-set that "this radio can't be broken" was proven wrong. A couple hours later, after using it non-stop (rx only), the battery flat out died. I was receiving signals with it just fine, until I pressed the TX button and the radio beeped the low battery warning and went dead. Assuming the battery finaly died (after using the battery for about 8 or more hours all together), I attached a fully charged one. For some reason, the radio gave me a low battery beep, but I figured I forgot to charge this replacement battery, too, by mistake, so I decided to run the battery until it just quit working. After using it for about 10 or 15 minutes, I noticed that it felt warm. Of course, I had been holding it in my hand the whole time, so I decided to shut if off and take off the battery...the metal chassis was burning hot! I was pretty alarmed at this. I let the radio cool off and put the battery back on and turned the radio back on, too. It didn't come back on for long after that- just long enough to beep and give a low battery warning beep before it shut off again. It hasn't come back on since.
Later, at home, I took it apart. Didn't see anything burnt up on the board, but I did see the white stickers on this inside of the chassis had blackened in a couple places where the components on the board are covered with a shielding with small holes in it. Something under there was getting hot. After not being able to turn on the radio, I swapped mother boards with a different GP350, and got it to turn on (the radio was running with the battery contacts and electronics from a different gp350). The radio quicky got hot again and tracked it down to a 1/2" by maybe 2" blue component with some major grounding attatchements on it. Part number "SHW5066" then underneath it "9638" I am not totally sure if this was the component getting hot or not, but the whole area, especially the large grounding pieces of metal were, as well as components in that general area of the board. I also noticed a black, rectangular, unmarked component was soldered in right, but was loose from its solder pins. There are two similar looking components on the chassis piece behind the battery contacts (was not a fuse). Could this be what is causing my radio to overheat and function improperly? If so, It may have broken loose in the fall. What is the blue thing on the board with all of the grounding contacts on it (part SHW5066)?? Has anyone else had similar problems?
Also, I'd like to add that while the radio does not turn on fully assembled, exchanging the motherboard with another radio, allows it to work, and also exchanging the PC board where the battery contacts are with a different GP350 turns that GP350 on, too. So, for some reason the chasis and the motherboard don't want to work together. But they will work when switched with other radio's components.
Please help me out.
Finally, if this message does not make a whole lot of sense, it is because I am pretty tired. I will re-read it and hopefully fix it. I am also sorry that I don't know what all of the components are, but hope that someone- anyone can decipher it.
Thanks
-Josh