Magic Smoke?

I was out picking up some components from Jameco for the 40 meter receiver I am working on. It was in the morning so I figured it would be a good time to tune in to the 9AM Talk Net.

After calling in my call-sign and waiting until net control called me up wouldn’t you know it, something went wrong. I keyed the mic but nothing happened. No Tx at all, not just not being heard, but the radio showed no sign that the PTT key was pressed, nothing. Looking back it seems obvious, but at the time I wasn’t sure what the problem was so I unplugged the mic and continued without it.

A couple of days later I opened up the mic fully prepared to do what ever needed to be done to get that puppy back in service. I set aside time, cleared the bench, gathered my tools and a multimeter, laid out a mat, took a deep breath, and opened the mic case.

Wouldn’t you know, the PTT wire broke loose from the solder joint. I spotted it as soon as I opened the case. 3 minutes and a hot iron and all is well.

One quick repair down and one satisfied customer, me.

73,

~KK6GXG