Greetings all. I recently purchased a very used Bristol 27 which came with a mounted Rayheon VHF marine radio. It worked fine (sent & received) when I was checking the boat out prior to purchase. The day after the purchase though was a different story as the rdio would "power on" but would niether receive or transmit. Since I'm only marginally knowledgeable about things electronic I did hand check some of the connections around the backside of the unit and found that the antenna coax was only press fit into the connector. I asked around and understood that the coax needed to be solderred to the connector (both the braided shielding and the center core) which I did. Upon turning the unit back on I was able to receive signals. Being fairly happy with myself I then attempted to transmit by keying the hand held mic and pffft, the radio shut off (lost power) immediately. I had to hit the power ON/OFF button to get it back on only to lose power each time I attempted to key the mic. Any suggestions?
Radio issues
- Thread starter Chesapeakegem
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I did purchase a new connector and was very careful (I thought) to make sure the braided shielding was not grounding out to the center core while inserting it into the ferrule. I did notice there were two holes in the connector for solderring the braided shielding. I only solderred in the one. I purposely cut back enough of the center core to allow it to extend about 3/4" of an inch out the end of the hollow center pin before I solderred it and then cut off the excess.
I'd point out that transmitting on a VHF without a good antenna is a good way to fry it. You should probably replace the coax cable and get new connectors for it. Shakespeare makes some crimp on connectors that work fairly well.
You already know you have connector problems. Even after repairing that one connector, if transmitting causes your radio to kick off, then there's still a problem with your antenna or your antenna cable.
If the connector at the receiver was bad, you'd better check the connection at the antenna too.
If the connector at the receiver was bad, you'd better check the connection at the antenna too.
Better safe than sorry I suppose. Thanks to each of you for the advice. I think the first thing I'll do is purchase a surface mounted antenna and see how things work from there. It's my understanding that Raytheon's are good equipment. It does have alot of features and functions. Besides I could always keep the base mounted antenna on board as an emergency backup. I really have no idea how old the mast top mounted antenna and coax is anyway. It's just a long way up that mast...
Shakespeare's connector that can be crimped on with a pliers is called a Centerpin PL-259-CP-G Connector. It is made of cold plated brass and is very easy to use with easy to understand instructions. Solder types are very good, but difficult to solder properly. Shakespeare won a design award for these nice little connectors.
As stated, remember to not key your mic when the radio is on if the antenna is not connected.
And, most important.......use proper VHF ediquette while broadcasting.
As stated, remember to not key your mic when the radio is on if the antenna is not connected.
And, most important.......use proper VHF ediquette while broadcasting.
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