My trusty Std Horizon Eclipse was working fine at haul out last Fall. This summer I went to turn it on and it was dead ! No light, nothing. I noticed the "radio" switch light on the panel was dark but the other running light switches were on. Bypassed the panel and connected to the battery (fully charged) still nothing. Hooked up to another friends boat power and battery and still nothing. Any idea what could have killed the panel "radio" switch and the radio ? Any other way to troubleshoot ? It is an older Eclipse, very basic but fine for essentially day sailing on Lake Erie typically within five miles of shore.
Radio Sudden Death ?
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A little more info may be helpful - did you measure the voltage present at the breaker for the radio? at the radio itself? If not, that would be the first step atg identifying what is going on, whether you have a bad breaker and if you have any bad connections.
Radios die often for no apparent reason and old radios die more often. Without taking it apart to see if it is a power problem, no way to know for sure
Radios die often for no apparent reason and old radios die more often. Without taking it apart to see if it is a power problem, no way to know for sure
Also, although the cause of both may be the same, it looks like you now have two different issues - the radio and the panel. If you hooked up the radio to a couple of other direct sources, it's definitely got its own problem. The switch is another matter. As Don said, you need to check that the switch is functioning.
That would make I=V/R, correct? If V=10 and R=100, then I=0.1 right? Now if V=1 and R=100, then I=0.01 doesn't it? It would seem that lower voltage results in lower amperage, not higher. Am I missing something in the equations?
Sounds like lightning! Came in on the antenna and the panel switch saved the rest of the boat. I would carefully check the old antenna before transmitting with the new radio. My two cents worth.
John
John
I'd have thought a lightning strike would have damaged more than just one switch and the radio.
Depends on how direct the hit is. I lost just a radio and antenna, but the loading coil on the antenna had a 1" hole burned in the side and there was big burn mark on the mast adjacent to it. Most of the strike went to ground through the grounding system, but enough leaked into the radio to burn it up. Doesn't take much.
John
John
A lesson in Ohm's law would explain a blown fuse or a bad switch. But a radio that will not power up on any power source and a bad panel switch in the same circuit would make me suspect an outside force acted on the damaged components in the circuit. Lightning being the prime suspect to be investigated before the finals in the new radio are burned up transmitting into a dead short of an possibly damaged antenna.
Ohms law V=IR is only for totally resistive circuits. Most circuits also have an inductive component (motor loads, fluorescent lights, and most electronics) and this together with resistance is the total impedance of the circuit. And that formula has a funny letter in it that I can't type.
Low voltage to a motor causes the impedance of the motor to increase. This is why running a weed eater on two 100 ft. extension cords will burn up the motor. Don't ask me how I know.
I have to agree with some of the others on here that have said you have two problems. The circuit and the radio. If it was lightning you may have more problems in the other circuits on the panel. Don't burn your boat!
Low voltage to a motor causes the impedance of the motor to increase. This is why running a weed eater on two 100 ft. extension cords will burn up the motor. Don't ask me how I know.
I have to agree with some of the others on here that have said you have two problems. The circuit and the radio. If it was lightning you may have more problems in the other circuits on the panel. Don't burn your boat!
Thanks.Ohms law V=IR is only for totally resistive circuits. Most circuits also have an inductive component (motor loads, fluorescent lights, and most electronics) and this together with resistance is the total impedance of the circuit. And that formula has a funny letter in it that I can't type.
Low voltage to a motor causes the impedance of the motor to increase. This is why running a weed eater on two 100 ft. extension cords will burn up the motor. Don't ask me how I know.
I have to agree with some of the others on here that have said you have two problems. The circuit and the radio. If it was lightning you may have more problems in the other circuits on the panel. Don't burn your boat!
I'm still trying to wrap my head around impedance.FFaubert:
I don't mean to scare you out of trouble shooting this problem yourself. It is not difficult. But it can be VERY frustrating without a good grasp on the basics.
I am a retired "terrestrial" electrician, 30+ yrs.
This thread isn't mine. I just chimed in when RichH talked about low voltage meaning high amperage and showed the equation. I ran a few numbers through it and it seemed that with V=IR, lower voltage meant lower current . That's what I was questioning.Thanks for the intro to impedance though.
Except that Impedance comes into play in an AC circuit, not DC.Thanks for the intro to impedance though.
Thanks for the intro to impedance though.
Oops! My apologies to the OP
Back to the original question.....
First, I'd see about getting some volts out of that switch. With the radio disconnected, do you read anything with the switch on? How about with a lightbulb or something connected to it? No in either case, it's futzed and needs to be replaced.
As others have conjectured, it might've had a touch of lighting. It could just be broke. It might be coroded.
The radio doesn't play on another power source? It has a problem. Open it up and see if you can find something simple. Like an internal fuse (doubt it) or a burned up copper trace. I'd check voltage on either side of the radio's power switch. When I worked in two-way radio a bunch of R across the power switch was a common failure. Hey, what ya got to lose? It don't work now.
First, I'd see about getting some volts out of that switch. With the radio disconnected, do you read anything with the switch on? How about with a lightbulb or something connected to it? No in either case, it's futzed and needs to be replaced.
As others have conjectured, it might've had a touch of lighting. It could just be broke. It might be coroded.
The radio doesn't play on another power source? It has a problem. Open it up and see if you can find something simple. Like an internal fuse (doubt it) or a burned up copper trace. I'd check voltage on either side of the radio's power switch. When I worked in two-way radio a bunch of R across the power switch was a common failure. Hey, what ya got to lose? It don't work now.
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