Trouble with vhf radio

[Cruisin30MKIII]

Hi all,
Looking for some advise. Just purchased a standard horizon gx2000 vhf radio for our catalina 30. This is a replacement radio. I hooked up the power connection that was supplied, and connected the ant. Here where it gets weird. I transmit fine, however, reception is terrible, and when I receive a transmission, the radio powers off and then back on, all by itself....I changed the antenna connection, still same problem.

Anyone have any thoughts?

Thanks
Hal ::

 

[Don S/V ILLusion]

Hi all,
Looking for some advise. Just purchased a standard horizon gx2000 vhf radio for our catalina 30. This is a replacement radio. I hooked up the power connection that was supplied, and connected the ant. Here where it gets weird. I transmit fine, however, reception is terrible, and when I receive a transmission, the radio powers off and then back on, all by itself....I changed the antenna connection, still same problem.

Anyone have any thoughts?

Thanks
Hal ::

what's the supply voltage?

 

[Cruisin30MKIII]

I don't know. How do check that?
H

 

[Cruisin30MKIII]

Ok figured out the voltage inbound...it 12.85

Hal

 

[Don S/V ILLusion]

Ok figured out the voltage inbound...it 12.85

Hal

When transmitting on just on receive?
What you observed is nominal but if it goes down substantially when transmitting, you likely have a bad connection someplace. It should decrease somewhat on transmit - in the order on half a volt but if it does not decrease measurably, that too is a problem indicating the transmitter isn't producing its rated output which would indicate one of two things:
1. bad coax or coax connections and high SWR, or
2. faulty radio.

 

[Cruisin30MKIII]

Don
How do you go about checking the voltage while transmitting?
Hal

 

[rgarrison@gmail.com]

still under warranty? Take it back...they can bench test the bad boy

 

[Cruisin30MKIII]

Yeah...it's brandy new....just hooked it up again...monitoring 16 and she's working fine so far.....gonna have to return it I think ..
Hal

 

[Don S/V ILLusion]

Don
How do you go about checking the voltage while transmitting?
Hal

I infer you didn't check the supply voltage at the radio pwr connection. That is the only place you will get a true voltage to the radio, not elsewhere such as at the batteries which have lots of wire and connections between them.

So, check the voltage at the point where your power wires connect to the radio and also while transmitting. That may require you to gain access to the wires by stripping some insulation but that's what elec tape is for...

This may seem onerous but it's pretty simple and less time consuming than bringing a radio back to the seller who may blow you off and tell you it's a manufacturer warranty, not theirs.

 

[Cruisin30MKIII]

I tested the power supply at the quick connect to the radio...so that is a true read...I will try stripping away a little insulation to check while transmitting.

 

[Forrest15112]

If you have a poor connection, it will do the opposite of what you're describing. The current draw during transmit is probably 10 times what it is when rx only. Are you certain you're transmitting fine? Have you made a contact that confirms you are loud and clear? Assuming that's the case, it's pretty unlikely to be a power connection. I'd check the mic connections and the RAM mic plug to be sure nothing is shorting. If not, I'd take a trip back to the store.

 

[captcoho]

Hi all,
Looking for some advise. Just purchased a standard horizon gx2000 vhf radio for our catalina 30. This is a replacement radio. I hooked up the power connection that was supplied, and connected the ant. Here where it gets weird. I transmit fine, however, reception is terrible, and when I receive a transmission, the radio powers off and then back on, all by itself....I changed the antenna connection, still same problem.

Anyone have any thoughts?

Thanks
Hal ::

Are you interfaced to your GPS ? Or do you utilize the AIS and is this causing the trouble during reception?
Could you have mistaken the brown lead for the GPS for the black negative lead ??

 

[captcoho]

I infer you didn't check the supply voltage at the radio pwr connection. That is the only place you will get a true voltage to the radio, not elsewhere such as at the batteries which have lots of wire and connections between them.

So, check the voltage at the point where your power wires connect to the radio and also while transmitting. That may require you to gain access to the wires by stripping some insulation but that's what elec tape is for...

This may seem onerous but it's pretty simple and less time consuming than bringing a radio back to the seller who may blow you off and tell you it's a manufacturer warranty, not theirs.

As far as too little or too much voltage, I belive the SH 2000 gx will display a HI battery or LO battery message if incorrect voltage is present

 

[captcoho]

When transmitting on just on receive?
What you observed is nominal but if it goes down substantially when transmitting, you likely have a bad connection someplace. It should decrease somewhat on transmit - in the order on half a volt but if it does not decrease measurably, that too is a problem indicating the transmitter isn't producing its rated output which would indicate one of two things:
1. bad coax or coax connections and high SWR, or
2. faulty radio.

The SH 2000 should display a message of LO transmit pwr even if the unit is set to transmit in at the higher 5 watt setting indicating that there is high SWR (standing wave ratio ) or bad coax or antenna connections.
The owners manual will recommend the correct type of coax based on the lenght of coax cable from unit to antenna. For over 50 feet RG-213 may be recommended, otherwise RG- 8X may be surffice

 

[Cruisin30MKIII]

Brought radio back to West Marine and they exchanged it with no prob. Plugged new one in and voila....it works just fine.

 

[rgarrison@gmail.com]

right on! I love to know what is wrong but in your case, it was a bad boy out of the box! Upside is you know voltages and how to measure them. That will come back to later.

 

[npettett]

I would guess one of the surface mount components on the board didn't get all the legs soldered properly or maybe a solder short between two legs.