The Shack

27/05/2026

Microwave Modules ML432/50 sent into The Shack with a no TX switching fault.
If I had to guess it had been wired up wrong.
There was a resistor and an electrolytic capacitor burned out at the HT switching transistor. Some of the ZTX310 transistors had also blown, So I replaced them all with BC equivalent devices.

Another one saved..

27/05/2026

Hey Guys..

Just something to be mindful of..

Please pack your radios as tightly as possible because if the radio is loose and moving about freely in the box it can be and usually is damaged.

27/05/2026

Nice to see my Nephew doing something technical...

https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61587933536106

ECU Remapping Specialist
Message me on here or whatsapp to get booked in today.
07570103697

22/05/2026

This radio is only a year old

Anyone want to comment on these cheap power switches made in the same place as most of the junk these days..

He says sitting back and waiting for a riot.. 🤣

29/04/2026

Paros TR-22 HF transceiver dropped off to The Shack. The owner asks for the works to be done to get this old girl back to it's former working order. I didn't even switch it on but repaired the power supply mains lead then replaced all the caps as they were showing signs of expansion. Next was the caps in the radio and test ALL the tubes I could on the Taylor test set. After all that it's out with the Variac to slowly bring it back to life. Which it did, gracefully crackled into life. I then serviced it and checked all the alignment best I could as there are no service manuals, just a schematic diagram out there.
Needless to say she's now in good working order.

Job done.

29/04/2026

I don't often see these readers, but this one was sent into The Shack with the owner asking to replace the two pots on the rear and give it a good once over.
I stripped down the unit and removed the fascia overlay as the plastic had begun to break down causing the window to fog up. I carefully cut that out and replaced the overlay which makes looking at the LCD easier. After replacing the pots, I tidied up the DC cable as it was close to shorting out🙄. A few voltage checks later I connected it to a radio receiving RTTY on 10.100Mhz. results in the photos..

Wee job done.

29/04/2026

Xigue G90 sent in to the Shack with the main encoder jammed solid. The head unit is removed quite easily but it's full of screws holding front rear and top panels together. Once access to the PCB is gained. the LCD is loose inside so being careful not to damage the display I was able to replace the encoder. Anyone else doing this repair then be careful as it literally falls to bits after the PCB is free. 🤣

29/04/2026

Rau Jefferson 850 FM sent into the Shack for repair. I've obviously seen the Ham international Viking and the Formac 88.. but not with this badge.
Anyway, the faults were low audio on RX and no power output. The first thing I noticed was the Capacitors had been leaking and corroded part of the PCB and visually apparent on the components legs. They were replaced and the fault with the low power was down to someone repairing the AM/FM circuit incorrectly. After an alignment the results were great.
Job done!

02/03/2026

Two Trio TR-2300's sent into The Shack, one was working but just needed a realignment, but the other was stone dead. On either the PSU connector or battery pack.. Initially I was thinking, dirty power switch which is normal on these old sets but I noticed that there was some rough solder going on around the DC socket. A quick continuity check I found there was no negative wire to the radio chassis. Why the hell that had been removed is beyond me.. 🤣 Screwdriver Wizards making rookie mistake again.. 🙄🙄 Fitted a good solid connection to the chassis and the radio lit up, all good except needing a realignment. These were great wee radios back in the day and it's good to see them still going .

Job done

12/02/2026

Magnum Delta force test video caught me off guard by a station in the US.. 🤣🤣