#239

This short video shows the repair of the PTT (push to talk) switch on a Kenwood TH-F6A, a tri-band amateur radio handy-talkie (HT). The unit was dropped, and caused the PTT switch to become disconnected from the PCB. The video shows how the unit comes apart, how I reinforced the connection using additional solder to the ground plane, and then reassembled the unit.

[@alvarogaitan2529]

great job technician congratulations 73

[@MantisRay861]

It's always nice when things come together the way you want

[@MichaelLloyd]

Nice clean repair. I wouldn't have bet it would be that easy. I have the same little handi-talkie and the FT-817 :) I'm looking forward to the next video

[@w2aew]

The 817 only transmits on FM - little to nothing in CW, AM, SSB. Hopefully I"ll be able to track that down.

[@TheRangerDale]

Yes Alan , Nice quickie fix and am sure the Owner watching was dancing after hearing your findings ? FT817 interesting my main QRP backpack rig as a Qrper. Can't wait for that one Fix.Made the Power Trace Line Mod for it before it burn out, was disk colored was close of braking "" Manufacture Design Error."" 73's Alan Thanks Again

[@miononno]

Thank you to your video i tried to do this repair. It was far beyond my abilities and tools (and i could not see very well without a Lens..... but i did it! Thank you very much :)

[@syncchannelblog267]

Outstanding video as always Alan. I'm sure your friend is very happy to have his HT back in operation. They probably could have designed in a slightly more rugged switch for the PTT. :)

[@robertcalkjr.8325]

Thanks Alan. I'm glad that you were able to repair it.

[@PapasDino]

Nice fix Alan, good to have you back. 73 - Dino KL0S

[@vicrod74]

I have the same issue. Thanks for this video :)

[@donaldfilbert4832]

Neat !! I might have tried some hot melt glue to firm up the physical strength after the repair was completed. I'd worry that the switch might break away again.

[@Roy_Tellason]

I've run into a fair amount of stuff that was not all that robust mechanically, and ended up with problems like this. In particular there were a bunch of those cheap little musical keyboards that you used to see all over the place, with the DC input connector being the problem -- it stuck out the back and if the instrument got pushed up against something that'd tear up the connections like this.. It seems like the mfr. had the soldermask arranged to use as little solder as possible, so what I usually ended up doing was scraping away a bunch of the soldermask surrounding the terminals and then applying a *lot* of solder to do the fix. Never had one come back with the same problem after doing that...

[@mikesradiorepair]

Nice repair. Had the traces been worse it wouldn't have been a reason to give up. I do trace repair all the time and its not that hard. A sheet of copper foil, some Circuitworks epoxy, magnifaction, a #11 scalpel, good selection of tweezers and patients and even the most severely damaged PCB can be repaired. Seems like a daunting task at first but with a little practice its a breeze. Mike

[@w2aew]

Good to know. I'm really lacking for good magnification...

[@mikesradiorepair]

+w2aew You would be surprised what you can pick up on ebay cheap. Doesn't need to be fancy, just functional.

[@AndyHullMcPenguin]

+1 to reworking the tracks even if badly damaged.The only thing I would add, is if the board is burnt, remove the charring and fill with epoxy before you rework the tracks, burnt PCB has a relatively low resistance... and multilayer boards are much harder to repair, so this applies to single or double sided boards only. If you have a multilayer board with a big hole burned in it, its probably for the bin.

[@TheFossilChannel]

very good video

[@n2mpm]

sounded good on the repeater

[@grantfullen9559]

Nice repair to save that little rig :)

[@K1ZEK]

Enjoyed the video and everyone's comments, there right on. Keep up the good work. My very best. 73 Leo k1zek

[@pm0501again]

Great video! I used this tutorial to replace the keypad buttons in my TH-F6A. After 5 years of almost daily use, the bottom buttons were wearing down. Except for the wear marks on the plastic case, it almost looks like a new radio! These F6A's are great little tri-banders and was my first radio as a licensed ham back in 2011. The price has been dropping on these lately probably in anticipation of a newer model with more features. Maybe DMR? FYI.... The rubber key pad (BUTTONS ONLY) are available from PacParts, Inc. www.pacparts.com Part Number: KEN-K29-9107-22. As of 12/13/2016, the price was $11.17 plus shipping and sales taxes where applicable.

[@w2aew]

Congrats on your repair - I'm glad this video helped.

[@matthewkriebel7342]

Vintage HP technician screwdriver? Awesome.

[@voltlog]

with these kind of repairs I always like to add some hot glue or silicone glue just add some mechanical strength to the switch.

[@thats2kewl]

VoltLog I was going to say/ask the same thing...seems like some well placed hot glue or epoxy would have given it a bit more mechanical strength. These things seem so flimsy and easy to brake!!

[@davidpatrick1813]

Good Job...

[@VintageLabSilvioPinheiro]

NIce and beautiful repair. Keep sharing. 73 DE PU2SRZ

[@stephanc7192]

Well done!! Liked the video

[@wildonpriddy7335]

Great job,I enjoy your video's,KA4FKU

[@ctg8563]

I got a uniden walkie talkie with no screen an my battery is good. I hear sounds. You have an idea what it could be?

[@wadepatton2433]

Mine got rained on, which ruined my new battery and now the keypad switches all act dirty or corroded. Hoping when I open it up I can see oxidation to remove and restore full sensitivity to those buttons. If anyone has experience with such issues please comment thanks. It's such a great HT that I bought a second one in good shape, but I still want to get my old one operating properly again.

[@EnriqueMenesesBalles]

Hello w2aew, I have an issue with my TH-F6A, this is what happens, as for receiving everything is OK using analog signals, however when i use PTT sometimes the microphone works smoothly and some other times I only hear clicks while the push button works with out the microphone signal. Can you help me with any idea Saludos Enrique

[@Manawyrm]

I find the low framerate (15 frames or something?) very irritating and hard to watch. Could you try and fix that for your next videos? Thank you very much!

[@happymark1805]

a little bit of superglue under the switch will work if there is nothing left to attch it mechanical

[@rodgerjohnston9940]

Any ideas for repairing a stuck number3 button?

[@gower1973]

Cant believe how much electronics was in that little radio, how do technicians repair such fine pitch components, some of those caps and resistors look not much bigger than a pinhead

[@leosedf]

I was repairing similar and even more complex or dense ones everyday. If you have the tools and experience you can do it too.

[@BonifacioJose1763]

Hi, I'm Brazilian. I have a radio like that where it has a well off display. I've searched for several yearsI've searched for several years here And I don't find it. I would like to buy a used one in perfect condition.

[@ElmerFuddGun]

Your next repair should be to that squeaky floor! 8:14 ;-)

[@w2aew]

Nah - that's part of the character of this old house!

[@TheRadioShop]

Nice little repair Alan. I agree with Mike. Fixing damaged solder traces is not really all that bad. As I done in the video on a TS-50:kzbin.info/www/bejne/foS2lHqJh7aora-Bagnification is very important. I bought one of the Amscope stereo trinocular scopes. Love it. Thanks for sharing.

[@W3DRM]

I know this is an old thread however, I'm hoping someone will be able to show how the ribbon-cable connector is loosened so you can remove the ribbon cable attached to the pc board. The video skips that very critical (to me) portion of the repair. I don't want to damage anything by trying to force the connector. A video of this would be most appreciated or a link to a video that shows this process. 73 - W3DRM - Don EDIT: NOTE the instructions I've found merely say "Extract the encoder flat cable from the connector" Unfortunately, they don't explain how to make this happen.

[@w2aew]

It's been over 4 years since I did this, so I don't remember specifically. Some of these types of connectors have little release clips on either side and then the ribbon just slips out, and others are more of a friction fit. For the latter, I'll often use a pair of smooth jawed needle-nose pliers to carefully grip the ribbon, or just do it by hand, and gently wiggle it side-to-side.

[@W3DRM]

@@w2aew Thanks Alan. I tried using my smooth jawed needle-nose pliers without any luck. Didn't want to try too much force as I certainly don't want to damage anything. I have sent Kenwood support an email request for the "proper way to extract the cable". Will post here if I get an answer from them. 73 - Don - w3drm.

[@w2aew]

@@W3DRM Take a look under some magnification to see if there is a clip or latch that lifts up.

[@W3DRM]

@@w2aew Thanks Alan. I appreciate the help. I have successfully disconnected the ribbon-cable. To do that, all I had to do, as you suggested, was lift the cable connector clamp that is of a darker color. It just swings upwards and did not take much force at all. Then all you do is pull the ribbon out of the connector (carefully). My next task tomorrow is to remove the lower pcb board so I can get to the dc-jack solder connections and replace it with a new jack.

[@W3DRM]

SUCCESS!!! The disassembly, replacement of the DC-Jack, and then reassembly went smoothly and without any problems at all. While I had it open, I also cleaned-off all of the old (and hardened) thermal paste. Now, I hope I'm good for another million miles on this trusty old TH-F6A. It has been a true workhorse and tough as nails. Thanks to Alan for his inputs and guidance for the cable-connector.

[@jaa93997]

that was a metcal rework station wasnt it?

[@w2aew]

Yes, it is a Metcal soldering station.

[@paulniadas9796]

Mine has a bad leaking lcd.. hope you could help me find one my friend thank you..

[@w2aew]

A replacement LCD assembly is available from PacParts - scroll down this list and you'll see them. There are two different ones, depending on the serial number of your unit: www.pacparts.com/model.cfm?model_id=THF6A&mfg=Kenwood&back=0&action=list_part

[@-vermin-]

Is there an actual tool available for those slotted retaining nuts? They drive me crazy.

[@w2aew]

I'm sure there is. I have sometimes made them with a little careful grinding on an old socket, or have also use a "watch back" tool.

[@vk3hau]

+w2aew yes, yes there is. I have one at my work place and use it all the time, love the video's w2aew, de vk3hau

[@w2aew]

+vk3hau Can you let us know what the "official" name of this tool is, and where you bought it?

[@vk3hau]

+w2aew it is work suppled, may be RS components but will have to check when I back at work, off work for 2 month sick leave with broken leg. So as soon as I know I will let you know, I'll have a google look to while laid up in bed...hi hi..

[@w2aew]

+vk3hau Oh, sorry to hear about the broken leg - ouch! Thanks in advance for the info, and hope you mend soon!

[@VikasVJois]

Could have added some epoxy glue to give extra strength against button pushes

[@GonzaloCobos]

Exactly what I thought

[@rrangana11]

Me too... may be a dab of hot glue add some strength?

[@AndyHullMcPenguin]

Hot glue is much easier to remove if you need to rework it at a later date. Epoxy is nasty, and can lift tracks when you try to remove it. the heat gun removes hot glue. Cynoacrylates can fume, and damage glass and switch contacts.