Ham Radio repair - The first repair in the RV. A Kenwood TS130s with a bad band switch.

[@acestudioscouk-Ace-G0ACE]

It was good to look back on your early RV days and must have been re-assuring that you could do radio repairs in your new home as it was then. I have a soft spot for old Kenwoods. I have a TS530 which I love and am giving some TLC at present.

[@KX4UL]

First off, let me say your lighting is very much improved and the video looks good! Nice repair job and good to see you back in action and with a repair on the road to boot. I once had a Kenwood TS-130S and had a lot of fun with that little radio. In it's day it was quite the compact HF marvel. Surprisingly heavy for such a small radio.

[@nickking1510]

KB0KDX Ham Radio hi Nick here VE3SMS I have the same radio , problem I have is only 2 dot on display no audio but if I leave on for an hour the display will comes back after switching bands . Tightened all grounds and cleaned controls ,switches , I took out some of the board and soldered any help on this would be welcomed

[@loughkb]

Get the service manual and go through the VCO alignment. They're off a bit and not locking up like they should. It should be fairly easy. Usually you're measuring a voltage at a test point while adjusting a coil with the VFO on a specific frequency.

[@avrumo]

tnx @@loughkb for visiting www.YLSYSTEM.LIVE 40m 7.245 and see us on 20m all day M-F 14.332 ,,,test your results anytime ! We appreciate your Videos . Happy Travels , W5HEH AJ

[@TheRadioShop]

Cool fix Kevin. Good to see you back on the bench.

[@GA1dad]

So glad you are continuing with repair videos!! Thanks Kevin!!

[@barrywilliams7253]

Another great video Kevin looking forward to many more

[@albing1397]

First step - unplug (not just power off) before spraying! Next, can of air to clean dust off before spraying cleaner. Lock screw should be secured with Loctite 271 (red) or Loctite 638 (more permanent). Several items to have in your repair kit. This older equipment is sure a lot easier to service than the new radios. 73 WA9RYO

[@loughkb]

On this old rig, the power switch is switching the incoming power line directly. There's no power on the board when it's off. On newer rigs the power switching is electronic with a relay and some sections powered up, so I could see it there. Yeah, I could have dusted it out, or should have. As to the grub screw though, locktite might be a bad idea. Often, those shafts are brass or alloy and the reason they get loose is not the grub screw backing out, rather it's caused by the tip of the grub screw creating a depression in the shaft. It will have to be tightened a bit every few years as the dimple grows. If you lock the screw, it becomes a problem the next time you have to tighten it.

[@Perspectologist]

Great to see another repair. I’ve really enjoyed watching your past repairs and I am glad to see you are able to keep doing them on the road.

[@philipchandler330]

Happy RV Trails enjoy the videos

[@caulktel]

Good job Kevin, be safe on the road.

[@k2wo1]

Nice job Kevin. Looked just like your home QTH! :). Great to hear the excellent audio/video again. Safe travels. 73, George K2WO.

[@loughkb]

Well, technically, it is my home qth! No matter where I go now, I'm both away and home at the same time. ;-)

[@jptucsonaz8503]

Hey K, great vid & repair. Had an idea for you so you don't get 'dizzy' from the chems. Not sure where your power vent is in relation to your bench (in most rv's it is in that area), but open it up and run the fan in exhaust mode full blast! You may also want to consider getting a flex tube like a dryer vent hose & a small 12v fan to place one end next the work area, & suspend the hose again up to that vent. For the road, if you're into critters & wanna get your "big cat" on... On I-10, exit 139 is the Tiger truckstop, here kitty, kitty... Also if you are continuing west on 10, before Lake Charles, make sure you close your vents and put your vehicle ventilation on 'recycle' mode! Because from Lake Charles west thru over to Houston is putrid, horrible odors from all of the petro-chem refineries; especially around the TX/LA border / Orange, TX - yuck! Have you deployed your long wire antenna yet?

[@williammiller5490]

Kevin, you missed the mark with the relay you identified as the TR and led folks to believe that cleaning this relay fixed the issue of the intermittent return to normal receive function after returning from TX. I had this same issue with my 130 and this is what caused it and fixed it. To start, the relay you worked on is the relay that activates the built-in attenuator. The TR relay is mounted on the bandpass filter board located in the rear cage co-located with the power amplifier. The TR relay is a 4 pole double throw function. It was widely used in the same timeframe of this radio and has a rep for contacts going bad. Additionally, cleaning is really difficult, rarely works and when it does work, it only lasts for a short time for 1 out of 5 attempts. There are some NOS relays available and cost about $100.00 on eBay. The better solution is to replace it with a circuit board using two modern (and better) relays. This unit is available and costs around $35.00 The repair time was about 4 hrs all in and works great. I would like to know how you are keeping the FCC updated with your address should they need to contact you? Thanks Bill

[@loughkb]

Hi Bill, thanks for the additional information. Yeah I didn't have the service manual and schematic handy, so I was guessing at the relay, but I couldn't get the fail to happen anyway. My mail is being forwarded presently, and I'll update the FCC address with my mail handler up in Fort Wayne eventually.

[@williammiller5490]

@@loughkbsee: www.k4eaa.com/parts.htm Bill

[@ralphwilmot6351]

Good repair and video, nice to see you back in action. It will be interesting to see videos on each of your stops both to hams and others. Looking forward to your videos and progress. 73 G4PEY

[@rtgideon]

Good job Kevin!

[@nickking1510]

Thanks Kevin I will have a closer look in a couple of weeks I still have many outside home and auto project to finish before the big freeze here lol then I can spent some free time on radios and on air 73s

[@charlesschindler1971]

Top of the day to you Kevin.

[@samglaim4274]

Nice repair and good result. Best 73 :-)

[@nickking1510]

Hi Kevin thank for getting back to me the 130 did work when I purchased it about 8 years ago except for a intermittent relay connection on receive and control cleaning the was used couple times a week for about 3 years and the 2 dots .. on display starting happening , I agree with you on the lock up but would it not be a component or several components that changed value

[@loughkb]

All components change value as they age. Resistors and capacitors especially. There's a pretty small range of adjustment on those VCO's, so they wouldn't have to drift too far to be out. The adjustable range is far larger though, so it's easiest to just do the alignment.

[@k2cjbradio]

Good repair! One in the books! When you mentioned the storms I wondered if you had any kind of police/fire/wx scanner on board. I don’t remember seeing one on the desk. I always have one running 24/7 in the home QTH. 73 de K2CJB

[@loughkb]

Oh, I keep an eye on the weather forecasts and check the forecasts for the areas I'm heading for before moving. I've even changed destinations due to weather already. Most of the police and fire dept's have gone to trunked encrypted systems these days. Do you hear much?

[@k2cjbradio]

Kevin Loughin Yep! My county migrated to digital years ago. Had a RS scanner to listen to that but then the county upgraded to a new digital system. So now I have a Uniden Home Patrol. It can have the Radio Reference database uploaded to it. It works well. I leave it in the living room and it’s on 24/7. There is a handheld that Uniden makes that’s even easier to program on the fly. Always good to listen to what’s going on.

[@QRP_Practical]

Nice job!

[@colincolin30]

Nice video Kevin. I doubt I will ever be able to visit the USA so wonder as you travel around, could you please take a bit of video of the historical places you visit. I found the Fort Wayne fort interesting and your recent visit to the graves of the pioneers. 73 VK2JCC

[@loughkb]

While I'm not going to be seeking out notable places, I'll be sure to try to do some commentary on anything I stumble upon. I could probably have linked some info on Lewis and Clarke after visiting Lewis grave.

[@MoTown44240]

Guess I am not the only one that noticed the dust. I opened my TS140S (purchased 1987 Dayton Hamvention) to insert a CW filter and was surprised at the lack of dust. 72 KB8AMZ

[@loughkb]

Yeah, I'm catching grief for not blowing the dust out...

[@MoTown44240]

@@loughkb I noticed the dust, but you had the owner of the rig there with you. Off camera he may told you to not blow out the inside if it was dusty. It's not like the owner dropped off the rig and you blatantly didn't blow it out. Maybe his presence took your mind off blowing it out because you probably would have taken it outside rather than blowing the dust out of the chassis inside. Your past videos show that you are meticulous about clean hardware. I attribute this slight oversight to being distracted. So as someone used to tell me, "Don't sweat the small stuff." 72 KB8AMZ

[@OM7AHU]

Good job.

[@ri3cjoh]

Great lighting and focus on your face.

[@nickking1510]

Just another problem I had ,in your video you have one scene of a small relay on a small pc board on my unit I found a Cold joint on bottom of that small relay board when I purchased it 8 years ago

[@seekerinseattle4863]

Yo Kevin!: Great video! I am amazed that a ham would come all the way to you for a repair. I got a video suggestion. Do an overview of your location just before you leave a location ( just before you leave for security reasons:. ), to highlight your locations. Just an idea.. great that you are getting back to repairs so readily. Motor on guy! 73! seeker / Jeff WA7LFP

[@r.w.leblanc6326]

Super Video

[@scottrand7626]

Cool... Glad to see the kinks workin out... Is the chimney area above fridge well cleaned... That causes alot of grief with pro"pain" frig's... How did u solve the data delimma... 73 WB0ZLX

[@loughkb]

I cleaned the chimney back when I first worked on the roof. There was quite a collection of leafs and seeds under there. I'm uploading videos from the phone itself using the you tube app. The phones data is not throttled.

[@nickking1510]

I also thought there were some history on the kenwood 130 of many bad joints over time in all the boards what’s your take on it ?

[@loughkb]

Not enough experience with the 130 to make a call on that one.

[@johnstrunck3659]

Yep, I have one just like it

[@nickking1510]

Hi Kevin I have in circuit cap tester I will get Vco board out and check all caps replace any that are defective ,I read on one blog there is a signal transistor that looses gain with time I believe its on vco board if any one reading this has dealt with this problem on the 130 please post

[@stevearrowood7430]

Nice video! I full time out here in CO with a desk a third the size as yours. So jealous. Currently in Yosemite doing NVIS with a buddipole long dipole and can't get Costa Rica yet. What antenna are you using? SteveKM6VAY

[@loughkb]

I have a small weatherproof box on the upper back corner of the RV next to the ladder. There are two coax feeds to the box. One goes to a 9:1 unun with wing nut connections on top, the other goes to an SO-239 on the bottom of the box. I can hook all manner of end fed wires to the 9:1 and it also has a counterpoise wire running from the box down the top edge of the coach to the front of the rig, about 24 feet. The SO-239 lets me connect dipoles, OCF, zepps, just about anything else I want to play with. On the ladder I have a PVC pipe about 2.5 feet long with drain holes at the bottom and an open top. I have two telescoping masts that I can drop in there, one is 33 feet, the other is 16 feet. I use the masts to quickly put up a vertical wire and connect it to the unun. With the 16 foot, I can do 30-6 meters really well and 40 just OK. With the 33 foot mast up, I can do 80-10 pretty well. The mast antennas can be put up in about 2 minutes after I get parked. I gave a closer look at the setup in one of the update videos I did while building out the RV. Update 3 or 4 I think, if you want to go back and watch them.

[@gertkok2113]

Hey Kevin, awesome video as always, you now rv mobile and the road?

[@loughkb]

Yep. Check back through my recent videos for the whole story. I'm living full time in the RV and taking the show on the road.

[@gertkok2113]

@@loughkb awesome kevin, hope I can perhapse get you on one of my youtube streams as a guest. Lost my job also a month or so ago and trying to get a business off the ground with zero capital, but I am pressing through. Thank you for being an inspiration to push through

[@Snarky_Radio]

yes, lightning looks great. not that I am an expert, just from a viewer's point of view.

[@glenngoodale1709]

Hey guy, really enjoying your videos ......... KM4BAP

[@loughkb]

Thanks Glenn, and thanks for watching.

[@nickking1510]

Hi Nick here VE3SMS I have the same radio, problem no signal or display except 2 decimal dots after about an hour or more bands do come back sometimes I have to change bands after 1 + hour warm. I tighten grounds cleaned switches , solder some boards any help on this would be appreciated I only have signal generator and Dvm no scope I work 60 hour weeks so time is limited

[@loughkb]

Hi Nick, you'll need a multimeter at least, but get the service manual and go through the VCO alignment procedure. They're not locking up and probably need to be tweaked.

[@thomasherrin]

Ron WB5TJK is my Elmer

[@fernandoscrenci4874]

NICE!!☝️

[@56932982]

Nit-pick on the gas flame sensor: Those things are commonly thermocouples. They tend to break over time.

[@loughkb]

No, it's not a thermocouple. It senses the resistance through the flame plasma with a single probe that also provides the ignition spark.

[@doityourself6558]

What's the repair? Just spraying some contact spray inside a switch? This is not called a repair. This could do everyone.

[@loughkb]

LOL