[1000mp] Rcvr Intermittent Problem - FYI(long)

[Bill]

For the last year and a half I have had reoccurring intermittent problem
with my FT1000MP receiver. I have read some of correspondence about this on
the reflector and I thought I would add my experience to the others.

I began to notice the problem around Christmas time about a year and half
ago. It sounded like a dirty relay and I thought I could manage but it got
worse over time and I decided to do something about it. I tried the turn
off/on, turning off and on various items on the radio, to no avail. What was
maddening was the subreceiver worked fine. After some discussion with a
couple of fellows on the reflector, I decided to send it to Burghardt.  They
had worked on the radio before and had done a good job.

The first question that the fellows at Burhardt asked was if I had been
using a beverage. Around the same time I had put up a 500 foot beverage for
160.

I sent it and they kept it for a short time and sent it back.  They had
found some cold solder connections and replaced a couple of parts. It seems
like the bill came to around $200. It worked well for a couple of weeks and
the problem started again. I called and sent the radio back for repair, this
time at no charge. (no beverage this time.)

The radio was gone for nearly 2 months this time. According to the bill they
replaced the IF Board. Fortunately, a friend had volunteered his two IC 781s
(the radios that we used for our contest station at 6D2X) while my radio was
down. When I got it back it worked for a couple of weeks and completely
failed. In some ways I feel that this was a good thing because it is easier
to find. I called Burghart and explained what had happened. They said for me
to send it back, no charge, or they would make me a good deal on a new Mark
V.

I was pretty discouraged about they length of time this was taking. I didn't
want to buy a new radio. Intermittent problems can be real hard to find and
Burghart seemed to be dealing with me fairly. I set the radio aside for a
while to decide what to do. After several months I decided to send it to
Yaesu (Vertex Standard). They had a turnaround time of about two weeks. The
bill this time was $500. They had replaced the following items:

1 - Coil L0021974
4 - FET SST310(Tape) FT1000MP
1 - Transistor 2SC4047 TA
1 - Coil L0021959
6.5 hours Labor

I didn't get a description for what the problem was or what caused it. They
did say the radio needed realignment and was realigned. (The radio is about
5 years old.) 

I was pleasantly surprised with the radio. It really works better.  I think
there must have been some other problems that had crept into the radio since
I bought it. The intermittency seems completely gone.

I thought I might add myself to the list of people who have had this
problem. I suppose that these new radios that we like so much are so
complicated that it is sometimes hard to find problems when they crop up.
Lessons learned:

1. It takes longer to ship and return the radio than the actually "fixing".

2. Sometimes even good companies don't get things fixed the first time.

3. Burghart always reset all of my menu settings to factory specs; Vertex
returned the radio with my settings intact.

4. Watch out for those beverages.

5. FT1000MP is a much better radio than the IC781.

Bill, W5VX