[Kenwood] TS850 Hot mic update

[Edward Wilkinson]

   For those who have been helping me figure out why my TS850 has been =
acting up, here is today's update. I had a trip over to Dallas today and =
figured while I was in the area I would swing by my good friend Clif =
Holland's shop called "Avvid" in Irving, TX. For those not familiar with =
this place it is probably the best Kenwood - Icom repair facility next =
to sending it to the factory. Anyway I thought I would just drop in and =
leave the rig with Everett Dickey another super technician who also =
works there with Clif. After I arrived and began to explain what I was =
seeing with the TS850, both Everett and Clif were fascinated that this =
was really happening to a Kenwood radio and not to the mic. It =
interested them so much that Clif took it to the back and put it on the =
bench and opened it up. It took about :15 minutes and after a few more =
questions he had it narrowed down. You can't imagine how much that =
impressed me on his knowledge of the Kenwood 850. It's like going to a =
doctor's office, but not the pricing...
   After opening the face plate and getting to the mic jack PC board he =
found the problem. It was a burned solder trace on the ground side. It =
was so simple, but not knowing the radio like Clif does I would have =
spent hours looking for that one. Anyway after a small bit of solder, =
new battery (which was beginning to leak) and a slight tune-up, my 850 =
sings now. Furthermore I brought it home with me. I know this was =
probably my lucky day, but because of their workload and the fact that =
my problem wasn't the usual type repair allowed this all to fall into =
place for me. Thanks Clif I really appreciated your efforts!
   One thing more I want to mention about this rig, when I bought the =
radio I only checked it with the standard MC43 hand mic. It performed =
normally for the usual tests but where the ground was open this would =
not have never shown up until the MC85 power mic with IC's was =
connected. This is the reason the problem showed up last week. From what =
Clif described someone introduced a different microphone into the rig =
(maybe a miswired ICOM) causing the short and subsequent burned trace to =
ground. After seeing what the radio looked like today with wrong screws =
installed in the wrong places and missing hardware. I wished I would =
have looked closer inside before accepting it, this was an e-bay deal so =
a word of warning...be careful of what you get at an auction. I was =
lucky this time this was a cheap repair.=20
   I want to thank all who tried to help me with my problem this last =
week, you all are a great group! Thanks for allowing me to be a part of =
your group too.   73s     N1EW  =20


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