After some other testing on a BitX40 that was working well, it is likely that 12v (or even 24v) touched one of the speaker leads. Now I have essentially no audio out from the radio. On very strong signals and at maximum volume I can hear a weak and very distorted sound out of either the speaker or a separate speaker/mic, but it is not copyable and only just recognizeable as a signal. Listening on another receiver and watching the output, transmit seems fine. It sounds clear and undistorted and the power out is pretty normal. I checked the voltages around Q16 and they are exactly as expected in receive and transmit. The suspicion to me is that the LM386 has "blown", but there are no obvious marks on the board on any components. Is there someplace else I should look before trying to replace that chip?
As to technique for repairing that IC, if it is the problem, I seem to recall a method that involved just cutting the legs off and soldering them to a new chip. Is that a viable way to go?
While I've never owned a barrel of monkees, it? is hard to imagine that could be more fun than the BitX, but I do seem to get myself in trouble playing with it.
=Vic=
Vic WA4THR