Sorry if this has already been answered but does the IC version work straight out of the box?

The translation ms are in the comments below each photo

Someone supposedly posted translations but I didn't see any, even clicking on the images.
--
73, Norm/KC1BMD

It was posted on the TX-500 lab599 Facebook group

Where are you seeing this ?
i dont see anything on their websites

LAB599 | ?PRODUCTS MANUFACTURED BY LABORATORY 599 LLC

?Power amplifier RA-500

?Power amplifier for transceivers of the TX-500 and Altai ATU series increases the output power up to 100 watts, which allows you to transmit signals over long distances, as well as use the kit as a base station

?Attaching directly to the transceiver as an add-on module keeps the kit compact, making it easy to carry and use in the field.

?The power amplifier is attached directly to the transceiver. ?Side pads provide ease of use and additional protection during transportation. ?The aluminum heatsink ensures optimal temperature conditions for the transceiver.

?? Set amplifier RA.500 + transceiver Altai ATU

?MAIN CHARACTERISTICS:

?Output power 50-100 W, External power supply 12-24 V, 10 A;

?Digital control

?Compact Oazmeo

?Rugged aluminum housing and efficient cooling system;

?Aluminum heatsink for effective transceiver cooling;

?Side pads for ease of use and protection during transportation:

?Compact size (L*W*H): 204 x 125 x 110 mm;

?Weight: 0.7 kg.

?LAB599 | ?PRO!

?battery

?battery bz

?and Altai ATU from

?yarn 3.7 E up to two days 6

?Wide Diag

?ny block from pi

?tronics, board

?Battery 6 additional operating temperature

From a recent photo on the FB group, it appears that Lab599 has been busy now with three variants of the transceiver: the original Discovery TX-500, the TX-500PRO and the Altai-ATU which has no-VFO dial, programmable frequency channels and an ATU. There is also a mention of a 100W amplifier (bolt-on like the battery pack) called the RA-500 (which looks like PA-500 in Cyrillic, although not the same as the DIY599 PA-500.

On Tue, Apr 11, 2023 at 09:28 PM, Larry Guillot wrote:

Their decision to provide documentation is a corporate decision,...

That was my point and I did look at the image you sent.
?
--
73, Norm/KC1BMD

开云体育

Tom,

I think if you look at the image I sent you that you can see that they are not trying to hid the electronic components, as the component numbers are fully available in the image. I don't think they are doing anything nefarious, I simply think they are a new small company and have not realized the impact of their system(s). My point is that I was an engineer for Siemens Corp and I understand the? industry like yo do. My simple take is that they are a small Russian company that is trying to sell their product, period. Their decision to provide documentation is a corporate decision, and it will remain to be seen if they wish for anyone to have their schematic, period. We shall see what transpires.

L... WG9U

Norm - KC1BMD wrote on 4/11/2023 5:56 PM:

When I worked for HP and after the product repair strategy largely changed from component level repair (with thru-hole components) to board exchange, the customers reacted negatively. The strategy was modified to provide repair info, including schematics. This was mostly before SMD devices became the norm (although I am the real Norm! -- hi). Whether or not Lab599 would consider providing repair documentation partly depends on the demand from the customer base. My guess is most hams are not set up (nor do they want to be) for SMD component level repair. However, I think at least they should provide repair details (with available parts) to replace certain subassemblies and parts that are prone to failure. I had problem with one of the kickstand and Lab99 provided the part to me as well as a video showing how to replace it. Maybe that would be possible with the VFO encoder.
--
73, Norm/KC1BMD

开云体育

I’ve worked on smaller stuff without specialized tools, but if someone wasn’t that confident they could use a rig like the one on p.37 of the Feb 2009 QST by KE6F to do it. ?Every so often someone has an article on a setup like that. ?I actually had another jig in mind but I can’t find it. ?Could be from QEX. The article I had in mind detailed a homebrew vacuum jig that was neater and held the little bits in place in a very precise way. ?Looked a bit like a 3d printer. ? It was a more recent article. ? Very cool.?

开云体育

Tom,

I'm sending you a link to a image of the TX-500 board. I think that you will agree that any work on this board would be problematic.?



L... WG9U

Thomas Tumino wrote on 4/11/2023 10:09 AM:

Interesting. ?But you know every other manufacturer is also doing surface mount yet they still issue service manuals. ?And certainly a tuning knob is not a surface mount component. Perhaps with enough info we could all help diagnose the tuning problem and come up with a solution. ?

Every manufacturer I know of has made mistakes in component selection in ham gear, and most of those mistakes seem to be discovered/diagnosed by users armed with service manuals. ?It’s a much faster process to effectively “crowd source” your refinements as opposed to relying solely on an in house tech staff. ?I mean after all, there will always be more users in the field than designers in the company.?

Also you know there have been many QST articles on replacing surface mount components. ?It’s not beyond a hobbyist if they want to do it. ?

Do other Russian companies release service manuals? ? Is the Russian intellectual property law scheme different in such a way that publishing service manuals would disclose otherwise secret information? ?Just a thought.

But really if there’s a reason lab599 should divulge it. ?Maybe they don’t even have one internally. ?

73,

Tom, N2YTF?

Sent by phone, please forgive my brevity and poor typing.

On Apr 11, 2023, at 10:57 AM, Larry Guillot <guillot@...> wrote:

? Tom,

My guess on this would be: 1. They are Russian and don't go by the norm. 2. It's a single board, surface mount technology FRU. They may not see the need to have a maintenance manual since it's mostly a board replacement and the rest will have to be handled at the depot, with very little exceptions. Frankly, the majority of the work on surface mount FRU, has to be done at the manufacturer, so I'm certain that's what they are thinking.

Larry, WG9U

Thomas Tumino wrote on 4/11/2023 8:26 AM:

In my mind, to not publish a service manual is really against the ethos of Ham Radio. ?Isn’t ham radio all about experimenting, learning, and tinkering? Fixing, modifying l, and building gear is really part of ham radio. ?

I don’t know of any ham manufacturer that hasn’t published a service manual for their gear. ?Many charge for the manual, but to not publish one at all??! ?Not cool Lab599.

A service manual is especially important for a small, new company. ?No one wants gear that may become unserviceable due to a lack of a service manual if the company stops or can no longer support the owners in the future. ?

Perhaps one reason why people are reporting slow repairs from the US facility is that even they don’t have a service manual…

Can someone with some inside connection to Lab599 try to get them to release the service manual in some fashion? I for one am happy to pay for it as long as it’s priced reasonably. ?

73,

Tom, N2YTF?

Sent by phone, please forgive my brevity and poor typing.

On Apr 11, 2023, at 8:39 AM, Norm - KC1BMD <noka@...> wrote:

?On Tue, Apr 11, 2023 at 07:26 AM, Thomas Tumino wrote:

Has Lab599 released a service manual for the rig? Anyone have a link to it?

If they did, I would think it would be on the web site ( Downloads section) but I only see a "User" manual.
?
--
73, Norm/KC1BMD

--

Sent from

开云体育

Tom,

As I said, there are a few exceptions... Tuning knobs can be one of those. The key element here is that it's single board surface mount FRU. With few exceptions, if anything of consequence goes wrong, it's a board swap. I am of course speculating since I'm not the chief design engineer for their company. The Russians have a unique way of doing things, so I'm guessing as to the lack of service manual. The single board makes me believe that this is their logic concerning not providing a service manual. It could also be a proprietary issue, in that, they do not want to provide any information concerning their design. I don't think the manufacturer cares about what most of the radio manufacturers do, frankly.

All of your questions are valid, however, I do have answers for concerning Russian intellectual property. Under the current circumstances, I'm more concerned about replacement parts and service, which made it hard for me make the purchase. The entire supply chain could fall apart overnight, depending upon the whim of the Russian government and how the sanctions begin to affect their capability to support their radio. It's difficult to predict what will happen in the future concerning Russian companies.

L... WG9U

Thomas Tumino wrote on 4/11/2023 10:09 AM:

Interesting. ?But you know every other manufacturer is also doing surface mount yet they still issue service manuals. ?And certainly a tuning knob is not a surface mount component. Perhaps with enough info we could all help diagnose the tuning problem and come up with a solution. ?

Every manufacturer I know of has made mistakes in component selection in ham gear, and most of those mistakes seem to be discovered/diagnosed by users armed with service manuals. ?It’s a much faster process to effectively “crowd source” your refinements as opposed to relying solely on an in house tech staff. ?I mean after all, there will always be more users in the field than designers in the company.?

Also you know there have been many QST articles on replacing surface mount components. ?It’s not beyond a hobbyist if they want to do it. ?

Do other Russian companies release service manuals? ? Is the Russian intellectual property law scheme different in such a way that publishing service manuals would disclose otherwise secret information? ?Just a thought.

But really if there’s a reason lab599 should divulge it. ?Maybe they don’t even have one internally. ?

73,

Tom, N2YTF?

Sent by phone, please forgive my brevity and poor typing.

On Apr 11, 2023, at 10:57 AM, Larry Guillot <guillot@...> wrote:

? Tom,

My guess on this would be: 1. They are Russian and don't go by the norm. 2. It's a single board, surface mount technology FRU. They may not see the need to have a maintenance manual since it's mostly a board replacement and the rest will have to be handled at the depot, with very little exceptions. Frankly, the majority of the work on surface mount FRU, has to be done at the manufacturer, so I'm certain that's what they are thinking.

Larry, WG9U

Thomas Tumino wrote on 4/11/2023 8:26 AM:

In my mind, to not publish a service manual is really against the ethos of Ham Radio. ?Isn’t ham radio all about experimenting, learning, and tinkering? Fixing, modifying l, and building gear is really part of ham radio. ?

I don’t know of any ham manufacturer that hasn’t published a service manual for their gear. ?Many charge for the manual, but to not publish one at all??! ?Not cool Lab599.

A service manual is especially important for a small, new company. ?No one wants gear that may become unserviceable due to a lack of a service manual if the company stops or can no longer support the owners in the future. ?

Perhaps one reason why people are reporting slow repairs from the US facility is that even they don’t have a service manual…

Can someone with some inside connection to Lab599 try to get them to release the service manual in some fashion? I for one am happy to pay for it as long as it’s priced reasonably. ?

73,

Tom, N2YTF?

Sent by phone, please forgive my brevity and poor typing.

On Apr 11, 2023, at 8:39 AM, Norm - KC1BMD <noka@...> wrote:

?On Tue, Apr 11, 2023 at 07:26 AM, Thomas Tumino wrote:

Has Lab599 released a service manual for the rig? Anyone have a link to it?

If they did, I would think it would be on the web site ( Downloads section) but I only see a "User" manual.
?
--
73, Norm/KC1BMD

--

Sent from

开云体育

Interesting. ?But you know every other manufacturer is also doing surface mount yet they still issue service manuals. ?And certainly a tuning knob is not a surface mount component. Perhaps with enough info we could all help diagnose the tuning problem and come up with a solution. ?