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Some of you might have been seeing my posts on the Facebook group, but I think I'd shared my though on the transceiver here as well.
As the leading SOTA activator in Taiwan, I think it is definitely one of activator's dream radios, sturdy body, weather-proof, nice screen for both indoor or outdoor, and most importantly, it has perfect user interface, functions that needed for filed operation is very easily accessible.
However, my experience with my particular unit is kind of a rollercoaster.
I ordered directly from Lab599 and I asked them to ship it without the box in order to avoid some tax and customs issues. I ordered in September, Lab599 shipped it in late October and after almost 100 days, it finally arrived Taiwan. The delay was of course due to the pandemic.?
Although radio was packed in multiple layers of bubble wraps, upon arrival I discovered that the BNC connector was dented, and after powering up I found the "B" icon is always there and the radio couldn't remember any of the user settings. I open the radio and found a broken socket for the CR2032 battery. The Lab599 team is very responsive and helpful, they offered to send me a replacement unit but I may have to wait for another 90+ days for it to arrive. They also sent me video instruction on how to replace the BNC jack and the battery socket and promised that doing that on my own would not void my warranty, I opted the latter and installed new jack and socket, problem solved.
Just when I though my TX500 was about to sail to a new life, I encountered another?swirl. After several QSOs on phone and FT8 at home, I took it for its first field operation yesterday, I used a load GP with adjustable coil, at first everything went well on 40-meter band, and then I switched to 20, tune my antenna to perfect 1.0 SWR and began to TX on FT8. All of sudden, my own FT8 TX came out from the speaker with the monitor off, I stopped and only to find out the speaker is not working anymore, there is just no sound coming out, I tried reset, re-flash the firmware, taking the internal battery out and put it back on, as well as using the headset adapter to rule out the problem on the speaker-mic, but the radio just went dumb, even the internal buzzer for the key beeping became silent. The RF capability? (TX and RX) seem to be intact judging form the panadapter and the FT8 QSO that followed.
I have contacted the Lab599 on this matter and I think I may have to get and wait for the replacement afterall. But again, nice radio! I hope this is just an??individual incident.
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Re individual incident...maybe not.
I managed to blow the audio amplifier chip in my TX-500 a few weeks ago just before the North American QSO Party SSB Contest operating from a portable location (Atlantic Beach, NC).? Lab599 Service USA quickly analyzed and repaired the TX-500.
Background: I had my TX-500 mounted to the side of an Elecraft KXPA100 with an external speaker and Heil HC4 mic element attached through the stock mic/speaker/PTT adapter. I also had a homemade adapter cable connected to the REM/DATA port providing PTT out to the KXPA100.? This connector also had wiring to PTT in, in which I had connected to a footswitch.? Although not being used, I had wires for the Audio In and Out.? All of the wires to the REM/DATA port were about 3 ft long and unshielded.? The 8 ft long footswitch cable was connected to the 3 ft wires via two 2 ft long alligator-clip leads.? The external speaker (MFJ-281) had a 4 ft shielded cable.? All of these wires were laying around loosely on the operating table.? The antenna was a PAR EF-QUAD in horizontal orientation about 30 ft from the operating position and was connected through 75 ft of RG8X.? Everything was working well, I made several POTA contacts on 40M that Saturday morning running around 50 watts from the KXPA100 (TX-500 Power at 50%).?
BTW, For those of us phone guys who don't carry a CW key everywhere we go, we use the "TUNE" feature, or some combination of buttons, of most other radios to generate a CW tone to adjust actual power out and check SWR.? There is no "TUNE" feature discussed in the manual.? After a reading of the manual I found the Menu Feature #24 Type Tone which discussed exactly what I needed.? But there was no reference to where to go in the manual for instructions on how to initiate the "TONE".? After doing a word search of the pdf file, I found the instructions in the Receive Settings section (last item) of the manual; not exactly where I was expecting transmitting details.
Event:? I increased the TX-500 Power to 75% and proceeded to check power output of the KXPA100.? On 40M I had around 90W, on 20M it was 100W and on 15M it went to 100W and a loud POP.? Not having enough time before the contest start to troubleshoot the issue, I packed up the TX-500/KXPA100 and all the wires.? I proceeded to operate the contest with my Elecraft K3/100.
Post Event:? After arriving back home I reconnected everything on the kitchen table.? I determined that the TX-500 receiver and transmitter were still working OK, and the audio out from the REM/DATA port was OK.? The only problem was no speaker audio from the MIC/SP port.? I packed the TX-500 and sent it to Lab599 Service USA.
Thoughts:? I know this is a new radio design and there may be unknown issues that develope over the early usage of the units.? So, now with possibly two audio amplifier failures, is this an issue or just two isolated instances?? I don't know.? Was my setup with all of the unshielded and long wires the path for RF from the nearby antenna the real problem?? If so, why didn't the event also eliminate the audio out from the REM/DATA port?? Was mounting it so close to the KXPA100 the problem?? I bought the TX-500 because of its unique packaging and features and plan to keep it.? I still have other radios to use if the TX-500 is not suitable for high RF environments.? It is still a great little rig for portable outdoor usage.? Since I left early for the beach, I was unable to use the TX-500 in this past weekend's Winter Field Day event.? My next opportunity to use the TX-500 will be at the end of the month during the CQWW 160 SSB Contest from the beach house.? When the weather gets warmer, I really will use the TX-500 alone in some outdoor setups.
Sorry for all of the details above, but wanted to provide information that might be useful to others with a TX-500.
I welcome any further thoughts or questions from others.? My next TX-500 project is an attachable battery pack.
73, Henry - K4TMC
Some of you might have been seeing my posts on the Facebook group, but I think I'd shared my though on the transceiver here as well.
As the leading SOTA activator in Taiwan, I think it is definitely one of activator's dream radios, sturdy body, weather-proof, nice screen for both indoor or outdoor, and most importantly, it has perfect user interface, functions that needed for filed operation is very easily accessible.
However, my experience with my particular unit is kind of a rollercoaster.
I ordered directly from Lab599 and I asked them to ship it without the box in order to avoid some tax and customs issues. I ordered in September, Lab599 shipped it in late October and after almost 100 days, it finally arrived Taiwan. The delay was of course due to the pandemic.?
Although radio was packed in multiple layers of bubble wraps, upon arrival I discovered that the BNC connector was dented, and after powering up I found the "B" icon is always there and the radio couldn't remember any of the user settings. I open the radio and found a broken socket for the CR2032 battery. The Lab599 team is very responsive and helpful, they offered to send me a replacement unit but I may have to wait for another 90+ days for it to arrive. They also sent me video instruction on how to replace the BNC jack and the battery socket and promised that doing that on my own would not void my warranty, I opted the latter and installed new jack and socket, problem solved.
Just when I though my TX500 was about to sail to a new life, I encountered another?swirl. After several QSOs on phone and FT8 at home, I took it for its first field operation yesterday, I used a load GP with adjustable coil, at first everything went well on 40-meter band, and then I switched to 20, tune my antenna to perfect 1.0 SWR and began to TX on FT8. All of sudden, my own FT8 TX came out from the speaker with the monitor off, I stopped and only to find out the speaker is not working anymore, there is just no sound coming out, I tried reset, re-flash the firmware, taking the internal battery out and put it back on, as well as using the headset adapter to rule out the problem on the speaker-mic, but the radio just went dumb, even the internal buzzer for the key beeping became silent. The RF capability? (TX and RX) seem to be intact judging form the panadapter and the FT8 QSO that followed.
I have contacted the Lab599 on this matter and I think I may have to get and wait for the replacement afterall. But again, nice radio! I hope this is just an??individual incident.
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That is correct. The Philips TDA7056AT audio amplifier seems to be much more susceptible?to being blown than the NXP model. I have one of the earliest TX-500's and use it all?the time, and have had no issue with it or it's Philips audio amplifier.?
Glad I could get it fixed and back to you quickly Henry.
On Wed, Feb 3, 2021 at 7:35 AM Henry Pollock - K4TMC < kilo4tmc@...> wrote: Re individual incident...maybe not.
I managed to blow the audio amplifier chip in my TX-500 a few weeks ago just before the North American QSO Party SSB Contest operating from a portable location (Atlantic Beach, NC).? Lab599 Service USA quickly analyzed and repaired the TX-500.
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John,
Yes, thanks for the quick turnaround on the service.? I had to leave a day earlier on my trip and missed receiving the package in time to take on the Winter Field Day effort.
Do you have any suggestions how to prevent the situation from occurring again?? The connectors are so small that it is hard to get multiple good shielded cables into an adapter setup.
73, Henry - K4TMC
On Wed, Feb 3, 2021 at 11:28 AM John Byerly < mtnlion@...> wrote: That is correct. The Philips TDA7056AT audio amplifier seems to be much more susceptible?to being blown than the NXP model. I have one of the earliest TX-500's and use it all?the time, and have had no issue with it or it's Philips audio amplifier.?
Glad I could get it fixed and back to you quickly Henry.
On Wed, Feb 3, 2021 at 7:35 AM Henry Pollock - K4TMC < kilo4tmc@...> wrote: Re individual incident...maybe not.
I managed to blow the audio amplifier chip in my TX-500 a few weeks ago just before the North American QSO Party SSB Contest operating from a portable location (Atlantic Beach, NC).? Lab599 Service USA quickly analyzed and repaired the TX-500.
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The Lab599 has sent me an video of how to disassemble the unit, take the PCB out and indicated the location of TDA7056AT. But replacing SMD components is beyond me, I will need professional help on this.
The Lab599 has also confirmed that there already has been "several cases."
Henry, do you have isolation capacitor installed on your data cable?
Thank you.
Sincerely,
Willis??
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Willis,
No, I did not install any isolation capacitors on the cables.? The GX12 connector assemblies are too small to put any components inside.? Plus, I assume that adequate isolation, blocking and shielding components are built into the radio.? Maybe just a ferrite choke around the wires will be adequate.?
I just found this cable in my closet.? It has 3 shielded individual wires with a ferrite core molded to the cable.? If I can get the 3 wires to fit the GX12 connector, this might be my solution.? I will remove the existing 4-wire connector to keep the wires as short as possible.
73, Henry - K4TMC
The Lab599 has sent me an video of how to disassemble the unit, take the PCB out and indicated the location of TDA7056AT. But replacing SMD components is beyond me, I will need professional help on this.
The Lab599 has also confirmed that there already has been "several cases."
Henry, do you have isolation capacitor installed on your data cable?
Thank you.
Sincerely,
Willis??
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UPDATE on my TX500:
The TDA7056AT replacement chip arrived quickly.
I used to plan to send it to a SMD specialist for the swap, but more than one of my fellow hams told me that it is not that difficult with right tool, so instead, I bought a Chip Quik kit and a hot air gun, in order to do it on my own.
I am a diagnosed Parkinson's Disease patient, so steady hands are only mine in good dreams. After watching some youtube clips and practicing on the Playstation 2 board in my junk box, I took my Levodopa medicine to make sure I was in my best shape and did the swap. After inspecting the pins I put everything back together and powered the unit up with my fingers crossed, Yay! My unit is not dumb anymore! Everything worked normally.
However the joy only last for ten minutes, the unit then shut itself off and I haven't been able to turn it back on. offered to have a look and asked me to check the connection pins between two PCBs before sending the unit, they seemed ok but when I open the aluminum body, I smelled something burnt, so I flipped the bottom PCB again. Looks like the TDA I replaced is a counterfeit one! Three pins were torched as well as the nearby capacitors.
The Lab599 people have been very helpful, they have been trying to provide instruction via email and video so that I can fix it on my own again. But the bottom is that I think my unit needs a full inspection by Lab599 or its authorized staff, instead to trying to fix something on my own. So it is now on its way to Nevada.
I think that's just something you have to bear with when buying a innovative radio from an independent manufacture. Of course it is also my bad luck. But take it from a ham who has tried the radio, it is well worth of the trouble and the wait, especially if you are a field operator.
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Hello - I noticed the posting regarding use of cables from a TRRS (3.5mm 3-circuit) to RCA adapter as pictured. I have spent some time using this connector type and adapters as shown as short RF jumpers (I ordered several types from chinese ebay suppliers). The cable as shown is almost certainly not coax in any useful sense (after being unable to use for RF, I dissected them). All types of these assemblies (TRRS to 3-RCA) I've dissected have either a single strand as ground alongside the "center" conductor (so no useful RF shielding) or in one case several strands as ground (same outcome). I ended up using RG188 (less than 0.1" OD, somewhat flexible), but RG178 (similar diameter, less flexible) may be easier to source and could be used for fitting several coaxial lines into a small connector. Both have teflon dielectric so they withstand soldering (vs. polyethylene in RG174 which melts easily.)
Dave
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Dave,
That may have been my picture in an earlier message.? I have not found time to actually use that cable, so not sure what the internal make-up looks like.? I found some RG174 in a box and had decided to try that instead, with all new connectors.
Thanks for the information on the other cables.? I found some lengths of RG188a and RG178 on eBay.? They'll be here next week.? I need to make some shielded adapters.? So, it will be good to have alternatives to my current stock of RG174.
73, Henry - K4TMC
Hello - I noticed the posting regarding use of cables from a TRRS (3.5mm 3-circuit) to RCA adapter as pictured. I have spent some time using this connector type and adapters as shown as short RF jumpers (I ordered several types from chinese ebay suppliers). The cable as shown is almost certainly not coax in any useful sense (after being unable to use for RF, I dissected them). All types of these assemblies (TRRS to 3-RCA) I've dissected have either a single strand as ground alongside the "center" conductor (so no useful RF shielding) or in one case several strands as ground (same outcome). I ended up using RG188 (less than 0.1" OD, somewhat flexible), but RG178 (similar diameter, less flexible) may be easier to source and could be used for fitting several coaxial lines into a small connector. Both have teflon dielectric so they withstand soldering (vs. polyethylene in RG174 which melts easily.)
Dave
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