Hey everyone,
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I am new to this group and I am in the process of repairing a few IC-7000s.? One was given to me by my grandfather and the other was my dad's that failed and was deemed irreparable due to parts being unavailable.? Turns out my dad's IC-7000 was actually my grandfather's (KB4NZJ's).? My grandfather passed away a few years ago and his IC-7000 became a donor radio to fix mine, but after finding out the history, I am determined to fix it.? My radio had the dreaded click-click problem no turn on problem.? My grandfather's, wouldn't turn on, I never tried it, but was listed with Bad Main Board, Bad Logic Board, and Bad DDS Module.? My desire to fix it was originally to learn a new skill and do something nice for my dad, but after finding out the story behind the radio, its more sentimental.
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KB4RU (IC-7000 Fix)
My radio was repaired once before but after about a year, it failed again.? I found once I pulled apart the display unit, the Capacitors that were supposed to be 100uf 16v were actually 47uf 25v.? I was afraid this took out parts in my radio and after tearing it apart and checking it over, I found nothing appearing damaged. Pulled apart the other display unit and turns out the screens were switched at some point between the radios.? Put the other screen on mine, and it came back to life.? Thank god, easy fix for the first one.? Replaced the Capacitors with the correct ones and the other display unit now works and turns the radio on.? Looks like one of the 2 caps failed.? FYI, Digikey lists 100uF 20v as an upgrade for the caps, they are slightly too thick and create a bulge in the back of the display case.? Stick to the 16v.
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Onto the second radio. KB4NZJ (Silent Key) IC-7000
Display Board- This is the older IC-7000, the display board above had the 47uf 20v Caps described above.? Replaced caps and its working as it should now.
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Main Board- I thought I had a burned resistor and failed cap near the logic board connection point.? Cleaned the char off and found a burnt trace going to the connector.? I attempted to bridge the trace and the wire kept shifting to the space between the pins. I tried to remove the connector and make a new trace, but everything kept moving around it kept getting worse until I ended accidently pulling up the whole trace.? After several hours trying to make something work, I gave up and ordered a new main board for now.? Eventually, I will try to cut and make a new trace to keep the mainboard as a spare.? Surface mount PCB repairs and overall radio repairs is a new learning experience for me.??
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Logic board- Found a burned inductor on the back side of the logic board.? Replaced the inductor and logic board appears to be working again!? I tested it in my radio and it powered up and appeared to be working normally.
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DDS- Says No RX, No TX.? I have looked all over it with magnifying glass and have not found anything appearing damaged.? I haven't poked around with the multimeter yet, but I decided to start with the Main Board and Logic to see if I can get it to power on, then try the DDS board.? I am not sure how it was tested to determine it was no good.? May have originally come out of my radio, but I am not sure which part came from which radio originally anymore.??
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Inspiration for others.
Hopefully this helps someone else have some hope in restoring their IC-7000 and keeps a few more of these wonderful radios alive.? I will post up some pictures of the projects later on.? I never attempted to repair these myself before because it was outside of my comfort zone and something I never did before.? However, I had the option of try it and see what happens and learn something new or give up on the radio and let it sit in the attic.? Glad I did.? A lot of this is easier than I expected, and I am learning a lot as I go along.? I have minimal experience fixing radios and by no means an expert in soldering or electronics repair.? My dad taught me the basics and I learned the rest on YouTube.? So, don't give up.? If you're determined enough, it can be done.
