By Don K9CLF
I mentioned on the tech net last night I was having a problem with the T/R reed relay on my old TenTec Triton IV 540.
This is a common issue, but the relays with correct form factor are hard to locate. The repair wisdom is to replace the tiny glass-encapsulated magnetic reed switch inside the coil. I located and ordered the needed switches on Amazon.
Upon opening the radio this morning in preparation for the repair, I ran a few resistance tests and found the issue! The common lead on the relay was tack-soldered to the carrier board pin. The solder connection had fractured and the wire was sitting loosely against the pin. 2 seconds with a hot soldering iron fixed it!
I rarely get so lucky with a radio fix. The receive sensitivity is back to 100%.
