Yaesu FTM-3200DR TX Problem

[DevilDog66]

Okay here's one for the techies out there. I have a Yaesu FTM-3200DR 2m rig that sometimes will not transmit. The radio is wired to the cars battery for power. A few days ago I was transmitting to a buddy of mine and keyed up to answer him when I noticed I did not hear the familiar squelch tail when I un-keyed the mic. I then tried again, same results. The radio when keyed up acted like it was transmitting. The radio's red TX light would light up and the "S"/TX meter would react as if I was transmitting, but I would not be "hitting" the repeater. After turning the radio off for an 1/2 hour to an hour it would transmit normally. Could it be a loose connection to the battery causing not enough voltage for the radio to transmit? This seems unlikely since i was transmitting on different kinds of road surfaces during the time I was using the radio. I was probably using it for at least 20-25 minutes when this symptom would occur. One Hammie I was talking to said he had a Kenwood radio that had the same symptoms but I couldn't copy what he was saying about what Kenwood said it was other than something about a bad diode and the temperature affecting it and when it cooled down it would TX again. Has anyone heard of that?

[MDYoungblood]

I'm not up to speed on Yeasu radios but it could be a firmware problem, check to make sure it's up to date. If you used CHIRP to program it you might want to go through and check the settings again. The only other thing is just like with a CB the mic cord has a broken wire, known to happen at those 8pin jack plug.

3's

Greg

[DevilDog66]

Here is an update to my intermittent TX issue. Well I went to a HAM buddy of mines house who was able to put the radio on a dummy load and a bird meter. We got the radio warm and keyed up. The radio was putting out approx 2 watts. Upon holding down the key for a bit, the power would pick back up (approx 35 watts). Best guess is it may be a cold solder some where, but we'll let Yaesu figure that one out! The radio still has two years of warranty left, next step.....box it up and ship it to Yaesu, in the meantime I'll move my QYT-8900D from the house to the car.

[MDYoungblood]

Cool,, didn't know it was still under warranty, by all means send it back, shoudn't take more than a couple of weeks and half that is shipping. When it comes back you will probably have to program it again.

3's

Greg