Anytone at-5555n II (version 2)

[SuperLid]

There's a real BC lad, full of truth. This is coming from a lad that was born and raised in southwestern Ontario but somehow ended up in the USA. My aunt and cousins all live in Vancouver and Victoria.

To me, no assembly line is perfect and deviations are bound to occur. At least for physical instead of electronic parts, even the cumulative impact of very subtle differences in small components (that may individually all be within required specs) that are built up into a larger assembly can have a surprisingly noticeable impact on the larger component. So much so that the result is an out-of-spec final assembly. At least that's been my experience. But like I said, that's physical stuff. Maybe modern electronic assembly processes are immune from this sort of thing.

Here's a NYC boy's truth....I think your radio needs to be re-examined by someone other than the local dude you brought it to.

SL

 

[TimmyTheTorch]

Here's a NYC boy's truth....I think your radio needs to be re-examined by someone other than the local dude you brought it to.

SL

I agree, but then again I always like second opinions. Last year when I was trying to find someone to help me out with a self-inflicted issue I was having with a different Anytone I had, I had zero success finding anyone that would agree to look at it. It was either they don't service this type of radio or they only service what they sell. This very nice local man had previously fixed up a non-working older Lincoln II+ (I have a newer one too) I have in the garage so I figured I'd send him this Anytone too.

Here's the description on the receipt. I was not charged for him to just look it over. At least he was able to replicate the issues I am having with it here.

Please do not be unkind to him, at least he made an honest effort to help me out. He may just be used to working on older style radios and knows his limitations. I respect that. I should have it back from him on Saturday and will decide at that point if it's worth me trying to do anything more about it.

 

[AudioShockwav]

I agree, but then again I always like second opinions. Last year when I was trying to find someone to help me out with a self-inflicted issue I was having with a different Anytone I had, I had zero success finding anyone that would agree to look at it. It was either they don't service this type of radio or they only service what they sell. This very nice local man had previously fixed up a non-working older Lincoln II+ (I have a newer one too) I have in the garage so I figured I'd send him this Anytone too.

Here's the description on the receipt. I was not charged for him to just look it over. At least he was able to replicate the issues I am having with it here.

Please do not be unkind to him, at least he made an honest effort to help me out. He may just be used to working on older style radios and knows his limitations. I respect that. I should have it back from him on Saturday and will decide at that point if it's worth me trying to do anything more about it.

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I don't see any fault with the guy, i would say he is just being honest with you.
After years of working on thru hole stuff some guys don't want to go down the SMD rabbit hole, thus the " this unit is not field serviceable" reply.
It is even difficult for me to work with some of these new, much smaller, surface mount devices as well, I am not as steady handed as I was in my younger days, vision not so good anymore as well.
I watched a guy working on a cell phone the other day, required a camera and monitor to zoom in and see the parts on the board he was working on.


73
Jeff

 

[SuperLid]

I don't see any fault with the guy, i would say he is just being honest with you.
After years of working on thru hole stuff some guys don't want to go down the SMD rabbit hole, thus the " this unit is not field serviceable" reply.
It is even difficult for me to work with some of these new, much smaller, surface mount devices as well, I am not as steady handed as I was in my younger days, vision not so good anymore as well.
I watched a guy working on a cell phone the other day, required a camera and monitor to zoom in and see the parts on the board he was working on.


73
Jeff

I'm not faulting the guy, but he did not address the complaint. When the OP posted here, he stated that he noticed excessive current draw on voice peaks. The tech's assessment is not covering that issue at all.

 

[whiteastro]

I watched a guy working on a cell phone the other day, required a camera and monitor to zoom in and see the parts on the board he was working on.

I use to see girls soldering under a microscope at Northrup Grumman and I thought ( Boy could I make a mess of that ) ! LOL

 

[Eldorado828]

Here's the most latest and greatest short version q5n2

 

[TimmyTheTorch]

I'm not faulting the guy, but he did not address the complaint. When the OP posted here, he stated that he noticed excessive current draw on voice peaks. The tech's assessment is not covering that issue at all.

I'm still hopeful the radio is repairable once I find the right tech that will take a look at it. Better for the radio to remain in use than end up in a landfill somewhere, as long as it makes financial sense to fix it rather than replace it.

 

[SuperLid]

I'm still hopeful the radio is repairable once I find the right tech that will take a look at it. Better for the radio to remain in use than end up in a landfill somewhere, as long as it makes financial sense to fix it rather than replace

I'm still hopeful the radio is repairable once I find the right tech that will take a look at it. Better for the radio to remain in use than end up in a landfill somewhere, as long as it makes financial sense to fix it rather than replace it.

I find it strange, that the dealer you purchased it from, will work on radios, but not an Anytone that he sold.

 

[AudioShockwav]

I use to see girls soldering under a microscope at Northrup Grumman and I thought ( Boy could I make a mess of that ) ! LOL

I have watched guys at Tavis Corp do assembly on pressure transducers using microscopes, tedious work and requires a very steady hand.
Not for me any more.
Sucks getting old.....

73
Jeff

 

[TM86]

Sucks getting old.....

Beats the alternative.

 

[TimmyTheTorch]

Well, the Q5N2 carcass arrived home today. I gave it a quick test to see if the excitement of the voyage and change of scenery improved its mood at all, but no such luck. SSB modulation is still awful and the display still dims some in line with SSB modulation and RF power level. AM/FM seems to work fine, as does SSB RX. This is all into a dummy load and the stock mic set to EL.

After work today I will yoink the case off it again and remeasure stuff I measured before and go over anything else I can go over. At least it still looks really nice!

 

[BC Coyote]

SSB modulation is still awful and the display still dims some in line with SSB modulation and RF power level.

It doesn't sound like a super serious problem. Something is either dragging down your power (ie: a short somewhere), or something is preventing enough power from reaching some (or all) of the radio.
Could be a protection diode, defective switch, faulty electrolytic cap, burned trace, bad regulator, or even a funky fuse or fuse holder.....
If you have a decent multimeter you should be able to trace power through from where it comes into the back of the radio to wherever the voltage drops significantly when you key up. If you have a major short something will undoubtedly be getting warm if not hot.

 

[SuperLid]

It doesn't sound like a super serious problem. Something is either dragging down your power (ie: a short somewhere), or something is preventing enough power from reaching some (or all) of the radio.
Could be a protection diode, defective switch, faulty electrolytic cap, burned trace, bad regulator, or even a funky fuse or fuse holder.....
If you have a decent multimeter you should be able to trace power through from where it comes into the back of the radio to wherever the voltage drops significantly when you key up. If you have a major short something will undoubtedly be getting warm if not hot.

This sounds more like what I would be looking at in this case.

 

[TimmyTheTorch]

It doesn't sound like a super serious problem. Something is either dragging down your power (ie: a short somewhere), or something is preventing enough power from reaching some (or all) of the radio.
Could be a protection diode, defective switch, faulty electrolytic cap, burned trace, bad regulator, or even a funky fuse or fuse holder.....
If you have a decent multimeter you should be able to trace power through from where it comes into the back of the radio to wherever the voltage drops significantly when you key up. If you have a major short something will undoubtedly be getting warm if not hot.

Thanks for the leads. Hopefully the fuse and fuse holder can be eliminated from the list of suspects since it's now been tried with at least 3 power cords and 3 power supplies at two different locations.

I have lineman gloves, a newer multimeter, a clamp meter, a second power supply I used when checking the bias, plus 3 or 4 older multimeters that are left over for nastier chores in older engine bays. Also a few good soldering irons, solder sucker, etc. And 10x and 30x lighted magnifying glasses for my geezer eyes (excellent investment at only $13 each!). Out in my workshop I also have a MIG welder, an air compressor and air chisel depending on how this goes.

 

[BC Coyote]

I also have a MIG welder

Pretty sure you won't be needing that to fix an Anytone radio LOL!