Sidebar Sidebar
  • You can now help support WorldwideDX when you shop on Amazon at no additional cost to you! Simply follow this Shop on Amazon link first and a portion of any purchase is sent to WorldwideDX to help with site costs.
  • Click here to find out how to win free radios from Retevis!

Yeticom Optima III Mobile

W

wcsd106

Active Member
Nov 19, 2009
246
6
28
Hi All,

I was finally able to get my hands on a Yeticom Optima III mobile. I believe this to be the 3rd gen, as the filter button is now on the clarifier knob and the faceplate says "10-12m AM/FM/SSB Ham Transceiver." If I'm mistaken, please correct me.

My problem is, I purchased this used and the receive appears to be way down. When I put it in the mobile, I have almost zero static on AM and my receive range is severely limited.

I have checked my SWR as well as my antenna connections and everything is in good working order. The SWR is running around 1.2:1 on 27.185MHz

Were these like a lot of other "Export" radios in that they needed a good tx/rx alignment to operate correctly on the CB Band?

It's a shame that I waited nearly 2 years to finally get my hands on one of these, and got one with problems when I finally found it. LOL.. My fault for buying used, I guess.

Any suggestions?
 

Yes, I've checked the RF Gain knob. It's almost like the radio is halfway squelched. You'll hear zero static and then when someone talks they are way down in the bottom of the receiver.

For instance, I just put the radio back into the car after having it out on the bench. I got a radio check from a driver about 3 miles away. He was just above noise level and was only moving the meter to between a 1 and a 3.

He said I was sounding very good, so transmit side is fine, I just don't have any ears.
 
May be an overloaded front-end transistor, usually an easy fix but requires soldering. Second problem may be with a bad solder joint or connection, this would take a bit of searching. Radio is well worth the effort to repair!

73 mechanic
 
  • Like
Reactions: wcsd106
Filter is off, but whether it's on or off the receive is the same.

I was thinking front end transistor, just not familiar with this particular board. Was having trouble finding any service information or schematics.
 
The filter is only for sideband, it does nothing on AM. On mine the receive was great out of the box. My problem with mine was the AM modulation was very low. I had to open the cover and turn the AM modulation up. When I barely turned it, it went to having a lot of audio to where I have to keep the mic gain at half way. I also had to turn the Sideband power up as it was doing 5 watts all the way up, again with a small turn it went to full swing. I'm wondering if yours has the same issue with the receive adjustment in the radio. Does the radio have an internal adjustment for the receive gain? The one marked RX only adjust the meter.

Does turning the RF gain drop the receive down even more? If it does nothing something may be lose inside. How is the receive on sideband and FM with the filter off? On FM you should have loud static, Sideband should be quiet, but you should get good signal even with AM stations.
 
  • Like
Reactions: wcsd106 and Dart
The rf gain cuts the receive even more. Fm has loud static. Ssb receive is very low as well.

Doesn't yeticom still frequent the forums? Maybe I'll get a response
 
I'm learning that SWR's are only part of the story with antenna and coax problems. I've had 1.5 SWR's with the shield not making contact. What kind of antenna is it and how high is it? Do you have another radio that you can put in line to compare? Could it be that noise levels are just low where you're at and/or you're in a dead spot? The receive should be really good with less noise. When I drive over where my mom lives, flat undeveloped prairie, the noise level is next to none and people drop down to practically nothing. It's just a dead spot, it sounds like the RF gain is cut back or someone is touching the antenna, no one seems to hear me.
 
  • Like
Reactions: wcsd106
Sorry for the delay in response. I was out of town for the weekend.

The antenna is a Larsen professional NMO style antenna, trunk mounted on the vehicle. I tested a different radio and it works perfectly. Hook the Yeticom up on my repair bench, and it still has no receive.. Something definitely wrong with the radio.
 
mechanic said:
May be an overloaded front-end transistor, usually an easy fix but requires soldering. Second problem may be with a bad solder joint or connection, this would take a bit of searching. Radio is well worth the effort to repair!

73 mechanic
Click to expand...

Forgot to mention, I checked the radio for cold solder joints. Even resoldered some suspect connections. Leaning towards something in the front end. Probably gonna need a schematic at this point.
 
wcsd106 said:
Forgot to mention, I checked the radio for cold solder joints. Even resoldered some suspect connections. Leaning towards something in the front end. Probably gonna need a schematic at this point.
Click to expand...
Good luck, schematic's are hard to come by for this radio. If I'm not mistaken the board is marked where the receive circuitry is, if that helps. Sorry you got one that isn't working. You should really email Mike and see if there is anything he can do, assuming you got it from New Zealand.
 
wcsd106 said:
Hi All,

I was finally able to get my hands on a Yeticom Optima III mobile. I believe this to be the 3rd gen, as the filter button is now on the clarifier knob and the faceplate says "10-12m AM/FM/SSB Ham Transceiver." If I'm mistaken, please correct me.

My problem is, I purchased this used and the receive appears to be way down. When I put it in the mobile, I have almost zero static on AM and my receive range is severely limited.

I have checked my SWR as well as my antenna connections and everything is in good working order. The SWR is running around 1.2:1 on 27.185MHz

Were these like a lot of other "Export" radios in that they needed a good tx/rx alignment to operate correctly on the CB Band?

It's a shame that I waited nearly 2 years to finally get my hands on one of these, and got one with problems when I finally found it. LOL.. My fault for buying used, I guess.

Any suggestions?
Click to expand...
Every Optima (yeticomnz) is gone over and checked before it is shipped out to make sure that there 100%. Used...thats another matter, sorry.
 

dxChat
Help Users
  • No one is chatting at the moment.


      Top Bottom
      Back