Repair of Sony ICF-Pro 80?
David Shine
My Sony ICF-Pro 80 is no longer functioning well. Sony repair quoted me
a price of $560 to repair it! (So much for customer support!) I'm
wondering whether I could do something to get it working again.
Here's the problem. Upon powerup (with fresh batteries) I have no audio
- but if left on I get audio in about 30 min. The thing must warm up.
If, after I get audio, I turn it off I can get audio if I turn it back
on within a few minutes. So, I'm thinking it is something to do with the
power side of the machine.
Anyone have any ideas? I'm not afraid of experimentation since its
pretty much a loss now.
Thanks,
David Shine
Dave Smith
In article <348DA325...@bcm.tmc.edu>, David Shine
<hsh...@bcm.tmc.edu> writes
up. I had my suspicions as to the fault, based on the earlier chat on
this newsgroup last year (thanks to all for that!) but I took it to the
local Sony dealer for a confirmatory diagnosis and an estimate. This
cost 25 pounds but would be set against the repair. The quote came back
at 135 pounds (the radio only cost me 190!) but I did have a complete
list of the things that were wrong or which they felt needed
replacement.
I wrote off the 25 pounds and sent for the service manual and ordered
the parts - these came to about 35 pounds, suggesting that the labour
charge is 50 pounds per hour, since they had estimated 2 hours. I then
took it apart and found the fault was in one of the ribbon cables that
had indeed cracked and was one of the parts they identified as needing
replacemnt. The other ribbon cable appeared Ok and I could probably have
got away without replacing it. Together these parts came to about 15
pounds. Another item they listed as to be replaced was the internal
battery - this was about 12 pounds and I had to solder this in - a bit
fiddly. One of the other items is still on backorder (although the radio
now works perfectly again - I think it is a "cushion" to stop the cable
cracking and when it comes I will fit it.
The repair took me less than 2 hours - I used a stereo microscope to see
the soldering easily but could just about have managed without it. I
forgot to put some tape over the lcd display so there is now a little
scratch on the front of that - I always forget!
The repair therfore actually cost me 60 pounds in all (25 + 35), but I
guess I could have only replaced what I suspected was wrong and not
bothered with the rest and in this case it would have worked out at
32.50 (25 + 7.50).
So, my advice would be to ask for the diagnosis, then get the technical
manual and DIY! These radios seem to be fairly modularised so I doubt
you'll be into soldering individual components and still get a cheaper
deal!
Best of luck!
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
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Christopher D. Smith
David Shine <hsh...@bcm.tmc.edu> wrote in article
<348DA325...@bcm.tmc.edu>...
> My Sony ICF-Pro 80 is no longer functioning well. Sony repair quoted me
> a price of $560 to repair it! (So much for customer support!) I'm
> wondering whether I could do something to get it working again.
>
> Here's the problem. Upon powerup (with fresh batteries) I have no audio
> - but if left on I get audio in about 30 min. The thing must warm up.
> If, after I get audio, I turn it off I can get audio if I turn it back
> on within a few minutes. So, I'm thinking it is something to do with the
> power side of the machine.
>
> Anyone have any ideas? I'm not afraid of experimentation since its
> pretty much a loss now.
>
> Thanks,
> David Shine
>
>
> Try getting an estimate from radio shack to fix the problem.
They will repair other brands of radios.
Peter Maus
>>My Sony ICF-Pro 80 is no longer functioning well. Sony repair quoted me a
price of $560 to repair it! (So much for customer support!) I'm wondering
whether I could do something to get it working again. Here's the problem. Upon
powerup (with fresh batteries) I have no audio - but if left on I get audio in
about 30 min. The thing must warm up. If, after I get audio, I turn it off I
can get audio if I turn it back on within a few minutes. So, I'm thinking it is
something to do with the power side of the machine. Anyone have any ideas? I'm
I have an ICF- Pro 80, and in 10 years it has not failed. That doesn't mean I
haven't been inside it. I like to tinker. Its remarkably packed, and somewhat
primitive by todays standards. So a tech sheet or service manual is essential.
Sony Service has on a couple of occasions attempted to divert me from repair of
my chosen product to a new piece, and done it with service delays, and HUGE
prices. The truth is, they need the turnover. And they have no interest in
supporting discontinued product. The arrogance of Sony is beyond words.
Your radio is about 10 years old. By now you are facing a couple of age
related issues. Caps are drying up, and resistors are beginning to shift in
value. So far, I'm sure the resistors' changes are small, but the odds of a
cap being out of tolerance after this long are very good. Further, the
connections internally, could have seen some detioration with age. What you
are experiencing, is not performance based on something that needs to 'warm up'
but something that, through applied voltage, comes back into some semblance of
performance tolerance.
In my Sony's, and I have a couple now 25 years old, small irregularities in
the resistor formulation, have over time become impediments to current flow. I
replaced one over the weekend, that had a visible deformity, and the work
restored the unit to service. So a good visual inspection is certainly
helpful.
Good internal connections are essential to performance, and age will make them
unstable, so what I suggest, is that you open the radio cold, THEN turn it on,
and see if moving or touching any of the internal connections makes any
difference. If not, let it continue to come to service, and try selecting
small areas of the circuit board and hitting them with a shot of component
cooler. If there is a achange, you have isolated an area that requires
attention, and then its a matter of hunting down the right part. It may be
simply a matter of a solder joint that has deteriorated with age. This is
common on PC boards. The mean life of a solder joint is 30 years, so you have
a chance that one has gone south.
By all means order the manual on this rig...Sony's documentation is non-pareil,
and test points are clearly marked. If everything else has failed, you will be
able to restore your radio by some highly informed diagnostic work. The repair
will be very simple.
p
Steve Kennedy
"Christopher D. Smith" <cds...@execpc.com> wrote:
>> Try getting an estimate from radio shack to fix the problem.
>They will repair other brands of radios.
I once got an estimate from Radio Shack Repair to fix a Radio Shack
Pro-43 scanner that appeared dead.
They had the scanner for a week, then quoted $100 (and three weeks).
I found a posting about resetting the microprocessor RIGHT HERE on the
newsgroup and "fixed" it myself for free in 30 seconds.
If Radio Shack doesn't know its own products, I certainly wouldn't
even consider having them look at some other manufactrurer's device!
Just a personal observation that could save you grief...
Steve
Steve Kennedy
pete...@aol.com (Peter Maus) wrote:
<snip>
>By all means order the manual on this rig...Sony's documentation is non-pareil,
>and test points are clearly marked. If everything else has failed, you will be
>able to restore your radio by some highly informed diagnostic work. The repair
>will be very simple.
>p
AMEN! Sony DOES produce good documentation!
Your remarks on repair are almost universally true... FINDING the
problem (the troubleshooting or detective work) is the hardest and
most time consuming part of most repairs. Fixing the problem once it
has been properly identified is usually a piece of cake!
This is why you get a repaired unit back with a bill for $500 labor
and $2.54 in parts.
Steve
WB7PSD
KF6IIU
The IF/AGC chip failed on my PRO80, I am pretty sure - if the radio
receives a strong AM signal it "howls" and locks up. Of course Sony
can't do chip-level repairs, and the replacement "RF
board" is $185 so I bought a 7600G, which performs much better anyway.
I plan to cannibalize the VFO from the radio as a signal generator sooner or
later. Meanwhile it works in narrow and wide FM mode.
-w
Peter Maus
Why not instead replace the failed chip, and recover the radio? The Pro-80 is a
very high level performer.
pren...@mail.icomnet.com
David Shine wrote:
>
> My Sony ICF-Pro 80 is no longer functioning well. Sony repair quoted me
> a price of $560 to repair it! (So much for customer support!) I'm
> wondering whether I could do something to get it working again.
>
> Here's the problem. Upon powerup (with fresh batteries) I have no audio
> - but if left on I get audio in about 30 min. The thing must warm up.
> If, after I get audio, I turn it off I can get audio if I turn it back
> on within a few minutes. So, I'm thinking it is something to do with the
> power side of the machine.
>
> pretty much a loss now.
>
> David ShineSounds much like something heating up! Depends on if you can hear
"static" noise with the squelch control at min. This would help isolate
the problem to audio or IF circuits. If you hear nothing-- at all,
suspect audio circuits (output IC or transistor).
Contact me with more specific info...
P.T.
087m...@gmail.com
karab...@yahoo.com
> Ur heat sink chip is not working that is why it not working
Michael Black
> Ur heat sink chip is not working that is why it not working
>
1) You've replied to a thread from 1997, 19 years ago.
2) You didn't quote the message you are replying to, so it's not
clear what you are replying to, especially since it's a really old thread.
3)Your subject header makes it sound like you are starting a thread,
rather than replying to a really old message.
So it just looks like junk.
Michael
