Quiet Radio

[bazza]

Hi,
When my radio is recieving I can barely hear it.

If I lie on my seat with my ear against it in a soundproof room then I can just make out what is being said. The squelch is set right and the volume is full up.

My question is....Can this be caused by the aerial or is it the set that is knackered?

[chewy]

Can you not try your set on a different aeral?

[bazza]

It's a bit of a pain as it's surface mounted into the console and siliconed in. If a new arial was cheap enough and the chances were that it was that then i would just buy one and try that.

[SeaSkills]

It doesn't sound like an antenna problem to me. If you turn the squelch off and can't even hear the white noise, I would say it's most likely a problem with the set.

Is the volume control turning OK? On sets where the volume works with a push-on knob, sometimes the internal interface of the knob where it fits over the metal spindle from the radio casing gets worn and just turns without actually doing much. Just a thought

[bazza]

It is one with a push on/push off volume knob but if I turn it right up it does hit the end stop so I think that would mean it was turning the spindle(am I right?)


I can hear white noise if I turn the squelch down....but I will have to check how loud that is.
If the white noise is low with the squelch right down then that would suggest it's the set then, right?

[J S]

The speaker isnt full of water by any chance is it, had a similar experience and that was the cause.

James

[SeaSkills]

Originally Posted by bazza

I can hear white noise if I turn the squelch down....but I will have to check how loud that is.
If the white noise is low with the squelch right down then that would suggest it's the set then, right?

Yes, or at least the speaker in the set. If you have turned the squelch off (ie right down)then the volume control will act on that noise and if you turn the volume up you should get louder noise. If you don't, you've at least narrowed down the likely causes of the problem

[jyasaki]

If it has wires for an external speaker, try that. The built-in speakers are generally pretty horrible, even when the unit is working correctly.

jky

[JSP]

What make of radio is it?

[bazza]

Standard Horizon, Quest-X GS1500E

[bazza]

Okay so last night I turned the squelch right down and the volume right up and although it was slightly louder it was still barely audibe. Does this confirm the fault is with the set as I would think the aerial has nothing to do with the white noise?

[bazza]

anyone out there?

[JSP]

I'd say so Bazza. Sorry mate

[jyasaki]

Bazza;

Sounds like, but if you could swap in either a different antenna or a different VHF, you'd know for sure.

For the antenna, it doesn't have to be mounted (ask around; someone may have a spare in the garage), for the VHF, it's the two power wires and the antenna lead.

jky

[Jon Brooks]

Antennea will not cause a volume issue, this is a real Red Herring.

I have seen this many times and is more likely to be that the unit has got salt water on it, has not been hosed off, salt water has dried and that salt crystals are stopping the speaker from moving correctly.

It is very important to clean you radio after a day at sea or this will happen.
I have SH kit on the boat and alway run fresh water over the radio's to clean out any salt water. Have done this with Icom kit to.

An waterproof radio worth its money should be able to cope with this.

DO NOT JET IT! just let the water run over the radio.

You may need to use a small tool now to push very gently on the speaker to break up the crystals, if at all worried about doing this send it away to be done.

It is worth, as suggested, trying and extenal speaker this will also confirm that the set is working ok.

Hope that helps

Jon

[bazza]

I swapped the set and all is working fine.

I will now take the other one apart and check the speaker for salt crystals as you suggest.

Thanks for all the replies.