BTECH GMRS-50X1...Dead as a door nail!

[mitzvah]

I have a radio in a box set-up, that being I have to tear in down after each use. Anyway I was enjoying my radio when it just went "black" AKA turned off!. I'm using the cigar lighter (female) for may source of power. I checked all connections, fuses, on/off button. I replaced the  BTech with a Anytone radio and it worked fine. anyone have any thoughts on what I could do?

[mbrun]

I have a radio in a box set-up, that being I have to tear in down after each use. Anyway I was enjoying my radio when it just went "black" AKA turned off!. I'm using the cigar lighter (female) for may source of power. I checked all connections, fuses, on/off button. I replaced the  BTech with a Anytone radio and it worked fine. anyone have any thoughts on what I could do?

A completely ‘black’ radio is most commonly an indicator of no power to the radio electronics. This could mean power at the source, a blown fuse somewhere in the circuit between power source and the radio, a blown fuse inside the radio or perhaps even a physically open connection within the radio.

Be aware if you are using a cigarette lighter plug, there may be a fuse hidden inside the plug that you do not see.

If you have a volt meter I would recommend you confirm the presence of power at source and at the radio itself.


Michael
WRHS965
KE8PLM

[Citizen]

On 5/17/2021 at 6:37 AM, mbrun said:

[snip]
Be aware if you are using a cigarette lighter plug, there may be a fuse hidden inside the plug that you do not see.

If you have a volt meter I would recommend you confirm the presence of power at source and at the radio itself.

This very thing happened to me. 

I have a radio with a cigarette lighter power cord, in-line fuse very visible and easily accessible.  But it also had another fuse I did not know about, which was inside the black plastic case that is the actual plug that plugs into the power source.  Once when I thought my radio was dead (thought maybe lightning had hit it), it was actually that first hidden fuse had blown (the second visible fuse was still good).  Luckily, I didn’t trash my radio.  Found the hidden fuse using a VOM, replaced it, and radio worked fine.

One more note on replacing power source fuses.  Pay attention to the fuse ratings.  Replace with exactly same rated fuses only, no more, no less.  On the radio I cited above, I first replaced the fuse with a lower rated fuse.  Radio worked fine on low power (99% of the time), but then blew days later the few times I used a channel programmed for medium or high power.  Again, thought the radio was bad, but finally figured out the fuse I was putting in had a too low rating for the radio to operate at med or high power, so it would blow every time (went through 4-5 fuses trying to figure it out). 

But also and more importantly, don’t ever put in a higher rated fuse than what came with the radio, or what the manual calls for.  Better to blow a few 25 cent fuses than a $150+ radio with a now voided warranty.

I hope my lesson(s) learned can help someone else.

Thomas

...

EDIT:  Corrected voltage ratings mentioned (thanks Lscott for pointing that out).

 

[Lscott]

The important point is paying attention to the amp rating of the fuse. Too low and the fuse will fail. If the fuse is rated close to the max current the radio will draw the heat buildup will eventually fail the fuse. Remember that a fuse is a thermal device, an element has to melt to open the circuit. Fuses operating at elevated temperatures may also fail at current levels below their rating.

The voltage rating on the fuse is the max system voltage where the fuse is guaranteed to clear the fault without excessive arcing. Using a higher voltage rated fuse should not be an issue.  

[mitzvah]

She is alive, She is alive!

I hooked up the car battery and the radio is Good 2 Go! I guess I blow that fuse you folks mention.

Thank you all!