Yaesu FT-101E (Sommerkamp FT-277E) TX/RX relay cleaning

I demonstrate the troubleshooting procedure and fix for the typical weak or intermittent receive signal commonly encountered on the Yaesu FT-101 (Sommerkamp FT-277) classic series.
PROCEED WITH CAUTION!! DANGEROUS VOLTAGES PRESENT!!
Produced with CyberLink PowerDirector 19

[@walesunt]

Great testing equipment thanks for qso today 101 radio you was talking on was working great 👍

[@electronicsoldandnew]

Looks like an adventure. This voltages scare me 😳

[@DerekHerbst747]

We need the fear.. keeps us safe... kinda..

[@jimmycake7143]

ADD a little deoxit to the paper . nice shop and radio.!

[@spfillmer]

The MX2P and the AE3271 Relay has a 1-2 micron plating on the contactor surface. Using any type of abrasive such as paper, card stock, paper money, emery cloth, etcetera, will permanently remove the contact plating and leave you with a permanently damaged relay, so please DO NOT DO what this video is showing you. Low and medium current relays almost always have a thin gold or silver flash on the contacts. This flash overlay is meant to prevent oxidation and improve low current connections. The flash plating is very easily removed with abrasive cleaning techniques mentioned above, and if the plating is removed, it will render the relay permanently damaged, and low signal level connection issues will re-appear sooner. Cleaners with lubricants like WD40 will catch and hold dust and dirt so don't use them!. The goal of cleaning a relay is to remove the microscopic / thin layer of contamination, without removing the plating, and without depositing contaminants like oil, dust and fibers. The problematic layer on a relay is just a few molecule layers thick. It does not take much to remove the contamination and you can do it safely without destroying the relay contact plating. The best method to cleaning the MX2P and AE3271 is to use a tiny amount of Caig Deoxit D-Series contact cleaner. This will dissolve any oxides and sulfides that form on metal surfaces and the Aresol will blow it away. Deoxit D-Series will restore the contact’s integrity and it will leave a very thin / microscopic layer to protect the metal. After an application of Deoxit D-Series, you will want to then apply a very tiny amount of Caig Deoxit Gold aerosol onto the contacts. DeoxIT Gold G-Series (formerly ProGold), is a unique conditioning solution, that improves plating conductivity, It will provide them with long-lasting microscopic layer of protection.
DeoxIT Gold G-Series is the only contact cleaner designed for use on gold plated, silver plated, rhodium, copper, bronze, nickel, etc., base metals and other precious metal contacts and connections. DeoxIT Gold is the only product that actually penetrates these plated surfaces, molecularly bonding to the
base metals to seal and protect both surfaces.

[@DerekHerbst747]

Thanks for the Deoxit commercial, Steve. Here's the facts: I used Deoxit on the relay the day before. It didn't work.
I will not remove this comment from here, but instead I encourage everyone to go look at Steve's amazing video on how to clean your relays contacts.
Oh wait. There isn't one.

[@cb2micro]

Well, you are kind of right, but since his relay was ALREADY causing problems, it was better to do what he did than order another. I can assure you that it will work for a very long time now.
My relay contacts were much much more dirty than his, really black. I fixed it, with a bit of gentle rubbering onto the contacts with a fine SMD stainless tweezers (very fine tip) and then gently wipe the dirt with nail removal (acetylene) cleaned the contacts nicely and patiently without scratching them. A fine magnifying glass is your friend on this. This is a watch maker's job, but the result if a fixed unit 🙂
I really had to make a special tool for removing that relay, it was really tough as components are tightly spaced there.
Mine couldn't have been fixed with a piece of paper or alcohol wipes, there was a hard black oxide which had already removed the "gold" layer. It needed more careful rubbing the way I describe, so that this black oxide could go off.
Job done!

[@gerhardvanwykzs4rum685]

Op myne receive hy mooi maar ek het niks transmit nadat ek n external vfo op gesit het nie

[@DerekHerbst747]

Ek sal op die diagram moet kyk om te sien waar die probleem dalk lê. Dit klink vir my na 'n alignment.

[@jimmycake7143]

Never said UNPLUG IT.

[@yugare474]

If you go to work on anything electronic the first instinct should be to unplug it. If not you shouldnt be working on electronics in the first place. It should be common sense to unplug it.

[@patriceh6316]

This video make me sick....