R1 Tech Note, (c) 1991 by Paul Flaherty
The BNC connector on most HTs leaves something to be desired, and the R1 and
cousins are no exception. The connector nut and the back case form a smooth -
smooth metal boundary, and the connector eventually will come loose.
If this happens to you, do *not* merely retighten the nut. Instead, take it off,
place a lock washer underneath the nut, and *then* retighten. If you don't,
you'll wind up with a cycle of loosening and retightening. This is not a good
thing, since the wire connecting the BNC to the PC motherboard is solid, and the
solder connection leaves something to be desired.
If you've already managed to twist the wire loose from the PC board, all is not
lost; the wire may be reattached. WARNING: The following instructions are *NOT*
for the faint of heart. If you have *ANY* doubts about your technical abilities
(especially soldering), find someone experienced with repair of handheld radios
to do it for you.
Needed Equipment
- A low wattage soldering iron, preferably cordless
- The soldersucker of your choice
- A very small phillips screwdriver (the smallest standard Craftsman will do)
- Some fresh eutectic solder, thin variety
- An anti-static wrist strap
- Mouse clips or a small pair of needle nose pliers
Procedure
-
Strap yourself in. Doubtless, the R1 can be zapped by static.
-
Take out the two long screws on the upper right of the back case, the small
screw in the upper right of the front case, near the tether hole, and the two
screws in the bottom of the front case.
-
Separate the front case from the rest of the radio. There is a printed circuit
ribbon connecting the front case to the motherboard, and the ribbon is located
on the right (viewed from the front) side.
-
Remove the four phillips screws which hold the motherboard to the back.
-
Now, a few notes on how the R1 is put together. The gray plastic plate, on
which the three controls on top of the R1 (squelch, volume, tune) are mounted,
slides free from the back case. The gray plastic plate, the controls, the power
and speaker jacks, and the motherboard all remove as one piece (thank the Great
Engineer).
-
Remove the 300 maH battery by pulling toward you (it's held in place by a metal
clip) (and note that it's nicely connectorized for replacement somewhere down
the road). Now, pull on the lower (eg, the part that was nearest the battery)
portion of the motherboard, while pushing the power and speaker jacks thru the
holes, and then lift up on the gray plastic top piece. The whole mess will come
free. Take note of the small piece of rubber which fits between the motherboard
and the back case. This forms the shock mount for the board. Also note the
small piece of gray rubber which forms the light/lock pushbutton.
-
Take a breather, or have the nurse sponge down your forehead.
-
Remove the BNC connector. Curse loundly.
-
Remove the solder and wire from the PC board hole (in the corner of the board).
-
Reattach the BNC connector to the PC board.
-
Now for the fun part. Insert the BNC connector into the hole, while pushing the
motherboard back into position, taking note to reinsert the gray pushbutton
piece on the right side of the case (as viewed from the front). Refit the gray
top piece. Place the small rubber shock mount behind the pc board, and
reinstall the four screws (I used a pair of surgical mouse clips for this, but
a pair of needle nosed pliers will do).
-
Reinsert the battery, replace the front cover, and reinstall screws.
-
Turn on. If you've done everything right, you'll have a working R1. If not,
make sure you havn't pinched any wires in between the case halves.
One Final Note
The antenna that comes with the R1 leaves a lot to be desired. Try using a
RadioShack PRO-34 scanner antenna instead; the improvement is impressive.
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