Subject: Re: alinco dj-580 repair
From: [email-masked] (Greg Dolkas)
Date: Wed, 8 Sep 1993 23:04:54 GMT
Newsgroups: rec.radio.amateur.misc

OK, since I just went through this broken antenna thing recently, let me 
jot down a few of the highlights...

First thing is to remove the wrist strap and all the knobs from the top
of the radio.  The knobs just pull straight off.  

Around the knob shafts is a nut of sorts, more like a sleve with threads.
They sit down in the gap between the shaft and the radio shell, and have 
two notches, 180 degrees apart.  They probably want you to use some sort
of special tool to unscrew them, but I just used a really small screw driver
(basically anything small and pointy will do).  This is probably the part you
missed.  Use the screw driver to push the notches around the shaft to unscrew
the nut.

Un-do the 4 screws that hold the base plate on.  Be careful with the wires
and the spring that pushes on the battery release.  Also un-do the 3 screws
that hold the front and back halves of the radio together.  The radio can
now come apart, although it won't want to.

The ribbon cable joining the two halves of the radio has enough stretch to
just barely allow the radio to be taken apart.  The thing you're trying to do
is get the knob shafts out of their holes.  Once that is done you can lay the
radio open on the table.

Of course, you're looking at two PC boards, one in each half.  The BNC
connector isn't on either of them :-(.  It's burried below the one on the
back side of the radio.  There are 4 screws holding that one down, one in 
roughly each corner.  Remove them, and carefully lift that board.  Under it
is yet another PC board, and under that one is the BNC connector.  Alinco
must have stock in the folks producing "Dr. Who".

At the top of the radio is a rubber gasket thingy which goes around the plugs
for the mic/earphone/etc.  I don't remember exactly how this went, but it 
will end up coming out.

With the second board lifted out of the way, you'll see some copper foil
covering where the BNC connector is.  There is a screw on the top right, and
a solder blob at the bottom.  Remove the screw and peel the foil back.  I
ended up breaking the solder blob in the process, but it was easy to put 
back.  The under side of the foil has an adhesive on it.

There is a wire connecting the BNC's threads which broke off at the PC board
*and* the center connection had cracked from the solder post.  Use a really
small soldering iron and touch up both connections.  Be real careful not
to burn anything, drop solder on anything, or bend the little coils near the
center connector's post.  I didn't use any extra solder, just re-flowing what
already was there.

With the repair complete, reverse the process to put things back together.
Don't forget to re-blob the foil, and get all the rubber gizmos (PTT/Function
switch, and the seal around the speaker/mic connectors back in place, and not
pinched under something else.

As a final step, get some good epoxy and run a bead around the BNC connector 
to keep it from moving in the future.  Come to think of it, you might want to
put some on the inside while the radio's open, but I put it on the outside.
Seemed safer.

I've probably forgotten some minor, but important detail in all this, but
this is from memory, so use your best judgment.  Don't force anything; they
put it together without a hammer, so you shouldn't need one to take it apart.
You will need a real fine Phillips screwdriver, fine tip soldering iron,
and NO INTERRUPTIONS to pull this off.

Good luck,

Greg  KD6KGW

#standard disclaimer:  I have no authority to give official advice on this
topic.  You're on your own.