Possibly bad PTT?

L

Lindberg

Final Approach
Joined
Sep 25, 2013
Messages
6,986
Location
North Texas
Display Name
Display name:
Lindberg
I have this PTT setup for my handheld (Yaesu FTA-310) and have used it successfully many times:

http://www.pilotmall.com/product/Pilot-USA-Push-to-Talk-Switch/headset-accessories

Today it seemed to not be working. Meaning that when I pushed the button, sometimes nothing would happen. No transmit light on the handheld and no sidetone. Then a couple of times I would get the sidetone and the transmit light even though I wasn't pushing the button. I thought the battery in the handheld might be dying, so I swapped it out with the alkaline pack and same problem.

Removing the PTT switch and using the button on the handheld seemed to work, but I don't know if there's a separate circuit for the external PTT? How do I test whether this switch is suddenly defective or it's a problem with the radio?
 
You should be able to pry the plastic switch open and short the contacts and see whether you transmit.
But if the accessory is still under warranty, it might not be a bad idea to send it back for an exchange instead of opening it up (which will likely void the warranty).
 
BigBadLou said:
You should be able to pry the plastic switch open and short the contacts and see whether you transmit.
But if the accessory is still under warranty, it might not be a bad idea to send it back for an exchange instead of opening it up (which will likely void the warranty).
Click to expand...
The mic jack end screws together, so I unscrewed it. There was one, apparently unused wire, that's just clipped and not connected to anything. I think this must have been shorting something out because when I put it all back together it works. :rolleyes:
 
I was in a rental transitioning through the Class B directly over PHX one time when the PTT simply fell off the yoke!

The controller suddenly got _really_ concerned that he wasn't hearing from me.. :)
 
Lindberg said:
The mic jack end screws together, so I unscrewed it. There was one, apparently unused wire, that's just clipped and not connected to anything. I think this must have been shorting something out because when I put it all back together it works. :rolleyes:
Click to expand...

Awesome, glad you fixed it and thank you for posting the result.
 
dans2992 said:
I was in a rental transitioning through the Class B directly over PHX one time when the PTT simply fell off the yoke!

The controller suddenly got _really_ concerned that he wasn't hearing from me.. :)
Click to expand...
That would be bad. Fortunately I was just puttering around in the cub. I'm sure no one even noticed I stopped talking.:)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top