I've had really nice conditions Tek scopes sold by complete idiots on E-bay, they don't pack them well, and they arrived smashed up.

>>I've sent beautiful antique radios by the United States Postal Service wrapped in several blankets and double boxed....and they've landed up smashed to hell....while only traveling a couple of hundred miles upstate....<<

Shipping a big heavy and fragile piece of electronics in a cardboard box with a single layer of bubble wrap is going to smash in the corners every single time.

>>Again, we hear that from just one person in this saga.  Having known a family who has professionally shipped since 1980....I KNOW FedEx would not have accepted this parcel as Ralph has described.  I think Ralph is "padding" his case.<<

The thought of the shipping company making good on the damage claim is IMHO ludicrous. The problem was poor packing.

>>Again, you do not know that.  It is hearsay from Ralph.  This just demonstrates to me that if FedEx IS making good on the claim....because the packaging must have been up to proper standards....this contradicts Ralph and his story.<<

It's very very frustrating and I somehow wanted to "teach the seller a lesson" but really they're uneducatable.

>>Again, this is hearsay and would not admissible in a court of law.  I would love to be on the inside of PayPal to really see what is going on between these two.<<

I ended up buying another "parts" unit and fixing up the broken scope with it. I'm proud of the result. I still feel sad whenever I think about the useful old equipment that gets smashed up every day by clueless E-bay sellers. Don't really know how to fix it.

>>I wish wooden cases were fixable.  However, all one can do is get the insurance money and find another radio on E-bay.<<

I'd like to offer some advice. My emotion on getting a smashed up box with a bashed in scope in it was not anger or revenge on the seller, but just an overall sadness that something that was good just two days ago and a couple hundred of miles away is now a basket case that has to be fixed.

>>I felt the same way about the antique Grundig.  I felt sad that even after wrapping it in old blankets and packing it into two boxes....and with it traveling only a few hundred miles....this nice piece of radio history is gone.

Stuff happens.  However, there is MUCH more to this soap opera than what appears here.  In case you are not aware, Ralph has gone to just about every ham radio website on the Internet to plead his case.  I'm reminded of an old Shakesperian phrase; "Thou dost protest too much!"  

I'm gonna a stay tuned to this reality series!<<

73, Bill

(Translated so Ralph can comprehend....)

Deer Ralph:

I nevar sed that guss was my buddey.  I simpleee find numarus wholes in ur storeee that due not make mush cents.

Pleeze tell the restt of the hamm communiteee about the vulger and disgustin e-male u tride to put in my e-male bocks.

Raplh, u reallee r a hoot.  Butt ur temper is gonna git u in troubel sum day if it hasnot already done sew.

73, BillyBob

1) Wrong forum for this topic anyway....
2) Two sides to every story....

Until I hear from Gus, I will not pass judgment upon him. (This is a good policy for any ham to follow.)

73, Bill

....all i want is what i paid him.i even paid him more than he ask just to help with the gas....
-------------------------------------------------------
WTF?

Gas?  I thought you said it was delivered by FedEx?  Now are we to believe it was personally delivered?

Another question: How does one ship a scope using FedEx, which has regulated shipping standards, in a Chinese printer box....cushioned with bubble wrap, insured for "a substancial amount over $65.00" and do it for just $15 shipping? ($65 - $50 = $15)

I think Gus paid out a lot more for shipping than you're letting on, Ralph.

This story has more twists and turns with each new post.

Bill

You know, after reading this a second time....I believe I now understand what Ralph is driving at.  However, his grammar/punctuation are so bad, his sentences run together in an inane ramble, his spelling is that of a third grader and his lack of writing ability is so obvious....it just makes his message SO hard to understand!  I simply got mixed up thinking he was also complaining about the equipment condition not being as advertised.

However, that said....TWO SIDES TO EVERY STORY!

Bill

P.S.  What is a pay pale?  Is that similar to a lunch pale only you put your paycheck from payday inside it and then take it to the bank?

;-)

Not a collectors item but a good working scope. 40 mcs dual trace. Look at the picture, it's not too bad. Model 1541, no manual, can get one on Bama. Very reasonable priced at 50.00 plus shipping.
------------------------------------------------------
See....now I'm leery about your side of the story, Ralph.

You said: "....and by the looks of it i think it had seen its better days."

Obviously!  HE TOLD YOU THAT IN HIS AD!!!!!

1) Not a collectors item but a good working scope....
2) Look at the picture, it's not too bad....
3) Very reasonable priced at 50.00....

Smashed shipment aside, you got what you paid for!

I betcha Ralph is the type who buys a $1000 car, and then takes it back to the seller after he finds out he has to put $500 into it for brakes and a muffler!!!

;-)

Bill

This is the first time I've fallen victim to this one.  I got a package back today that a customer had purchased from me.

I fell victim to a Delivery Confirmation that wasn't "delivered".  The guy received notices that the package was waiting for him at the USPS. (Package was too big to put in the mailbox.)  However, he must have changed his mind about what he bought when it finally got there.

He put on a good show.  I got an occasional; "Where's the package?"  After supplying him with the Delivery Confirmation information showing that it had cleared two postal processing centers, he sat in the bushes for a week and then demanded his money back.

After talking with two USPS Postmasters today, it makes total sense.  They said they would have given this guy three "peach colored" notices in his mail.   He just decided to sit on it and play the innocent party.  

The USPS is familiar enough with the inner workings of Ebay to know that this is common place.  If the buyer refuses it, the buyer can get into trouble with Ebay/PayPal.  So they just avoid the notices and the package is "Return to Sender".

When I refunded the money via PayPal, I mentioned in the remarks section that the USPS had documented that the buyer would not claim the package.  He made no effort to refute.

73, Bill - WA8MEA

I also notice that some of the people complaining the most are the ones posting to old threads the most, forcing them to the top of the pile.
----------------------------------------------------
Another notable note;

The people who are complaining the most are creating new threads on this topic, instead of visiting a previous thread on this topic and doing their belly-aching there.

So you are exacerbating the situation by compounding it.  In other words, YOU have now become the problem!

(What's this guy make it, thread #6 or something?)

Bill

I USE to do this.  That is....until a small fire broke out in the shack that could have easily spread throughout my home had I not been down here at the time.

A malfunction happened with my "smart" charger.  I guess it got dumb and decided to short out internally for some unknown reason.  Although fuses were in line everywhere, the charger itself started to melt!  Plastic was burning, smoking and stunk up the basement shack for days.

No more.  Back to power supplies.  I can use the batteries as back-ups for emergencies but no longer as a source of primary power for the rigs.

73, Bill

Checked out the website, Lindy.  Similar to the one put out by G3YNH:

http://www.g3ynh.info/commercial/TS430.html

His wording is just a little different, but basically the same problem and cure. (G3YNH supplies nice photos....)

From the website you provided, Lindy:
--------------------------------------------------
Problem: Intermittent ALC during transmit and/or intermittent reduction or loss of power output. The power output can sometimes be restored to normal by turning up the microphone gain or by dropping the radio a few inches. Signal reports of intermittent transmit audio distortion....
--------------------------------------------------

Still wonder if one can run QRP off the driver/exciter stage at a decent wattage....

I might have to get out the old watt meter myself.  I was curious if anyone else had tried it before I got out my golden screw driver.

BTW, we have not gotten to the catastrophic failure part yet.  This is why I want to either fix...or run QRP off the driver/exciter section.

73,
Bill

I am experiencing a common problem with the Kenwood TS-430S: Intermittent variation in output power, erratic ALC level indication and reports of audio distortion on SSB signals.

I found a website that gives step-by-step instructions on how to fix the problem.  However, I have another idea.

Please read the following paragraph from that website:
------------------------------------------------------
If you are receiving reports of distorted SSB, one simple way to isolate the problem is to listen to the output of the SSB exciter. To do this you will need an additional short-wave receiver capable of working with headphones, and a dummy load for listening to the final output. Simply pull the final drive cable from the RF board and insert a short length of hook-up wire (~0.5m) into the socket, taking care not to short the drive output to ground. A clean signal from the exciter indicates that the problem is definitely with the PA.
------------------------------------------------------
I enjoy running QRP.  Is it feasible to run off the exciter?  Anyone know exactly how many watts emit from the driver/exciter stage?

Would it be safe on the drivers to do this?

I believe I can come up with a secondary coax connection that would go right to the exciter stage.  If we're talking just mere milliwatts, I don't want to play around with flea power.  However, if we are talking about five to ten watts, that might be fun to play with.

Any ideas, comments, flames?

73, Bill - WA8MEA

Beware of what?

They didn't steal your money.

I bet they sent an e-mail and you had your filters set so high it went in your JUNK file.

Try a portable....yet FULL SIZE dipole....

http://hamradiofun.com/yo-yo-vee.htm

73, Bill - WA8MEA

I bought a nice rig from my buddy.  I always had my eye on it anyway, so I finally talked him into it.

I was recently reading that the problem with this rig (and similar Icom rigs of this era...) is the e-prom logic board powered by a lithium battery.

I'm not sure how long Mike had this rig.  But I am surely concerned about the possibility of the lithium battery going bad.  I'm all set with instructions on how to solder in a temp 3 volt source while replacing the battery.

HOWEVER, this rig was sent in to Icom for a "tune-up" after Mike bought it.  I asked Mike if he had any documents....or....if he could remember if Icom modified this lithium battery board, as they were doing with most of these style rigs.  Mike told me he just didn't know.

My questions: How can I tell if the mod was made?  Will the lithium battery now be missing from the circuitry after the new mode?

Another question, does this lithium battery give ANY indication that it might be on the brink of dying?  Or does it just suddenly crap out and all of your data is lost forever?

I'm just a tad concerned.  Although Mike had the rig for about ten years, and had the "tune-up' shortly after HE bought it, he didn't operate the rig hardly at all.  In fact, I'm the one giving it it's first real work-out.  I've owned it since the first of March.

73, Bill

Last night I decided to send the Echolink folks an e-mail after seeing several negative reviews about Echolink.  I also vented to them having been through the exact same situation(s) these reviewers went through.

So I informed them of the negative reviews on eHam and relayed that their complaints were the same as mine, and the reason why I deleted Echolink from my system.  I informed them that I sure like the new eQSO and that if they don't get their act together about the port issues, eQSO and CQ100 might overtake them in popularity.

Now I understand why the person responding was upset.  I was critical of his "baby".  However, I did want him to realize that the port issue is causing major defections away from Echolink.

The last sentence was uncalled for.  It was a slap-in-the-face at eQSO's, gloating over their current downtime.  

eQSO was hacked and compromised.  I don't think a competitor should revel over his colleagues problems caused by criminal activity.

There's an old expression: What goes around, comes around....

73, Bill