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Reviews For: The Radiosmith

Category: Amateur Radio Equipment Repair

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Review Summary For : The Radiosmith
Reviews: 86MSRP:
Description:
Expert repairs and restoration for all brands (Collins, Drake, Icom, Kenwood, Ten-Tec, Yaesu, and Others) of vintage and modern ham radio equipment including linear amplifiers, station accessories, OEM power supplies and Astron power supplies by a degreed Electrical Engineer who has been a licensed ham (20 WPM Extra Class) for over 38 years. For more information, contact The Radiosmith via email at: radiosmith@tampabay.rr.com
Product is in production
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# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
55865
W1WD Rating: 2021-10-25
Excellent service Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Steve brought my almost-30-year old Yaesu FT-890 back to live. The frequency alignment had drifted off, then the radio had gone completely dead at start-up. Steve determined that the turn-on sequence and voltage regulator on the front panel were OK. But the microprocessor was not starting up, and could not be reset using the normal reset process even after adding a fresh backup battery. So Steve determined how to do a "hard reset" and build up a small circuit to make that happen. He also did a frequency realignment and got the radio back into spec. The service was quick, the communication was good, and the price was reasonable. The radio now works "as good as new" and is getting regular use. I certainly recommend Steve.
N0AHY Rating: 2021-10-14
Wow He Restored My 43 Year Old Radio to NEW Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Of the two repair folks I considered, The Radiosmith had the most stringent packing and shipping requirements. Don't let that put you off. The Radiosmith does not have a website. Don't let that put you off (he's probably to busy). If you have Vintage TenTec equipment he is the ONLY ONE I would recommend. I found out about him from Word of Mouth and you can't beat that. We communicated by email each step of the repair process and he ALWAYS responded with a day. He's worth emailing for any Vintage Equipment Repair.
KQ4O Rating: 2021-08-27
Still the Best Service! Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I sent Steve two receivers in the last few months, one was a newly acquired Mckay Dymek DR22C which wasn't getting a signal from it's antenna input. He diagnosed and solved the problem and gave it an alignment, working beautifully! The other was my favorite rx, a Bearcat DX-1000 where the manual tuning knob froze up. Now it's a breeze to bandscan with it, much better than before. In fact, these tuning knobs are known for being off center from the start, but this one isn't anymore as it turns very smoothly now.
Great communication all the way through as well. I don't think you'll ever find a better service technician than The Radiosmith!

August 2021
I sent Steve my newly acquired ICOM IC-775DSP for a check over and filter additions. Had a problem with one of the components that I sent for installation, Steve worked through it and kept me well informed along the way, asking how I would like to proceed each step. Along with many receivers which I sent him, everything comes back working perfectly Truly the best service out there!
K6KK Rating: 2021-08-02
Exceptional Service Time Owned: more than 12 months.
My TenTec rig suddenly quit, no tx or rx. Sent it to
The Radiosmith. Communication was excellent and he
kept me informed. Rig came back in great shape with
complete explanation of the problem and the fix.
Highest recommendation.

K6KK
N9CJT Rating: 2021-07-29
Excellent Service Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
My Ten-Tec Century 21 needed an overhaul. Steve restored it to like-new operation. If you want your radio worked on yesterday, go somewhere else, because Steve takes the time to get everything right. In my case we could have gone way over budget, but Steve ended up charging me only $10 more that his original estimate. It was a pleasure doing business with him.

My Radio Shack HTX-202 needed a new CMOS battery. Steve gave me a very reasonable quote, fast turn-around time, and encouraging comments on what he called my "nearly bullet-proof radio" that could easily give me another 30 years of service. I like this guy!
WJ2L Rating: 2021-07-05
Ten Tec Omni 7 Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Steve Yudell is a great professional EE with much experience in the repair of Ten Tec equipment. I explained the problem of having a variable response in the the AF/RF CONTROLS. Also had problems dialing power up or down on this 100 watt rig. He explained that the encoder controls needed to be either cleaned or replaced. He cleaned them and now they work like a charm. Also questioned if I was a little off frequency. He addressed this as well changing out a part. I have yet to check the frequency but I have not been having a problem since the rig was fedexed back yesterday. If you own a Ten Tec and need service I fully endorse this service. Steve is not costly as well. I count myself blessed. Bill Hopkins WJ2L/4
RADIO2021 Rating: 2021-07-03
Drake R8 repair Time Owned: more than 12 months.
First class repairs. Excellent communication. Costs are discussed before doing needed work. I’d send Radiosmith all of my radio equipment that needed repair. 73….
W2CA Rating: 2021-06-14
Excellent Ten Tec Omni 6+ Repair Experience Time Owned: more than 12 months.
About a month ago my TenTec Omni 6+, that have owned as new for 21 years developed a problem on 10 meters. Over the years I've been able to service this radio myself but this problem had me vexed. With the overwhelming positive references on this site for the Radiosmith's services, I decided to give Steve a shot. I sent him an email describing the problem, my troubleshooting efforts and asked about his experience with this particular radio. I received a prompt reply and his comments regarding the possible causes indicated that he had intimate knowledge with the radios circuitry. Steve indicated that he was very busy at the time, so as not to be without the radio till he could work on it, I waited about 10 days until he let me know he was in a position to work on it. I was informed in advance of his Terms and Conditions, evaluation charge and hourly rate. I was given instructions on how to best pack the radio. I sent out the radio via FedEx (Double boxed by FedEx and Insured. There was significant shipping damage to the outer box when it arrived but the original TenTec inner box was unscathed) and within a day of arrival, it was on the bench. I received an email confirming my complaint and the most probable cause from his evaluation. Within 2 days I received another email confirming the cause was found, repaired and the radio was being operationally cycled to insure that it was indeed repaired. During the time on the bench the radio was calibrated and aligned to factory specs and was returned to me. Steve's return shipping packaging was much better than I paid FedEx for. The boxes / radio arrived in perfect condition. I put the radio back in service and it functions as new. With Steve, you get great communications so there's no anxiety about what is going on, his service is fast and his rates are more than fair. I'm a happy camper. I'm not looking forward to more radio problems, but knowing Steve is a reliable source of service is comforting.
KF4BAN Rating: 2021-05-17
Expert Professional Rig Repair - Ten Tec Argonaut 509 Time Owned: more than 12 months.
When my 509 developed problems well out of my scope to diagnose, I searched and found Steve. I described the issues and soon had the radio on its way. Turned out the main problem was a hairline crack in a trace on a board that Steve found and repaired. Along with a few needed components the 509 was up again. Steve also did a well needed cleaning/relube of the tuning assembly and a dial restring. After a final alignment it was ready to return. Got it home and with 5 watts out on a homebrew 20m loop, had a fine 59/59 QSO with a ham in TN transmitting at 600w. Back in business. I really appreciate the time and effort Steve put in it. He treated it probably better than his own. Its one of my favorite HF radios. I will be keeping and using it for along time to come. Great work, great communication, very persistent with unusual repair problems and a fair and honest rate. Highly recommend The Radiosmith.
N7BB Rating: 2021-05-08
My Drake R-8 is like a brand new receiver Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I sent my Drake R-8 to Steve after I noticed some audio distortion & an alarming smell which made me think the caps were leaking. Steve promptly replied to my email inquiry. Rates were provided, as well as an honest detailed timeline based upon the work he had in front of mine. I boxed up the R-8 and shipped it out. When Steve finally took a look at my receiver, my suspicions were verified: very bad leaking caps in the audio amplifier, which are located in a hard to reach spot. Nevertheless, Steve tackled this tough job with confidence. Steve always communicated with me during the course of the repair. Some parts needed to be ordered. It took a few weeks, but when I finally got my receiver back, I was nothing short of amazed. He even polished out a few scratches I had on the display! My radio came back not only working to factory spec, fully aligned, & sounding great, it even looked better than it had before I shipped it out.

If you have a Drake R-8, R-8A, or R-8B, and you plan on keeping it, you might want to have Steve take a look at it & replace any caps that might otherwise leak and cause damage to the boards (like mine did). Nevertheless, he carefully scraped away the corrosives so as to not cause any further damage.

I give Steve my highest recommendation. I plan on sending future radios to him. This was the best experience I've ever had with getting a radio serviced.