Main Index 1 Mar 2004 @ 09:19:55 UTC Not logged in.  Log In  

Hello to all the group.
After having searched the net for the past few months, I finally stumbled
upon an OM's website that deals with the Scancat software. I don't recall
the OM's name, but a very 73 is owed to him.

1) Remove battery, antenna from radio.
2) Remove sticker on inside of battery case, describes the dangers of
disposing the NiCD battery. Do not lose this sticker. The board attached to
it is vital; without it, the radio will not work.
3) Remove the two screws inside the compartment that was covered by the
sticker. set them to the side.
4) Remove the two knobs at the top of the radio, power/volume and the
channel/squelch knobs. Remove the dust covers from the knobs also.
5) Carefully remove the gold bands that are threaded onto the shaft of each
knob.
6) You should be able to remove the back case off the radio now. The
red/orange seal between the two parts of the case will probably come off...
Don't lose it.
7) Behold, the insides of you're VX150/110. The terrible little bugger
you're looking for is located just below the microphone element. THE
RESISTORS ARE NOT LABLED.
There are two bridge rectifiers just below the mic element. They are side by
side. On each one, one leg is an open cicuit, the other leg is a resistor.
You will want the BR that is to the left, left being towards the PTT button
side of the radio. Cut the resistor out with an xacto knife if you're brave
enough, otherwise carefully desolder it. Now bridge the open trace on the
same BR. What you should have is an open cicuit on the second leg where the
resistor used to be and a closed/soldered cicuit on the first leg, which was
not soldered to begin with. You can easily just cold joint the bridge or
place across a small piece of wire, like a single strand from a large (14,
12 ga) stranded copper wire.
8) Reassemble the radio by following these steps:
        Place the rear case back on to the radio
        Thread the gold band nuts back onto the vol/channel shafts
        Reattach the dust covers by simply pushing them back into the shaft
recesses
        Place the knobs back onto their respective shafts
        Tighten the two screws back into their place underneath the sticker.
        Place the sticker with the "dummy unit" back into its recess.
        Reattach battery, antenna.
9) To complete this mod, you need to reset the CPU. To do this, push in the
PTT button and the Lamp button on the side of the raido at the same time as
turning on the unit. You will want to select the reset option by depressing
the F button on the keypad.
10) This completes the modification to the VX150/110 Handheld. Please note,
transmitting outside of the Amateur 2 meter band without a type accepted
radio, which the Vertex radio is not outside of the 2 Meter band, is a
violation of FCC Regulation. Use at your own descretion. The author is not
responsible for any damages or accidents that arise from this mod. I
originally did the mod to the second BR, which controls the A/B US-European
band plans. If you want a Euro band plan on your radio, be my guest. Also,
more or less, use common sense. If you're radio is acting up and you're
planning on sending it in for warentee repair, don't do this mod before you
send it. It will more than likely void the warentee. And most of all, enjoy
Amateur radio. Experimentation is every bit a part of Amateur Radio as
Public Service or International Goodwill. I did this mod because sometimes
I'm in areas where I can't access any other Amateurs via 2 meter, but I can
reach my local County S.O., for whom I work with extensively with their
communications systems. I use this mod for emergency use only; what you use
it for is completely at your own risk.


Very 73 de A.J., KF6LOR
mrham@nebonet.com

PS: I've attached the file VX150.jpg showing a minor diagram of the mod.
Thx!

 

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