1.8 KiB
| title | summary | aliases | date | lastmod | showBreadcrumbs | showReadingTime | showWordCount | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DIY599 PA500 | An absolute must-have if you own a QRP radio like the TX-500. |
|
2023-05-01T11:43:21+02:00 | 2025-03-09T20:49:08+0000 | true | false | false |
This tuner/amplifier can also be used with other QRP radios as the TX-500.
Blue light repair
I am subscribed to a few mailing lists and recently I came across this one here:
PA500 blue bypass light - as the title suggests, it is about the blue bypass light.
I am pretty sure the blue light lit randomly, I think I've seen it when I changed the PA500 operational mode back to full automatic.
Anyway, the blue light was off for a while now and I wasn't sure what I should do with it, just ignore it or send the PA500 back for repair - none of that was a satisfying option to me as both would nag on my mind :D
When I found the article mentioned above I knew I wasn't the only one with this problem and I joined the conversation and asked about the blue light when Oliver suggested to send me one.
Now what?
{{< figure src="pa500-opened.jpg" caption="The PA500 -- opened; showing the location of the LEDs" >}}
Right! I changed the blue LED last saturday (today is Sunday, 3 March) and I had the chance to test it today -- it is perfectly fine!
{{< figure src="pa500-leds.jpg" caption="Soldering the LED with the LEDS attached to the aluminium housing so it will get the correct alignment to fit into the hole later" >}}
I figured that out after I soldered the LED -- luckily I only had to push the LED a bit down to get it into the hole.
Although I used a 1mm tip I thought I might got the board too hot already (350°C).
{{< figure src="pa500-working.jpg" caption="Finally the LED lights again!" >}}