Drake tr7 help please . Had seizure and messed up my radio

[KC9TJH]

Drake tr7 went out on me during a siezure I was dissoreintec and was teing to change a fuse with a screw driver while it was plugged in then shorted something out casing a couple of components to go
Bad I think . It powers on no freq counter readout and just puts out static on all bands switches are in rugh position . I had a carrier that would build up while I'd talk on lsb and then if I'd unkey it would go away till I keyed up and talked For about 20 seconds . The metal plate on top of radio after you take off the case the plate that has holes for variable well they took it off caue a puff of smoke came from board on the back right area of radio under the plate . It was the last board under it to the back right of radio if looking at the boards from the front of radio has a little black soot so I think a hard to reach inductor is bad in back between the key plug and either the ext ant plug or external receiver plug . the front right board with the variables that say cw rtty am lsb USB + 10 is having problems along with a white rectangle component at the front on main board on the right by a 1000Uf electrolytic cap in the fuse area

[KC9TJH]

For more information I'll try and detail what I think happened which led to my drake acting up

[WB2WIK]

This is all a bit hard to follow.

I'd start with why would you be changing a fuse with a screwdriver? The fuse on the PS-7 is in a regular fuse holder.

Is this the fuse you mean?

When a fuse blows it's usually an indication that something's already wrong and needs to be investigated and repaired before replacing the fuse. Are you using the PS-7 power supply, or something else?

[KD8DEY]

Changing a power fuse with the power connected sounds more like a brain fart problem than a seizure problem.....

[KB4QAA]

The man has an illness. He has told you what happened. It is rude of you to ridicule him!!!

[KC9TJH]

An aura or the beginning of my seizures I get very confused and forget what I'm doing and I don't have memory from it just a second hand report I guess they were wondering what I was doing then i fell out into a full tonic clonic seizure or also known as grand mal . Look it up it before some people who go into seizures they have PRE seizures which is called a partial onset seizure where the person becomes extremely confused and disoriented . I had nothing even wrong with fuse . I can't help this disease I have and hope people understand it instead of just cracking jokes

Jeremiah Ruppert
KC9TJH

[WB2WIK]

I'm not making any jokes, just wondering what's going on.

Anyway, unless you have the service manual and adequate equipment and experience to service the TR-7, I'd recommend sending the rig off to Jeff WA8SAJ who is a true expert with TR-7s and used to work for Drake. If you know for sure the power supply is okay, don't send that, he won't need it (and it's a LOT lighter to ship the TR-7 itself, without the power supply, since the PS-7 is much heavier than the rig).

It's a pretty easy rig to work on and Jeff has all the parts. He'll call you or send an e-mail advising what the problem is and how much it will cost before doing any repair, so you can decide if you want to do it or not.

[K9ASE]

JTH: I think this is what you were trying to say I'm correct it if I'm wrong. You did a very good job your head is probably killing you. I know mine usually is after a seizure.

"When he turns it on it powers up. There is no frequency displayed. There is static on all bands. The band switch and other switches are hard to turn. There is a small carrier (audio feedback?) when he first keys up on LSB. The carrier (audio feedback?) goes away after about 20 seconds of speaking. He took the case off the radio. He also took off the metal plate that covered the circuit boards. He took this off because he saw a puff of smoke from the right rear area of the radio under the plate. More specifically the smoke appeared to come from the very last circuit board to the right rear of the radio. (all positions described are as if you are facing the radio). There is also a little soot on this board. He thinks a hard to reach inductor is bad between the key plug, or either the antenna or external receiver plug. The front right board with the variables for: CW,RTTY,AM.LSB,USB,+10. is also having problems. So is a white rectangular component at the front of the main board near a 1000Uf cap that is also near the fuse area. I hope this is a better Jeremiah correct any of this you need to. Also look up my callsign if you need someone to talk to

[W9GB]

Jeremiah -

The normal operating procedure (for your safety), when potential seizures exist, is to use the BUDDY SYSTEM.
Attempting repairs on radios or electronic equipment as a solo exercise increases your risk of injury.

This is especially important with electricians, commercial radio station engineers, and electronics technicians
who are dealing with high voltage, high RF, or are in situations where safety is paramount.

I agree with Steve, WIK, that your BEST choice for used Drake TR-7 gear
is to have it fully checked out (and repaired as needed) by Jeff, WA8SAJ.

w9gb

[KC9TJH]

Tr7 ) well before the drake had all this happen I noticed while drake would transmit and recieve when I'd transmit my s meters needle soul act fine and as I stayed keyed though I noticed if I'd pause my speech the needle showed rf output like a carrier that would increase the longer I talked and stayed keyed . When I'd unkey the process started back over again . Now it's just noise on all bands and what was Also mentioned about what you said was right on thanks for the help putting it into easier to read text . 73s
Jeremiah ruppert
Kc9tjh