• To anyone looking to acquire commercial radio programming software:

    Please do not make requests for copies of radio programming software which is sold (or was sold) by the manufacturer for any monetary value. All requests will be deleted and a forum infraction issued. Making a request such as this is attempting to engage in software piracy and this forum cannot be involved or associated with this activity. The same goes for any private transaction via Private Message. Even if you attempt to engage in this activity in PM's we will still enforce the forum rules. Your PM's are not private and the administration has the right to read them if there's a hint to criminal activity.

    If you are having trouble legally obtaining software please state so. We do not want any hurt feelings when your vague post is mistaken for a free request. It is YOUR responsibility to properly word your request.

    To obtain Motorola software see the Sticky in the Motorola forum.

    The various other vendors often permit their dealers to sell the software online (i.e., Kenwood). Please use Google or some other search engine to find a dealer that sells the software. Typically each series or individual radio requires its own software package. Often the Kenwood software is less than $100 so don't be a cheapskate; just purchase it.

    For M/A Com/Harris/GE, etc: there are two software packages that program all current and past radios. One package is for conventional programming and the other for trunked programming. The trunked package is in upwards of $2,500. The conventional package is more reasonable though is still several hundred dollars. The benefit is you do not need multiple versions for each radio (unlike Motorola).

    This is a large and very visible forum. We cannot jeopardize the ability to provide the RadioReference services by allowing this activity to occur. Please respect this.

NX-800 Stuck Mounting Screws with Broken Off Heads

Status
Not open for further replies.

kenwoodgeek

Member
Joined
Feb 1, 2015
Messages
218
Location
Wheaton, IL
Hello, everyone.

I know I can't possibly be the only one who has experienced this issue before, and this is not the first time I have seen this with our company radios.

I pulled another radio out of one of our buses going to auction. It was mounted sideways with two screws holding it into the bracket up top. It was a terrible installation that will never be repeated. Anyway, at some point, some yahoo completely messed this radio up by over-tightening both mounting screws on the other side of the unit and snapping off the heads. It looks like someone tried to get them out already. Maybe tried to drill new mounting holes. Needless to say, it can't be properly mounted.

Does anyone know what the best option is as far as a professional I can take it to to have the screws drilled out? The people at my work who have tried in the past with other radios have only messed them up worse. It's obviously a tricky job that requires some specific tools. Would a Kenwood dealer be prepared for a job like this?

"
 

mmckenna

I ♥ Ø
Joined
Jul 27, 2005
Messages
23,615
Location
Hiding in a coffee shop.
Had that happen on an old Icom mobile once. Cheap screws….

If it was me, I'd probably do one of a couple of things….
Replace the chassis. I'm sure you've got a few old/dead radios kicking around. The TK-x180 and NX-x00 radios use the same chassis, so you could just swap it out.

Drill and tap a new mounting screw hole. But you'd need to be careful not to drill too far. You'll also need to drill the mounting bracket. It's aluminum, so it's going to be soft. That makes it easy to machine, but easy to jack up the threads.

You could try drilling out the old screws. The make left hand twist drill bits for this sort of stuff. Spinning the drill in the opposite direction keeps it from binding in tighter as you drill. With some luck, you can even back the screw out that way. If not, use the left hand twist drill to make a hole, then use an easy-out to back the screw out.

Then take the wrench away from whoever installed it.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top