Considering a TK-880 that Needs Repair

[kenwoodgeek]

I found an eBay listing for a TK-880H for cheap that "needs repair".

Kenwood UHF FM Transceiver Two-Way Radio TK-880H-1 450-490Mhz V2.0 ~Needs Repair | eBay

According to the seller, it won't power on. Does anyone know what would cause a problem like that? Maybe a loose power wire connection? Like, would this be fairly easy to diagnose?

I've been looking for another 880, and this one is nice since it's got 40 watts, and it's cheap. I'm considering buying it if it's an easy fix, but I won't bother if I have to put any money into it or if it involves tearing the unit down to the motherboard.

Thanks.

 

[MTS2000des]

Diagnosing any radio from a one line "it doesn't power up" over the internet is about as meaningful as boobs on a bull.

Without any further inspection of the radio by a qualified person, it could be anything from shorted reverse polarity diode on the DC in, to a bad CPU, to physical damage (water damage). The seller has declared it AS-IS so $40 plus shipping for a broken radio that isn't worth $75-100 in full working order is a RIPOFF.

And the seller's feedback sucks.

Save your money for a working radio from a reputable seller.

 

[N4GIX]

I agree with the comment regarding the radio, but not the comment about the seller's rating. I should think that 249 positive, 2 neutral, and 4 negative is a pretty darn GOOD reputation...

 

[kayn1n32008]

Less than 300 sales and 4Negative and 2 neutral? Seller is selling a 'broken' radio? Yea, I would pass on it. Way too many negative feed back... much better sellers out there to deal with.

 

[MTS2000des]

I agree with the comment regarding the radio, but not the comment about the seller's rating. I should think that 249 positive, 2 neutral, and 4 negative is a pretty darn GOOD reputation...

Good reputation would be 100 percent positive seller feedback.
For example (and I have NO connection to this seller) here is a seller with a GOOD reputation.

 

[kenwoodgeek]

I guess I'll pass on this one, in that case. I figured it might be fun to work on, but it's probably not worth the $40 if it's got a serious problem. Thanks for the advice, everyone.

 

[mmckenna]

It's not just the $40.00 for the radio. It's the $26.99 for "economy" shipping.

$40 is too much for an unknown. Could be the entire innards are missing. Could be as simple as it's set up for ignition switched power or a popped fuse. Without it powering on, you wouldn't even know if the display was any good.

If it was cheaper, it might be worth the gamble, at least for a parts radio.

What really flags it is the shipping costs. Some e-Bay sellers use this as a way to make money. No way it would cost $27 to ship that radio.

Maybe put a "watch" on that and see if the price gets reasonable or maybe it gets reposted later at a lower price.

I can understand the challenge of getting a cheap radio and resurrecting it. There's a certain joy in that.

I'd keep your eyes open for a better deal...

 

[kenwoodgeek]

Thanks for the more positive outlook, Matt, haha.

For me, the shipping on it is actually $13.

What I'm going to see about doing is messaging the seller to see if he can give me more information on it, and if I can offer him $15 or something like that, giving him the information I got here. It's worth a shot, right?

You know, if I loose out on some money, I think I'm willing to take that risk. Certainly not $40, though.

But yeah, I actually want to find a radio that I can troubleshoot and fix myself. I would like to gain some experience working on one. If I can get it fixed, it'll be worth more than I purchased it for, and I can give myself a pat on the back.

If I can't get it fixed, well then I've learned my lesson, right? But I do have a good parts radio.

 

[N4KVE]

No way. The last Hamfest a 2-way shop had boxes of these for $25 each. Tested & working. Sure they were 25 watt radios, but they worked. They are decent radios that require a VCO adjust to work below 443 MHz, but I have a few, & they have worked well for me. They will require a small fan to blow on the heat sink should your transmission time last longer than 10-4, or where am I going next. Good luck.

 

[mmckenna]

Thanks for the more positive outlook, Matt, haha.

For me, the shipping on it is actually $13.

What I'm going to see about doing is messaging the seller to see if he can give me more information on it, and if I can offer him $15 or something like that, giving him the information I got here. It's worth a shot, right?

You know, if I loose out on some money, I think I'm willing to take that risk. Certainly not $40, though.

But yeah, I actually want to find a radio that I can troubleshoot and fix myself. I would like to gain some experience working on one. If I can get it fixed, it'll be worth more than I purchased it for, and I can give myself a pat on the back.

If I can't get it fixed, well then I've learned my lesson, right? But I do have a good parts radio.

Never hurts to ask. Worst they can say is "no".

The challenge of getting it working again is a good thing. You'll learn a lot, even if it doesn't work. Having one to take apart and look at the internals without worrying about having to put it back together again can be useful.

If it doesn't pan out, there should be some amateur radio swap meets coming up in the spring. Might be a good time to go fishing for old radios. I used to do that when I was younger. Sure, got some duds, but also scored some good stuff. I know I've surplussed good stuff at work that likely ended up on the used market as an "unknown/unable to test". It's pretty common for e-waste recyclers, auctions, etc. to buy up lots of old gear then turn around and try to sell it without understanding what it is, how to test it, or what it's worth.

But, $40 + $13 is too much. $15+$13 might make it an attractive deal.

 

[kenwoodgeek]

Alright, thank you very much for the advice!

I sent the offer; we'll see what happens.