Darick,
Have you installed the 22,000 microferret electrolytic capacitor
into the power line right before the radio? It is called for in the
small box to the right of the wiring diagram, and also in a
footnote. Please see my Radio Saga in the Archives.
I heartily second your recommendation to buy the factory wiring
harness if using an XCOM. Also be SURE that capacitor (bright blue &
larger than a D-cell battery) is in the power line; the lack of it
apparently confuses the heck out of the internal processor and causes
bizarre symptoms that change daily. Ditto the braided wire grounding
strap, which isn't even in the wiring diagram, but is mentioned in a
couple of other places in the XCOM booklet (they really need to re-
write that booklet!). The braided wire grounding strap attaches to
its own dedicated screw point at the back of the radio.
It also might be worthwhile to have the radio unit itself bench-
tested. My first XCOM tested defective on the bench test --
independent of any of the wiring; that is what finally persuaded
Spruce to exchange the unit. With the (1) replacement XCOM unit, (2)
electrolytic capacitor, (3) braided wire grounding strap, all in
place, and (4) the mic gain turned WAAAY down to minimize the cabin
noise, my XCOM has worked great ever since then. Its reception is
loud and clear (I also use a Clarity Aloft in-ear headset).
Linda
N3437H (Sky Sprite)
L.A.
2. XCOM
Posted by: "[EMAIL PROTECTED]" [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Date: Sat Dec 1, 2007 11:47 am ((PST))
Testing update. Radio is installed but haven't been able to
receive or transmit. The harness wiring diagram test check list was
carefully followed and everything was good. I used a SWR meter to
measure the antenna ratio. Unfortunately the unit I borrowed said it
was good for frequencies starting at 160 MHz (and higher), but tried
it anyways. Using my portable radio gave a reading of 1.4, the XCOM
didn't even make the needle move on the SWR meter.
So I ordered a SWR meter from MJF for $40.00 even though I'll only
ever use it one time. The XCOM is a nice package with many features
so I'm hoping we can get it to function properly. If anybody else is
thinking about buying one, I'd only use XCOM's recommendation for the
antenna and their harness to eliminate as many potential bugs as
possible.
Darick
