I've got two dead handhelds. One is an Icom A4 which I probably will sell on Ebay as a parts unit. It doesn't transmit. The other one is my venerable King KX-99 that makes a carrier but has very poor modulation. No copy, unreadable, kaput.

Where would one send a KX-99 for repair? Gulf Coast Avionics? Anybody know? It's been such a solid unit for over 20 years I just don't think a new $400 Vertex or Icom is going to be better.


Thanks in advance.
EB

Probably cost more than you think at a shop. Try a local ham radio club and find a tech that likes to tinker. AM handhelds are not hard to fix. Might save a favorite old radio for not much cost.
But.... you will have to listen to stories for hours, if he succeeds!

flightlogic wrote:Probably cost more than you think at a shop. Try a local ham radio club and find a tech that likes to tinker. AM handhelds are not hard to fix. Might save a favorite old radio for not much cost.
But.... you will have to listen to stories for hours, if he succeeds!

We'll see. I'm a Ham but I don't operate anything newer than about 1955. If it doesn't glow in the dark I'm not interested. I'll call King tomorrow and see if they have a repair station recommendation rather than just another expensive black box dealer. Or I'll call the local avionics shop and see what they say.

EB

Oops. I make a smartass comment about hams and story telling, and you are one.
73's. KL7KA

Emory Bored wrote:....Where would one send a KX-99 for repair?
EB

Davy Jones??

It will be in good company with my old cell phones. At least they can't be used for IED triggers.

Oh, sorry, I just saw there was some sentimentality attached to the device. Don't try to make it work. Just put it out to pasture on your museum shelf. Mine's getting full.

YB

flightlogic wrote:Oops. I make a smartass comment about hams and story telling, and you are one.
73's. KL7KA

AL7RU here. I grabbed an Alaska call while I lived up there but I've been KM6TV and KJ7FX. I used to run a Gates BC-1J kilowatt in the AM window on 3870kc. The bands are dead just like the airports today eh?


EB

Pretty dead in this cell/Internet era. Shame. At least kids could solder and read schematics back then.
Still have the KL7 call sign. Was a bush pilot in Nome, Sitka, Ketchikan, Aleutians etc.
Always had a two meter with me and HF in the car. Back then, car registration was free if you had an HF rig for mobile. That law came after the big earthquake.

flightlogic wrote:Pretty dead in this cell/Internet era. Shame. At least kids could solder and read schematics back then.
Still have the KL7 call sign. Was a bush pilot in Nome, Sitka, Ketchikan, Aleutians etc.
Always had a two meter with me and HF in the car. Back then, car registration was free if you had an HF rig for mobile. That law came after the big earthquake.

Soldering is dangerous; haven't you heard?

I too have a KX99 that I love. It is the only radio in my airplane. I worry about what to get to replace it if it ever dies. I see used ones are available on Ebay.

OK, the official word from Bendix-King is that "we don't service those any longer". Gee, I can service your 1939 Zenith console radio if you want but Honeywell can't repair a 20 year old radio because they quit making the parts. I know sympathy falls between shit and syphilis in the dictionary but why would I buy anything from Bendix-King? They charge a premium price for their stuff they should provide premium service. End of rant.

EB

Say I need to work on getting a ham I have a friend that showed me how to use a HF radio AC0RM I think

Reuben

Emory Bored wrote:I've got two dead handhelds. One is my venerable King KX-99 . It's been such a solid unit for over 20 years.

Time to make a shrine. My KX-99 is in the same shape. Just don't have the heart to shitcan it. It was my primary Nav/Com in several airplanes, and saved my bacon a whole bunch of times limping home to Kotz in bad wx with electrical failures. Hooked up to an external antenna it would boom out there for miles.

I think dusted off, sitting pretty on a shelf in my office bookcase. Maybe I'll talk to it now and then, and say thank you for helping me out of a jam or two.

Gump

If you're a ham, have you tried fixing it yourself? If the mod level is low and sounds like crud put some denatured alcohol on the mod level pot and spin it back and forth a few times then set it back where it was, also if you've been using a headset adapter, clean the ext. headset jacks with a pipe cleaner and alcohol. That will probabally bring it back to life.