I had some trouble with the old TM741 (with 23cm module). After having had the transceiver lying around for some time, maybe more than 10 years I made a test of it. It looks like the microprocessor has a glitch, so the radio does not start up correctly.
I have not yet found the reason for this, possibly some corrupted RAM, possibly some power supply trouble, maybe due to a defective electrolytic capacitor. The backup battery still has 3.2V, and I do not know if that may be too low for this radio.
So I put that radio asode and made a test of an even older radio I have: A Kenwood TS790 with a 23cm module. The TS790 is much like the newer Icom IC910, a 2 band 2m/70cm multimode radio with optional 23cm module, but with only 50W out on 2m.
This one had also been standing unused for years, but started up nicely without any apparent problems. The 23cm output looks slightly low, and a quick test transmitting into a dummy load on 1/3 the frequency showed that the receiver is functional. Sensitivity not tested.
I also realized that the TS790 has a narrow band CW filter, so it can prove quite useful on 2 bands at a time, including using it for SSB/CW etc DX operation The only clear disadvantage of the TS790 is that it only supports 100Hz frequency steps, but it does have a RIT that can be used for fine tuning.
For now the radio can go as a loan to a local ham who wants to test 23cm operation. He can then use it for a while until he finds a more permanent solution.
A quick test with a low mounted antenna and a lossy cable was done today. No success, but improvements of antenna and cable are on the way.
Home operation is essential to me.
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