Handling Water-Damaged Walkie-Talkies
During maintenance, it was observed that a considerable number of devices sent for repair were water-damaged, leading to varying degrees of circuit corrosion due to improper handling post-water exposure. In severe cases, these devices were often irreparable. Therefore, it’s crucial to promptly address water damage by immediately removing the batteries, vigorously shaking out the water, placing the device in a well-ventilated dry area to air dry, and striving to deliver it to a repair station as soon as possible. Here’s a detailed guide on how to handle water-damaged walkie-talkies:
I. Treatment
- Circuit Board and Conductive Rubber Button Treatment:
- Firstly, dismantle the walkie-talkie and clean the conductive rubber buttons with anhydrous alcohol, then let them air dry. Use fine tools to remove dirt between integrated blocks and ribbon cables, and soak the circuit board in anhydrous alcohol. Clean it with a soft brush, then let it air dry in a ventilated area. Use a hairdryer to dry it, ensuring the temperature is not too high (it should be tolerable to touch). (If available, use an ultrasonic cleaner for cleaning.)
2. Speaker and Microphone Treatment:
- Place the speaker and microphone under a hairdryer to dry, ensuring the temperature is not too high. Avoid soaking the speaker and microphone in anhydrous alcohol.
3. Housing Treatment:
- Clean the stains in the crevices of the walkie-talkie housing, soak them in anhydrous alcohol, brush them clean, and then air dry in a ventilated area.
4. Antenna and Battery Treatment:
- Check for water or moisture in the antenna’s rubber cover and treat it similarly to the circuit board and conductive rubber button. Walkie-talkie batteries consist of battery blocks and battery cases. Test the batteries and currents, charge them if necessary. Inspect the circuit board for damage; if there are any broken wires, use fine enameled wire for connections. Measure the resistance at the positive and negative terminals of the board with a multimeter; it should not be shorted or open (when powered, check the current, which should be around 40mA normally and not less than 1000mA during transmission).
II. Testing:
After treating all components, reassemble the walkie-talkie in reverse order. After ensuring everything is in order, power it on for testing. When testing, connect an ammeter in series. If it’s inconvenient to connect the ammeter due to the battery case, use the DC jack on the body to supply 6-9V DC. Initially, observe the current, which should not exceed 60mA; otherwise, there might be a short circuit or leakage that needs attention. Once the current is normal, observe the frequency display and transmission indicator lights for functionality. Proceed to test reception and transmission using a functioning walkie-talkie on the same frequency. If everything works normally, check the operating current during transmission. For walkie-talkies with short transmission distances, inspect the antenna and connector for looseness or oxidation.
If the current is normal during testing but issues such as CL or incorrect frequency display, inability to transmit or receive occur, it indicates the need for reprogramming. For walkie-talkies using lithium batteries for memory, such as HX260, check the voltage and current of the lithium battery. The voltage should measure 3V, and the short-circuit current should be above 100mA for safe usage.