Galaxy 959 35 watt peaked getting kinda hot on back

[rogerdat]

Im not saying skillet hot but im just going to consider it pretty warm....My little Will can handle the 35 watts it is putting out...I guess I talk too much which im going to have to slow down on...Its not staying hot it goes down but then when i talk quite a bit it gets pretty warm....Im going to fix this lol but is the radio ruined? Do you think i internally damaged it? ..It works just fine...Just kind of concerned.As far as ventilation is concerned I got it sitting it on top of my seat with the speaker faced up! Im going to get it mounted on top of the ceiling on my big truck.Is that a problem?

[rogerdat]

Like I said it doesnt stay like that it usually stays real cool it only happens when I get into a big conversation or constantly talking on it! Thanks for any advice!

[yMidnite]

I think warm is okay since it is putting out more watage. Is the 35 DK or peak swing (I don't see it being DK but I don't know for sure)?

If you can touch it and it not burn you and it cools quick I think it should be fine. But then I am not a radio tech, just going from what I have read.

[Deleted User 14541]

What has been done to your radio? My old 959 would swing about 18 watts. A friend of mine had a 959 that also did about 18 watts. His got pretty hot when he would stay on the key for several minutes at a time. He would let it cool back down and beat on it some more.

Either you have a very generous meter or someone has been hacking around in there.

[rogerdat]

its peaked to 35 watts....Mine doesnt stay hot it gets up there when i talk for awhile....The radio case doesnt get hot its where the back is where the coax plugs into the outlet....I got a ranger elite radio that will do the same thing but its never been touched....I dont leave it staying hot if i notice it getting around anything above warm i will let off and cool it!

[rogerdat]

hey ftworth....Mine does the same thing as your friend's radio....It takes several minutes but not fast!!!

[Tucker442]

I was having the same kind of issue with my RCI 6900F and it really bothered me that it would get hot on SSB I fixed the problem by installing a small 12v computer fan on the heat sink fins itself with clear silcone gasket sealer. I just make a few lines of the sealer on the outside of where the fins contact the fan, push it into place, leave it overnight then tapped into the power wire coming into the radio I have to say it doesn't even get warm now but there is a need to clean the fins under the fan about every 2 weeks or so mine gets like every piece of lint or dust stuck in there, the first sign of the fan making a funny noise is the clue that there might be something rubbing the tiny fan blades. Sure is an easy fix for less than 3 dollars, the price of the fan

[rogerdat]

wow damn that made me feel better that its not so uncommon...Thanks tucker for your input .I appreciate it man!!!

[heavyD]

I have a 949..same thing w/o the counter. A couple of weeks ago I was in the woods hunting. I got out of my truck and the mic got pinned in the seat(keyed up) I came back. An hour later to hear a steady hum coming from the speaker. I in keyed it and it sounded like I was off frequency on receive and transmit according to reports later. I turned it off for 20 minutes to let it cool because it was hot...not warm, hot. After that everything was back to normal. Mine swings to 25 btw, simple peak and tune. He said he could get 35-40 out of it but I didn't want to push it. Not sure what y'all had but the mosfet final version does a little more

[sparky17]

Weird. I've never noticed mine (979, same board) getting hot or warm.. I've noticed that some of the shops will raise the deadkey to 6 or 8 watts. Consider lowering it? If your deadkey is at the normal 4 watts, still consider lowering it, and just use the swing..

If you're not going to run a kicker, perhaps consider getting a second mosfet added and then just lower the power knob to what you need.

There's also a power regulator bolted to the case, this also could be the culprit for getting hot. Whats the voltage it's getting?

Someone told me 'no more than 160F' for kickers.. I know around 160F epoxy starts to break down (What I assume the board is made out of, epoxy and fiberglass). If you've ever put your hand under a faucet that's been cranked up to 140F or above, it's frigging HOT. 120F is pretty uncomfortable to touch.. I dunno how efficient the heat transfer is to the steel case, but if it's not burning hot, then I'd assume the transistor isn't beyond the temp, but who knows...

Replacement parts are cheap. Lower the deadkey if you're concerned or put ~$5 in savings so you can buy another mosfet if it ever blows..

[rogerdat]

I appreciate it.You guys are great....I cant remember what the deadkey output is....Some guy they call radar in san antonio,tx peaked it...I assume he knows what he is doing but Im just not going to talk so much .

[Radio 75]

Hey Rogerdat,
it is actually a good thing that the heat sink is getting warm, that means it's doing it's job!
"sinking the heat" away from the final output transistor. If you can still touch the heat sink
for more than a few seconds you aren't doing your radio any harm, unless you keep the key
down for a very long period of time. Putting one of those little fans on it is a good idea.
Solid state devices are not tolerant of excessive heat so cooler is better.
All in all, sounds like everything is fine. Have fun!

[rogerdat]

Thanks radio 75...that made me feel alot better...I can keep my hand on it as long as I want to...I get worried sometmes when I buy high priced electronics....Thank you very much ppl ...You guys are great!!!

[Remo]

a local here had the same problem. he cut a hole in the bottom (where the speaker is) and installed a computer fan so it was blowing out of the radio. apparently it keeps it nice and cool. i thought about doing the same thing ? sounds like overkill though.

[rogerdat]

Hey remo and everybody else ...Yeah id consider what i was doing was overkill and too much consistent use....I used it last night and talked for hours but took breaks and didnt have a long conversation(s) ....It stayed cool the whole time...I felt good about that so I know it was not the radio or peaking it but it was me all along .lol