I own several Yaesu FT-2800 2m FM mobile rigs. I bought My first one almost six years ago and liked it so much , I aquired several more to replace older units. They are built like a tank and have a huge heat sink so lots of chatter doesn't overheat the rig.
The first rig I bought i put in My company van but only using a temporary installation since I don't own this vehicle. Mag mount antenna and Cigarette/accessory plug makes this easy for removeal.
Tuesday night I was called in for trouble and on the way was chatting with some locals on 146.52 simplex and right during My turn transmitting- poof. Radio dies and out of the corner of My eye I saw a slight flash. Now it was very dark and to Me it looked like it came from the radio. I couldn't find the time to check into this until later in the week and since I had already checked fuses and I was assuming the radio died, I took My spare in the pole building and replaced it. That wasn't the problem and the old ,suspected bad radio powered up in the pole building.
The only piece still in the van was the Cigarette/accessory plug and in looking at it realized it was a cheaper one. Probably Ok for a small radio like a CB but not to handle 10 amps or more. I'm only guesssing when I installed it, I was planning to replace it when I had a chance. Now was My chance because it had very high resistance on the positive side and was discolored inside. Using a new adapter meant to handle up to 15 amps and using soldered connections instead of friction type has resolved My radio issue in the van.
My trusty old FT-2800 lives on-- -
73---Tim
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