Is the output blown? Can someone help me diagnose the problem.

[Xerox]

Hi necks.. I'm originally English but now live in Italy. We have the only FM pirate on the Adriatic coast the others choose to use ShortWave. Anyway I have had nothing but problems since being forced to buy rigs through internet as there are no builders here.
Anyway yesturday while testing at a new site in the mountains. I hadn't sealed the elements of the dipole and a storm started - thunder & lightenin n heavy rain. Water had entered the center conection box of my DIY dipole n must have shorted the coax or the lightenin hit it. But lightening would have melted everything so i think its the rain shorting. I thought the SWR protection would have saved our TX but it didn't. Weve had a couple of problems as the site is old and the electric supply don't even have an earth which was creating a buzz on the signal. Before i had the chance to try n rectify the problem our output blew. Its only a 30 watt but from the top off the mountain was killin it. Anyway with multimeter how can icheck which part is blown? I would think its the output but could it a diode or another component? I can see no burn marks on anypart of the board. How can i be sure makin more mistakes? The builder from the Netherland didn't send any documentation, diagrams or anythin. It was an assembled kit - connect the coax - psu and go. The exciter is still locking but nothing on the powermeter with a dummyload? Please help.. thanx..

[RF-Head]

please PM and i will help you
Was the SWR flashing ?

[Xerox]

Thanx for the reply RF Head - This was one of the things which was confusing me, as no the SWR protection wasn't flashing. But the rig is very well made and fully functional. I remember seeing the SWR protection flashing when i added the coax balun , so I removed it and got the SWR down to 1:2 without using one. Also i had two fans flush with the heatsink so it alwys ran cold. The transmitter is good quality so I don't know what has caused something to blow. Maybe its the earth problem at the site. I will PM you.

[Xerox]

Any ideas?

[Analyser]

Likely a blown output. If the SWR protect hasn't caught the fault it could be lightning or something similar but it's very hard to tell the cause. Unlikely to be an earth problem, but could be a power (overvoltage spike) problem if the rig has a transformer rather than a switched mode power supply.

Keep in touch with RFHead, he is in the Netherlands so is probably quite familiar with this type of rig.

[sinus trouble]

Hello Mr xerox
As suggested Rf-head is the one to solve this mystery!
SWR protection can only sample when power is present, if not responding? it does point to a faulty output transistor? (assuming DC supply to PA is not at fault)
A harsh environment can play a big role too,the cooling fan will decrease the buildup up of condensation via circulation to an extent? but not provide a cure!
With regards to your antenna, ive had simple dipoles runnning in allsorts of weather, even spiders and other exotic insects nesting in them without any problems lol

[RF-Head]

PM sent
Was a module from me

[Xerox]

Yes obviously.

[Undercover Neckz]

Yes obviously.

[Xerox]

Sorry i couldnt remember your username to contact u directly so i put the message here. But yes it is. Ive just had bad luck. In twenty years i suppose im lucky that this is the first time ive fucked a transmitter. Italia is a different kettle of fish - england was so easy in comparrison. Sorry if i sound brash but as we all know - radio is an addiction like crack - n im rattlin now lol. .. respect tho for the replys. I wanted to bring some of pirate culture to italy but now i just look like a cu*t- i will go n eat some paste n lie on the beach n sulk lol. Porco dio perche sempre io? Go n translate- god why is it always f*ckin me. Took me five years to learn enough italian to ptesent a show n now ive had bad luck. Sucks here everythings old economy kak no jobs no money i cant afford to hav tx probs. Apparently its gods will lol... im jus jokin. But i could have bought a different thing to UK pirates- Staion exchanges, djs playin here etc fu*kin Banksy flew over to stay at my house two weeks ago . Blah blah need to stop now ive wrote a novel. Peops in box me this forums bait

[Xerox]

Oh dear looks like i was having a bad day yesturday lol.