Hi group,
Just a note to remind owners of older Becker AR3201 radios to check your internal nicad button cell batteries. These tend to leak after a few years, and if left too long will destroy your PC board ending the useful life of a pretty good radio!
I found this green-crystal crud beginning on mine this spring, and caught it in time. The service note reccommends cleaning the board with methyl alchohol and a brush, which works well. The replacement batteries are available from Becker dealers (
www.beckerusa.com ).
Paul Remde has a few replacement batteries as well (
www.soarmn.com/cumulus ).
The new battery is 2.4v, and replaces the two internal 1.2v batteries. You will need to solder a jumper across the +/- solder pads for the unused battery position, as the two batteries were just in series for the original design.
The hardest part is removing the old batteries - but even fumble fingers here managed without damaging the PC board.
Regards,
Sarah Anderson