In copier work, this occurs sometimes. It's usually a cracked trace on the
board, that when pressed or thermally expanded, it drops out. It can also
happen when the board moves a bit, and touches a little of the metal frame,
causing it to ground out. I hope that you find the problem without too much
grief.
73's
Tim
KK5H
"none" ""bram\"@(none)" wrote in message
...
Hi,

the front panel of the TM-455E UHF transciever I have here sometimes shuts
off,
and the panel buttons stop working, but the transciever doesn't stop
completely
and all microphone buttons work (PTT, vfo-mr...). I even think it'd be
possible
to have a QSO.

The power button is on the front panel, so it's impossible to shut off or
power
on the TX when the panel fails.

I suppose there's a problem with the front panel, because sometimes the
LCD
displays an incomplete screen (I've seen it show the right frequency, but
without punctuation nor other symbols, or nothing at all, or all segments
half-on). Most of the time, it blanks completely.

Touching the PCB of the front panel has an influence on the behaviour
(mainly
creating the problem, seldom making it work again), but I couldn't find
any
specific component causing trouble. I've also checked for bad solder
points, but
couldn't find any.

At first, I suspected the cable between the TX and the front panel was at
fault,
but moving it doesn't change anything. I will have to check with another
cable
anyway.

I'd be thankful for any hints or advice.

Matthias HB9EGM