Heath ID-5001 Issues

Display cure for the failing display
Battery alternative to the native battery backup

Display Blues

One of the biggest assets of the ID-5001 is the beautiful back-lit azure blue display that is easily read most anywhere in the room. It is also the Achilles heel of the Heath unit. When it goes, so does the rest of the station. I am sure there are those of you that have had absolutely no trouble with the ID-5001 display. You guys have to be in the minority. You can stop here and read something else. The rest of you read on.

Typically the matched pair of driver transistors give up the ghost. When they short, it pulls the entire power supply down and usually blows the fuse.

The best solution is to purchase a ballast, starter, and hook it up to the AC line. Parts run about $8 to do this. The ballast is a Magnetek 549-H2. The starter is a FS-5. Wiring schematic comes with the ballast.

Back To The Top


Backup Battery For The ID-5001

One problem that seems to surface all too often is the 9V backup battery going dead. Here is a simple solution.

Obtain a true 9V NICAD battery. I obtained one at a recent hamfest for a couple of bucks and is rated at 110 mAH. If you can’t find a 9V, you might want to try a 12V. While it won’t fit in the clip on the back of the ID-5001, it should work.

The charging rate should be approximately 10% of the mAH rating. For 110 mAH, a value of 1.2K works well when connected to the output of the higher voltage (not the logic supply) positive full-wave rectifier. If you have a different rating for your battery, you will need to determine a new value. The value is best determined experimentally with a mA meter in series with a 10K pot set at mid-scale. Connect a 1N4148 switching diode in series with the pot, battery, meter, and the junction of D303/D304 on the power supply board. Adjust the pot so that you get a reading that is 10% of the mAH rating. Remove power and disconnect the pot. Take an ohmmeter and determine the resistance of the pot. You will then need to obtain a resistor with a value close to the measured reading.

Solder the resistor, determined above, in series with a 1N4148 diode. Solder the CATHODE end of the diode to the positive terminal of the battery on the back panel of the ID-5001. Solder sufficient insulated hookup wire to the free end of the resistor. Solder the other end of this wire to the junction of D303/D304 on the power supply board. This can be done without removing the power supply PC board from the unit.

Be sure you turn off the power before attempting to perform the modification.

Back To The Top