I bought this 'parts only' radio from ebay as a project. Thought it might be fun to try to fix it, though I don't know what I'm doing.
Doesn't power up at all. No display, no sound. I tried using batteries and the adapter. I have probed the circuit boards at different spots and I do see 9 volts and 3.4 volts at various places. So, I think the boards are getting power.
Nothing obvious, like leaky or bulging electrolytic caps or obvious broken wires or solder joints. I've disconnected and reconnected most of the harnesses. Here's a link to schematic to a roughly similar radio:
https://www.manualslib.com/manual/762278/Roadstar-Tra-2350.htmlOn a whim, I started pressing random components on one of the boards and it displayed things in a cycle (almost like the display was scanning top to bottom). Today, I tried it again and managed to get it to display a mostly normal image (the clock, the battery symbol, etc. all at the same time). What I did is press on the two spots where I drew the arrow below. That's pretty much the only place that will cause the display to appear. But still, I can't get it to make any sound yet.
So, my question is, what should be my next step? The first image below shows the arrows where, when I am pressing down it will display a normal image.
The second image is showing you that there are tabs holding a big metal shielding box on the other side. So I'd have to take that off in order to see if there are any weird solder joints on the other side (haven't done that yet).
What's the most likely culprit for these symptoms? A cold solder joint, or can the board itself even go bad (like, the layers and traces inside, or whatever)? Thanks!