Sorry guys. I don't agree with that old saying about "If it ain't broke" etc. Something such as this can be extremely frustrating but giving up isn't an option I like and it sounds as if RawRock may be of a similar mindset.
In my experience of Ham Radio and Antenna building things can very easily go astray if there's a bad connection. This would depend largely on the person doing the mod. The higher in frequency the more likely small things can upset the transmission. I recall a kink in the coax caused no end of problems with one gadget I was building many years ago. It took me dozens of hours to discover the coax was the problem. I found early in my fault finding career it was usually the one thing you'd never suspect was the cause of the problem.
A bad solder joint would probably be the first thing I'd be checking, Basically anywhere there's a connection would be a definite place to check. It doesn't have to look bad, a perfect looking connection can be the seat of the hiccup. It's amazing how a tiny touch of oil from a sweaty finger can stop a signal in it's tracks. Too much flux can do likewise and a hidden void in the solder blob can wreck your work. Bad earthing caused by a poorly tightened screw or bolt can do it. I could keep going, but as I can't see what been done, I can't even imagine it because I've never done anything even similar with my controllers. Unfortunately it's impossible to solve anything on_line. When I had my own TV repair shop people would wait for me to close the shop and get home before wanting to know why their TV or VCR weren't working. They reckoned that phoning me at home wouldn't turn into a repair bill.
So from your explanations I'd be looking closely at what I've already mentioned. BUT you've paid someone to do a job for you and you shouldn't feel bad about asking him to do what was agreed upon. He hasn't done what you paid him to do. If I was in his boots I'd insist on you returning the controller so I could find the problem and put it right. What would upset me would be hearing about you sending it to someone else to fix. He owes you another attempt at doing the job properly, don't feel bad about it. You shouldn't have changed the setup, your original choice should have done the job. The technician isn't always to blame. Anyone can get caught with the things I described and all he has to do is remove what's been added and start again whilst checking for anything he may have disturbed.
Give the guy a call, explain the circumstances and arrange to send the controller back to him. There should be no extra charges, even for postage, he owes you that as well as another try. If he's any sort of a tech he should have the test equipment to tell him if the controller is putting out the correct signal, both in frequency and power output.
Try to be polite, but at the same time let him know he hasn't done what you paid for, maybe a little more subtle than that
. Good luck and please let us know the outcome. Stu.
and at some point you more than likely messed up a connection so your not making good contact or a weak contact either transmitting or ground plane side. They are very fragile. If it ain't broke don't fix it...why anyone would need more power than to go 10Km is beyond me. Not sure of your Electronics training, but when in doubt have a professional do mods, at least then you have someone to fall back on. Is what it is now...try going back to stock...is it normal?
