Strangest thing. I've been using my FT-736 since 1989 - trouble free. There is a dimmer or noisy connection somewhere in the house that sometimes give me fits, splattering all over the 2m band. Well this evening it was S9+ and I could barely copy ISS. After the pass I'm spinning up and down the band in USB hoping to find a freq with the most noise, and the dial starts to drag. Only slightly at first, but over a 5 min period it got worse and worse, to where it was actually squeaking some. Then I could no longer use the spinner, and it was getting hard to turn. Now I have to use several fingers grip, and it squeaks a lot. The freq does change with rotation, but now I have stopped messing with, as it is nearly too tight to turn !!! Has my 20 yr power-train warranty just expired ? What a difference 10 minutes can make. Tell me this isn't happening !.!
Surely someone has had experience with the tuning shaft in this rig, and can offer some guidance as to what might be going on. I'm gonna remove the top and bottom, so as to un-hinge the front, but I doubt I can see anything obvious. But I'm gonna look. Suggestions are welcome, except the ones like "It's gone bad - just send it to me - buy a new radio..."
Thanks /;^)