UV3R

UV3R with broken Display

Heathkit Shop P/S board in Drake AC-4

AC-4 Bottom

AC-4 Top View

Installed the 'Heathkit Shop' power supply board today and got it working on the AC-4.  I followed the directions as well as I could but had to put the board on the 'wrong' side of the transformer because that was the way the screws were installed in the transformer.  The board fits but it is closer to the end of the chassis as there is more room on the other side.  Also the wire kit does not really fit when the board is on the opposite side.  It works find and the AC ripple is now lower.

With the AC-4 running the T4XB I show 740 B+ (720 with PTT down but no audio), 278 V DC on the mid supply with about 4V AC and -60 VDC on the bias with .0 VAC .  I don't think my VC-99 Auto ranging meter does well on the AC ripple measurment on the B+  it still jumps from 3 hundred to 4 hundred reading.  Then I tried AC reading while putting more of a load on the supply by closing the PTT line and putting the T4XB in Xmit this gave .6 VAC on the B+, .4VAC on the 250V line and 0VAC on the bias so this is better than what I was showing before.  The B+ reading was not accurate before so I can't comepare really.  The 250 V line was dropping out of regulation and the OA2 was going 'dark' when the PTT was closed.  This is now back to the OA2 just dimming a bit (normal) and the ripple went from about 5VAC to .6VAC so that is the big change.  

In general the kit is well done and makes it easy to re-do these old things.

Drake PTO Question?

Ready for Install with braid added

'Fork' Resoldered and Braid attached

PTO with cover off

Tuning rod end

Got the PTO rod out today Yea!  Yes, the PTO is out of the rig.  I ran the fork to the end of the screw then undid the tension adj hex screw.  Of course then the balls started to drop out and I removed the plastic gear and it's rod by removing the 'clip washer' (not sure what it's real name is).

Next was to reattach the rod to the 'fork'.  I decided to 1st try the 'heat gun' approach with a 1400 watt industrial type heat gun rated at 800-1000F.  I was going to do it outside but decided to use my aluminum darkroom tray that I use under the Cantenna as a 'heat shield'.  I placed the rod assembly in a 8" crescent wrench and let the rod stand vertically with the fork sitting on top.  This worked OK but the 'fork' was not quite level and needed to be heated a 2nd time to get it closer to the proper 90 degree angle.  While I had the heat gun I decided to solder a piece of solder wick braid to the end of the fork.  I could not get the solder to flow on the fork by itself so I used my regular small Hakko iron AND the heat gun and got the end of the fork tinned with a small blob of solder, then the braid was put on top and held with the solder iron and gave it another blast with the heat gun.  

Later I am going to clean off the rest of the old grease and try to reassemble the same way.  The dial shaft bits are all still intact and I may want to disassemble it as well,

Today's question is: will I be able to get the balls back in without taking the dial shaft apart (same as it came apart for me) or is there a 'Better' way to get the bearing back together.  Should I use a drop of new grease or just leave some of the old grease and add a drop of 3in1 oil to it?  

As far as the re-soldering goes I wonder if the heat changes the iron parts enough to worry about. Will find out I guess....

New V-Tech Spectrum Analyzer

V-Tec PS-2 1Ghz Analyzer 

New addition to the bench.  Bought it used for a good price and hope it will be useful for future projects.  Specifically filter design for both transmitters and receivers.

Fall ARCI at Rhinebeck NY

2006 VW at Rhinebeck NY

Radio set up in VW

Operated the ARCI Fall contest from Rhinebeck Aerodrome in NY.  Here is the ATS-4 and the Palm Paddles in the car.  The antenna was an end-fed half wave on 20M with the KI6J matcher.  Some more of the pix are on Webshots

Vintage Sailplanes at Massey

Hutter 17 taking off

Went up to Massey for their Vintage Sailplane event and was treated to seeing several sailplanes that I had not ever seen before.  Here is a hutter 17 taking off.  It is a reproduction of an early European design.  It is made of wood and has a L/D of about 14:1.

Other pix on webshots at Webshots

1st Burn on New Stove

1st Burn on New Stove

This is our new Hearthstone Mansfield in Seafoam trim.  This is going to be a treat for the cold weather.  The stove was a leftover item and the color is not in the catalog but we liked it.  The replaces our 25 year old Hearthstone II which we gave away on freecycle.