Hey
folks,
Well I went and did
it. In looking for an R4B, I ended up buying a 2B and an R4A. I
couldn't help it, they were calling to me. I still may end up with an R4B
if I can find one in good shape for the $ I'm willing to spend. In the
mean time I have a couple rigs to play with.
Rigs arrived last
night and neither is perfect (big surprise, ea?). I'm wondering if there
are some standard repair "things" that are pretty much done automatically on
these old rigs. Things that are done before a person gets down to voltage
checks and signal tracing.
2B / 2BQ: All
seems to work pretty well but there is a bit of low frequency whooshing noise
that varies a bit in volume and frequency. CW tones have just a bit of a
raspy edge on them. Other than that, the rig is in very good
condition.
R4A: This rig
has been in storage since about 1975 and is cosmetically better but
functionally worse than the 2B. I believe last night was the first time it
had been powered on in years. R4A has some hum in the audio. AF gain
pot is dirty and may actually be worn out. S-meter moves but readings are
lower than they should be. RX is almost dead in the .4 filter position but
much better as the filter widths are widened (I suspect the filter
switch).
My repair approach
on the R4A will be to spray the pots with DeOxit and maybe dab a little on each
tube pin. I'll then look at the band switch and the filter switch to see
if they can be cleaned with DeOxit. I suppose the next thing would be an
alignment.
- Keith KD1E
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