I've decided to stop with the unmodded R-4B now that it's in reasonable
cosmetic and very decent electronic and mechanical shape.
I'll have pics available (I'll get them loaded from the camera tomorrow). It's
for sale here first for $325 + shipping. You've heard most of the story but
here's what I've done:
a.. Removed most modifications - all of the mods to the audio output and RF
GAIN/AGC circuits. These changes were documented in my previous posts.
b.. Tested all tubes on a TV-10 military tube tester, replacing all weak ones
(and put the 6AU6 I found with the proper 6BE6).
c.. Stuffed the hole in the front panel that was taken by the extra AGC knob
with a mono headphone jack.
d.. Returned the missing headphone jack in the side. Yep the receiver has
two of 'em and either one will cut the speaker off when plugged into.
e.. returned rear panel jacks to their original functions.
f.. Lightly washed the top of the chassis.
g.. Receiver has its own 12V fan blowing into the power transformer - it does
keep it quite cool!
h.. Re-oiled/lubed all mechanical items, including the PTO. Re-adjusted
shaft tension on PTO. PBT slug carriage was removed, cleaned and re-lubred.
i.. Did a complete alignment using a scope, DMM and Logimetrics 921 signal
generator. It will transceive with a T-4Xwhatever, as I was running it as my
main receiver for a couple of weeks.
Here's what's either "off" with the receiver or could use attention:
a.. The covers have scratches. The bottom cover has bubbled paint. I was
thinking about stripping the bottom cover in particular, but don't think I
could have saved the silkscreening if I did.
b.. The front panel has that extra hole, which now has an R-4A-style
headphone jack. There are a couple of minor scratches in that area.
c.. The chassis doesn't have any major corrosion, but it definitely has
"zits". These were sealed by the PO using what appears to be clear nail polish.
d.. The rear-panel jacks are not stock Drake. Actually, they're of a better
quality than the originals, and the original jacks are almost impossible to get
in 4-gang form.
e.. The mounting of that fan means that two small holes were drilled into the
chassis.
Like I said - it's a great functional receiver now, looks decent, but it's not
a museum piece.
Steve Wedge, W1ES/4
"I can't complain, but sometimes I still do."
- Joe Walsh
If the above message appears, it came from Steve's Son of Laptop!
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