[Drakelist] Baked Drakes
Because this subject has been discussed so many times and there is so much interest, I thought I'd bring Paul Larona, KB6MIP who worked for HP and cleaned and repaired equipment. You can read his comments below, to correct my comments the soap wasn't Simple Green but Zoom. From: Paul Lorona [mailto:boomer...@sbcglobal.net] Sent: Saturday, December 03, 2011 08:35 AM To: John Hudson Subject: Re: FW: [Drakelist] Baked Drakes Hi Johnny - I wonder who this person reminiscing was? I clearly remember doing exactly what was described, except for the distilled water part. I recall using plain old tap water. That was back between 1983 and 1993 for me, at the new HP Fullerton office on Manhattan Avenue, just northeast of what was back then Griswolds Hotel. The old HP building is now the Albertsons / SavOn Corporate HQ, I think. Our wash rack at HP Fullerton was nothing more elaborate than an enclosed area maybe 4'W x 3'D x 4'H, with hot and cold water taps and a spigot / hose assembly at one end. It had a turntable in it, and as I recall we had some sort of heavy duty de-greaser we called Zoom in a 55 gallon drum with a hand pump that we used. The wash rack also had two heating units. One was a simple oven that had a rather crude thermostat that held the temperature within somewhere between 150 and 180 degrees F. This is where we dried the stuff we washed. The other was an environmental chamber, which was basically a much better insulated and sealed oven with humidity control and a much better temperature setting and regulating method. We used the chamber to heat run equipment while powered up, to see if things would fail in hot environments. I want to think the chamber ran a bit cooler ... somewhere between 100 and 120 degrees F to stress test operating equipment. And yeah ... things with transformers of high-voltage power systems usually got baked for at least a weekend, usually a week if the customer wasn't in a hurry. I couldn't even guess how many pieces of electronic equipment I ran through the wash rack and oven ... dozens, maybe hundreds. Customers would send us stuff that was horrible ... rat nests, dust and crud so thick you couldn't see individual components on the circuit boards, CRTs that were dim to the point of being useless for the crud built up between the glass and the transparent protective covers ... and it would all go back looking sparkling and almost new. Somewhere in my pile of HP memorabilia I think I have a letter from a customer thanking me for resurrecting an old logic analyzer by cleaning it up. I washed logic analyzers, data generators, oscilloscopes, DC power systems, RF generators, spectrum analyzers ... all kinds of stuff. And after hours I was known to wash the off the odd MICOR or MASTR II as well winks. Those were good times. Thanks for the memory poke. That was fun. Paul I thought you'd get a kick out of this string of comments.. -Original Message- From: Ed Tanton [mailto:n...@comcast.net] Sent: Friday, December 02, 2011 5:34 AM To: John Hudson; anc...@ec.rr.commailto:anc...@ec.rr.com; w1es1...@earthlink.netmailto:w1es1...@earthlink.net Cc: captc...@flash.netmailto:captc...@flash.net; drakelist@zerobeat.netmailto:drakelist@zerobeat.net Subject: RE: [Drakelist] Baked Drakes ...and I wouldn't be a bit surprised if the key reason for the transformers being OK, related to the distilled water!!! Surely that says something about other, non-hermetic components as well. Ed Tanton website: http://www.n4xy.com All emails IN OUT checked by Norton AntiVirus with AutoProtect -- Wag more / Bark less -- -Original Message- From: drakelist-boun...@zerobeat.netmailto:drakelist-boun...@zerobeat.net [mailto:drakelist-boun...@zerobeat.net] On Behalf Of John Hudson Sent: Thursday, December 01, 2011 3:15 PM To: anc...@ec.rr.commailto:anc...@ec.rr.com; w1es1...@earthlink.netmailto:w1es1...@earthlink.net Cc: captc...@flash.netmailto:captc...@flash.net; drakelist@zerobeat.netmailto:drakelist@zerobeat.net Subject: Re: [Drakelist] Baked Drakes As we all know this has been a hot topic many times on the list. One of my good friends worked at HP Fullerton cleaning, repairing, and aligning test equipment. The process was, as described prior, blowing out dust, removing whose items that water would damage, using a solution of simple green under pressure washer, scrubbing with brush as needed, then rinsing with distilled water, air hose, and baking at heat under 200 degrees for a week. He said transformers were not a problem for this process. It would be awesome to find photo's or documentation of this process and placed in our document files. ///snip -- == Paul J. Lorona El Coyote Mas Grande y Viejo boomer...@sbcglobal.netmailto:boomer...@sbcglobal.net
Re: [Drakelist] Baked Drakes
...and I wouldn't be a bit surprised if the key reason for the transformers being OK, related to the distilled water!!! Surely that says something about other, non-hermetic components as well. Ed Tanton website: http://www.n4xy.com All emails IN OUT checked by Norton AntiVirus with AutoProtect -- Wag more / Bark less -- -Original Message- From: drakelist-boun...@zerobeat.net [mailto:drakelist-boun...@zerobeat.net] On Behalf Of John Hudson Sent: Thursday, December 01, 2011 3:15 PM To: anc...@ec.rr.com; w1es1...@earthlink.net Cc: captc...@flash.net; drakelist@zerobeat.net Subject: Re: [Drakelist] Baked Drakes As we all know this has been a hot topic many times on the list. One of my good friends worked at HP Fullerton cleaning, repairing, and aligning test equipment. The process was, as described prior, blowing out dust, removing whose items that water would damage, using a solution of simple green under pressure washer, scrubbing with brush as needed, then rinsing with distilled water, air hose, and baking at heat under 200 degrees for a week. He said transformers were not a problem for this process. It would be awesome to find photo's or documentation of this process and placed in our document files. ///snip ___ Drakelist mailing list Drakelist@zerobeat.net http://mailman.zerobeat.net/mailman/listinfo/drakelist
Re: [Drakelist] Baked Drakes
Way back in the early 70s when I worked at Tektronix, we would wash 545s and the like in a pressure washer booth-if they were REALLY bad. You had to be really careful where/what you sprayed, else you'd lose thinks like the power transformer. We then used an airhose to blow the water out as best you could, same admonitions about the transformer(s). Finally there was a 48hr bake. I don't remember the temp. Generally, no matter how careful you were, the power transformer failure rate was probably 30-50%. Ed Tanton website: http://www.n4xy.com All emails IN OUT checked by Norton AntiVirus with AutoProtect -- Wag more / Bark less -- -Original Message- From: Steve Wedge [mailto:w1es1...@earthlink.net] Sent: Wednesday, November 30, 2011 10:05 PM To: n...@comcast.net Cc: drakelist@zerobeat.net Subject: Re: Baked Drakes Never leave the PTO, meter or any other plastics like that on the rig when baking. I always remove the PTO, meter, front panel and, of course all knobs and tubes. It's basically a stripped chassis when it gets its wash and dry. Never submerge - only wash with brushes and detergent, rinse thoroughly with the sink sprayer above and below, then pour distilled water over it. I take the rigs out to the shed before the oven for an encounter with an air gun. That will remove most of the water. Yes, you have to re-oil everything when you're done and on the A and B receivers I also recommend removing the PBT coil carriage after cleaning to clean the dried-out grease from the assembly. The equipment looks and smells much better and runs cooler. After 40 - 50 years, even a clean-looking chassis is hiding a lot of dirt. 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! - Original Message - From: Ed Tanton n...@comcast.net To: 'Steve Wedge' w1es1...@earthlink.net; Drakelist@zerobeat.net Sent: Wednesday, November 30, 2011 9:46 PM Subject: RE: [Drakelist] T-4X: put on your thinking caps! Oven temp that won't harm plastic? I am going to need the same thing for several projects. I had simply planned to use Warm for 24 hours, but would love to hear your (or anyone else's) version Steve!!! Thanks. Ed Tanton website: http://www.n4xy.com All emails IN OUT checked by Norton AntiVirus with AutoProtect -- Wag more / Bark less -- ///snip Ah, well, the T-4X is over in the corner for now and will require all my tools to troubleshoot. I started on the first of the two R-4B's tonight, have dismantled and washed it and it's now in the oven drying. 73, Steve Wedge, W1ES/4 ///snip ___ Drakelist mailing list Drakelist@zerobeat.net http://mailman.zerobeat.net/mailman/listinfo/drakelist
Re: [Drakelist] Baked Drakes
The key is keeping it warm but not overdoing it with the heat. Everything left in a bare chassis can easily withstand a 140 - 150 F soak. At that temperature, the water and moisture don't stick around for very long. When I'm in a rush, I'll leave it in for half a day, but normally I get it to the point of getting it into the oven in the afternoon so it can sit overnight. The worst thing is to get water into the power or audio xformers, so I try to avoid hitting them with too much other than overspray. The IF cans dry out fine. My oven is so well-insulated that I can take it to about 150 - 160, turn it off and leave the light on in the oven, and it's still 110 when I get up in the morning. I've been toying with the idea of sticking a 100W droplight in there to maintain a slightly-higher temp but haven't tried it yet (Easy-Bake Oven, anyone?). Oh - and I haven't lost a rig yet giving it a sink or bathtub (think NC-240-D) cleaning! The only old stuff I've lost while in my possession have cooked their power transformers due to shorting electrolytic caps! 73, Steve, W1ES/4 -Original Message- From: Robert Fish rwf...@comcast.net Sent: Nov 30, 2011 10:23 PM To: Steve Wedge w1es1...@earthlink.net Cc: drakelist@zerobeat.net Subject: Re: [Drakelist] Baked Drakes Hey Steve, How long and at what temp? I would worry about getting water in the IF cans etc. Does it just bake out? ? Thanks, Bob K6GGO Never leave the PTO, meter or any other plastics like that on the rig when baking. I always remove the PTO, meter, front panel and, of course all knobs and tubes. It's basically a stripped chassis when it gets its wash and dry. Never submerge - only wash with brushes and detergent, rinse thoroughly with the sink sprayer above and below, then pour distilled water over it. I take the rigs out to the shed before the oven for an encounter with an air gun. That will remove most of the water. Yes, you have to re-oil everything when you're done and on the A and B receivers I also recommend removing the PBT coil carriage after cleaning to clean the dried-out grease from the assembly. The equipment looks and smells much better and runs cooler. After 40 - 50 years, even a clean-looking chassis is hiding a lot of dirt. Steve Wedge, W1ES/4 I can't complain, but sometimes I still do. - Joe Walsh ___ Drakelist mailing list Drakelist@zerobeat.net http://mailman.zerobeat.net/mailman/listinfo/drakelist
Re: [Drakelist] Baked Drakes
I've been swearing by Simple Green. The Scrubbing Bubbles might be a winner, as it has an alcohol base - which can dissolve some things that water can't. BTW, for the PTO I steer clear of washing (except for the vernier) and clean out the bearing races and worm-screw with IPA and Q-tips, followed by a re-lube of the ball bearings with 3-in-1 oil and the worm and concentric shaft with Rem Oil. Use only mild soap on the frequency vernier! You should rinse the vernier it with distilled water when done and pat dry with a paper towel. For grungy C-Line and SPR-4 dual verniers, I suspect you'll have to disassemble them from the shaft if they're dirty to prevent gunk from getting between the two discs. And, of course, never grease any Nylon gears! 73, Steve, W1ES/4 -Original Message- From: Curt Nixon cptc...@flash.net Sent: Dec 1, 2011 7:39 AM To: drakelist@zerobeat.net Subject: Re: [Drakelist] Baked Drakes Same at Tektronix Richard I just saw pictures from a Hallicrafters restorer that swears by scrubbing bubbles tub and tile cleaner. He apparently applies it at least twice to all the bottom-side point to point wiring and also the top of chassis with everything except the delicates taken off. THey looked REALLY nice when he was done. I expect to give this a try here soon as I am working on a 30S-1 sub chassis that is pretty gunky. Will let the list know the result. Curt KU8L On 12/1/2011 1:09 AM, Richard Knoppow wrote: - Original Message - From: Robert Fish rwf...@comcast.net To: Steve Wedge w1es1...@earthlink.net Cc: drakelist@zerobeat.net Sent: Wednesday, November 30, 2011 7:23 PM Subject: Re: [Drakelist] Baked Drakes Hey Steve, How long and at what temp? I would worry about getting water in the IF cans etc. Does it just bake out? ? Thanks, Bob K6GGO I will repeat the method used at Hewlett-Packard many years ago. First step was to remove anything that could be damaged by water or heat. All closed compartments were opened. Then the chassis was rinsed with warm water from a hose. Then sprayed with a paint spray gun filled with a solution of water and dishwashing detergent and also brushed if necessary with a bottle brush. After washing it was again rinsed off with the hose and warm water. Then blown out with compressed air to remove as much water as possible. Then it was baked in a thermostatically controlled electric oven at about 130F for at least 48 hours. I preferred to keep stuff in there for a week if it was available. Then whatever was removed was replaced and the instrument checked on a metered variac. This procedure took off pretty much anything other than serious fungus (that stuff went to the factory and I don't know what they did with it). -- Richard Knoppow Los Angeles WB6KBL dickb...@ix.netcom.com ___ Drakelist mailing list Drakelist@zerobeat.net http://mailman.zerobeat.net/mailman/listinfo/drakelist ___ Drakelist mailing list Drakelist@zerobeat.net http://mailman.zerobeat.net/mailman/listinfo/drakelist ___ Drakelist mailing list Drakelist@zerobeat.net http://mailman.zerobeat.net/mailman/listinfo/drakelist
Re: [Drakelist] Baked Drakes
I've been swearing by Simple Green. The Scrubbing Bubbles might be a winner, as it has an alcohol base - which can dissolve some things that water can't. BTW, for the PTO I steer clear of washing (except for the vernier) and clean out the bearing races and worm-screw with IPA and Q-tips, followed by a re-lube of the ball bearings with 3-in-1 oil and the worm and concentric shaft with Rem Oil. Use only mild soap on the frequency vernier! You should rinse the vernier it with distilled water when done and pat dry with a paper towel. For grungy C-Line and SPR-4 dual verniers, I suspect you'll have to disassemble them from the shaft if they're dirty to prevent gunk from getting between the two discs. And, of course, never grease any Nylon gears! 73, Steve, W1ES/4 -Original Message- From: Curt Nixon cptc...@flash.net Sent: Dec 1, 2011 7:39 AM To: drakelist@zerobeat.net Subject: Re: [Drakelist] Baked Drakes Same at Tektronix Richard I just saw pictures from a Hallicrafters restorer that swears by scrubbing bubbles tub and tile cleaner. He apparently applies it at least twice to all the bottom-side point to point wiring and also the top of chassis with everything except the delicates taken off. THey looked REALLY nice when he was done. I expect to give this a try here soon as I am working on a 30S-1 sub chassis that is pretty gunky. Will let the list know the result. Curt KU8L On 12/1/2011 1:09 AM, Richard Knoppow wrote: - Original Message - From: Robert Fish rwf...@comcast.net To: Steve Wedge w1es1...@earthlink.net Cc: drakelist@zerobeat.net Sent: Wednesday, November 30, 2011 7:23 PM Subject: Re: [Drakelist] Baked Drakes Hey Steve, How long and at what temp? I would worry about getting water in the IF cans etc. Does it just bake out? ? Thanks, Bob K6GGO I will repeat the method used at Hewlett-Packard many years ago. First step was to remove anything that could be damaged by water or heat. All closed compartments were opened. Then the chassis was rinsed with warm water from a hose. Then sprayed with a paint spray gun filled with a solution of water and dishwashing detergent and also brushed if necessary with a bottle brush. After washing it was again rinsed off with the hose and warm water. Then blown out with compressed air to remove as much water as possible. Then it was baked in a thermostatically controlled electric oven at about 130F for at least 48 hours. I preferred to keep stuff in there for a week if it was available. Then whatever was removed was replaced and the instrument checked on a metered variac. This procedure took off pretty much anything other than serious fungus (that stuff went to the factory and I don't know what they did with it). -- Richard Knoppow Los Angeles WB6KBL dickb...@ix.netcom.com ___ Drakelist mailing list Drakelist@zerobeat.net http://mailman.zerobeat.net/mailman/listinfo/drakelist ___ Drakelist mailing list Drakelist@zerobeat.net http://mailman.zerobeat.net/mailman/listinfo/drakelist ___ Drakelist mailing list Drakelist@zerobeat.net http://mailman.zerobeat.net/mailman/listinfo/drakelist
Re: [Drakelist] Baked Drakes
Hi folks, There's been a post on another list in the last cupla days re: a different Simple Green, reported to be more user radio friendly than the regular stuff. The part number for a one gallon container is 13406 and a google search under Simple Green 13406 will yield many hits on suppliers. I see that thru Amazon, a gal. can be del'd for less that $30, and that'll keep most of us busy for a cupla yrs. I quote from a satisfied BA'type, R-390A's, user here: -- The Extreme Aircraft and Precision cleaner is entirely different. First it is clear. When using it it is very similar to 409 but with some significant advantages. Although the directions give information for diluting, if you wish, I used it without dilution. First of all, it removed dirty film that 409 couldn’t clean. Secondly it is not as allergic if one gets a sniff of it while spraying. It still needs the elbow grease and you may need to do a surface several times before all the grime comes off. I didn’t wear gloves when using it and after rinsing and drying my hands they seemed normal with no dryness. I have't tried it yet, and haven't used Simple Green, but have used 409 and Srubbing Bubbles sparingly. Scrub B's has been reported by a chemist-type to be non-ionic and safe. Not sure abt 409. I do use plain water and hand dishwashing liquid soap mostly, applied carefully with a paint brush, and reserve the rest for bad problems. Rinse anything/everything well with distilled water. 73, Al, W8UT www.boatanchors.org www.hammarlund.info There is nothing -- absolutely nothing -- half so much worth doing as simply messing about in boats Ratty, to Mole On 12/1/2011 12:42 PM, Steve Wedge wrote: I've been swearing by Simple Green. The Scrubbing Bubbles might be a winner, as it has an alcohol base - which can dissolve some things that water can't. BTW, for the PTO I steer clear of washing (except for the vernier) and clean out the bearing races and worm-screw with IPA and Q-tips, followed by a re-lube of the ball bearings with 3-in-1 oil and the worm and concentric shaft with Rem Oil. Use only mild soap on the frequency vernier! You should rinse the vernier it with distilled water when done and pat dry with a paper towel. For grungy C-Line and SPR-4 dual verniers, I suspect you'll have to disassemble them from the shaft if they're dirty to prevent gunk from getting between the two discs. And, of course, never grease any Nylon gears! 73, Steve, W1ES/4 ___ Drakelist mailing list Drakelist@zerobeat.net http://mailman.zerobeat.net/mailman/listinfo/drakelist
Re: [Drakelist] Baked Drakes
As we all know this has been a hot topic many times on the list. One of my good friends worked at HP Fullerton cleaning, repairing, and aligning test equipment. The process was, as described prior, blowing out dust, removing whose items that water would damage, using a solution of simple green under pressure washer, scrubbing with brush as needed, then rinsing with distilled water, air hose, and baking at heat under 200 degrees for a week. He said transformers were not a problem for this process. It would be awesome to find photo's or documentation of this process and placed in our document files. - Original Message - From: Al Parker [mailto:anc...@ec.rr.com] Sent: Thursday, December 01, 2011 10:55 AM To: Steve Wedge w1es1...@earthlink.net Cc: captc...@flash.net captc...@flash.net; drakelist@zerobeat.net drakelist@zerobeat.net Subject: Re: [Drakelist] Baked Drakes Hi folks, There's been a post on another list in the last cupla days re: a different Simple Green, reported to be more user radio friendly than the regular stuff. The part number for a one gallon container is 13406 and a google search under Simple Green 13406 will yield many hits on suppliers. I see that thru Amazon, a gal. can be del'd for less that $30, and that'll keep most of us busy for a cupla yrs. I quote from a satisfied BA'type, R-390A's, user here: -- The Extreme Aircraft and Precision cleaner is entirely different. First it is clear. When using it it is very similar to 409 but with some significant advantages. Although the directions give information for diluting, if you wish, I used it without dilution. First of all, it removed dirty film that 409 couldn’t clean. Secondly it is not as allergic if one gets a sniff of it while spraying. It still needs the elbow grease and you may need to do a surface several times before all the grime comes off. I didn’t wear gloves when using it and after rinsing and drying my hands they seemed normal with no dryness. I have't tried it yet, and haven't used Simple Green, but have used 409 and Srubbing Bubbles sparingly. Scrub B's has been reported by a chemist-type to be non-ionic and safe. Not sure abt 409. I do use plain water and hand dishwashing liquid soap mostly, applied carefully with a paint brush, and reserve the rest for bad problems. Rinse anything/everything well with distilled water. 73, Al, W8UT www.boatanchors.org www.hammarlund.info There is nothing -- absolutely nothing -- half so much worth doing as simply messing about in boats Ratty, to Mole On 12/1/2011 12:42 PM, Steve Wedge wrote: I've been swearing by Simple Green. The Scrubbing Bubbles might be a winner, as it has an alcohol base - which can dissolve some things that water can't. BTW, for the PTO I steer clear of washing (except for the vernier) and clean out the bearing races and worm-screw with IPA and Q-tips, followed by a re-lube of the ball bearings with 3-in-1 oil and the worm and concentric shaft with Rem Oil. Use only mild soap on the frequency vernier! You should rinse the vernier it with distilled water when done and pat dry with a paper towel. For grungy C-Line and SPR-4 dual verniers, I suspect you'll have to disassemble them from the shaft if they're dirty to prevent gunk from getting between the two discs. And, of course, never grease any Nylon gears! 73, Steve, W1ES/4 ___ Drakelist mailing list Drakelist@zerobeat.net http://mailman.zerobeat.net/mailman/listinfo/drakelist ___ Drakelist mailing list Drakelist@zerobeat.net http://mailman.zerobeat.net/mailman/listinfo/drakelist
Re: [Drakelist] Baked Drakes
- Original Message - From: John Hudson john.hud...@calema.ca.gov To: anc...@ec.rr.com; w1es1...@earthlink.net Cc: captc...@flash.net; drakelist@zerobeat.net Sent: Thursday, December 01, 2011 12:14 PM Subject: Re: [Drakelist] Baked Drakes As we all know this has been a hot topic many times on the list. One of my good friends worked at HP Fullerton cleaning, repairing, and aligning test equipment. The process was, as described prior, blowing out dust, removing whose items that water would damage, using a solution of simple green under pressure washer, scrubbing with brush as needed, then rinsing with distilled water, air hose, and baking at heat under 200 degrees for a week. He said transformers were not a problem for this process. It would be awesome to find photo's or documentation of this process and placed in our document files. We never had any documentation, just something handed down. I worked for Neeley Sales Division which became the Fullerton office later. We used dishwashing detergent but Simple Green might work better. The transformers and chokes we had trouble with were curiously enough the hermetically sealed ones. That was because the sealing was often not intact so that a little moisture could get in. It would be very difficult to get it out again and it, or perhaps the detergent, would cause arcing and loss of the device. Those transformers and chokes were removed before cleaning. Open frame units would dry out fine and were not a problem. We removed meters and some plastic parts although the drying oven was not hot enough to damage most plastic. A thorough rinse is important as is blowing out the excess moisture with filtered compressed air. Filtered because many air compressors leave some oil residue in the air. Lubrication when necessary was done to factory specs but I have forgotten what was used, probably something gotten from -hp- rather than locally. While I went to training classes at Palo Alto and spent some time at the microwave division factory I never visited the repair shop there so I don't know what procedures they used. We also painted cabinets when required. Note that older cabinets were painted in whatever the current color was so that you will find older instruments that originally came with the dark gray cabinets painted in the almost violet lighter gray or even blue. -- Richard Knoppow Los Angeles WB6KBL dickb...@ix.netcom.com ___ Drakelist mailing list Drakelist@zerobeat.net http://mailman.zerobeat.net/mailman/listinfo/drakelist
Re: [Drakelist] Baked Drakes
baking at heat under 200 degrees for a week. It's much faster to do it by hand without risking old gear for which a ready stock of spares doesn't exist on the shop floor stockroom, like it did at HP. Just my $0.02 . Old gear takes time. It's a good thing. John K5MO ___ Drakelist mailing list Drakelist@zerobeat.net http://mailman.zerobeat.net/mailman/listinfo/drakelist
Re: [Drakelist] Baked Drakes
Long before I joined this list, I remember hearing about Tektronix' washing the older scopes. I can remember doing calibrations on some of them and many had several HV supplies, so it's common sense that you would remove those before washing. One guy I worked with worked in Oregon and they used to wash them there, too. I actually washed a Swan 250 in the dishwasher once, using alconox and, of course, thoroughly drying it afterward. Yes, it was a bare chassis - that detergent would probably have a bad effect on silkscreened front panels. The rig came out squeaky-clean and worked fine (I do recall replacing the audio output transformer). Tonight, I wire-brushed the rust off the R-4B chassis and painted over the nastiness with copper paint. Looks bad close-up, but looks better than the corrosion that it covers and will blend in with the chassis when the cover is back on. When you get one like this, it's not a museum piece anymore anyway, so you work at making a nice user piece (tool collectors and users do the same sort of thing). Yes, if it was an SX-88 or a 1A, I would leave it as-is, but it's not an SX-88 or a 1A. I also took apart the PBT, cleaned and re-greased it, and cleaned the PTO and re-oiled it. There was a lot of sludge in the bearing race and all over the Nylon gear. Once the sludge was removed, I discovered some end-play and it reminded me of how we used to really over-grease our ball joints on our cars when I was a lad to try and fool the inspectors. This receiver should be ready for alignment by the weekend. 73, Steve Wedge, W1ES/4 I swear by my life, and my love of it, that I will never live for the sake of another man, nor ask another man to live for mine. -Ayn Rand. All my computers have my signature with various pearls of wisdom appended thereto. -- From: Richard Knoppow 1oldle...@ix.netcom.com Sent: Thursday, December 01, 2011 4:50 PM To: John Hudson john.hud...@calema.ca.gov; anc...@ec.rr.com; w1es1...@earthlink.net Cc: captc...@flash.net; drakelist@zerobeat.net Subject: Re: [Drakelist] Baked Drakes - Original Message - From: John Hudson john.hud...@calema.ca.gov To: anc...@ec.rr.com; w1es1...@earthlink.net Cc: captc...@flash.net; drakelist@zerobeat.net Sent: Thursday, December 01, 2011 12:14 PM Subject: Re: [Drakelist] Baked Drakes As we all know this has been a hot topic many times on the list. One of my good friends worked at HP Fullerton cleaning, repairing, and aligning test equipment. The process was, as described prior, blowing out dust, removing whose items that water would damage, using a solution of simple green under pressure washer, scrubbing with brush as needed, then rinsing with distilled water, air hose, and baking at heat under 200 degrees for a week. He said transformers were not a problem for this process. It would be awesome to find photo's or documentation of this process and placed in our document files. We never had any documentation, just something handed down. I worked for Neeley Sales Division which became the Fullerton office later. We used dishwashing detergent but Simple Green might work better. The transformers and chokes we had trouble with were curiously enough the hermetically sealed ones. That was because the sealing was often not intact so that a little moisture could get in. It would be very difficult to get it out again and it, or perhaps the detergent, would cause arcing and loss of the device. Those transformers and chokes were removed before cleaning. Open frame units would dry out fine and were not a problem. We removed meters and some plastic parts although the drying oven was not hot enough to damage most plastic. A thorough rinse is important as is blowing out the excess moisture with filtered compressed air. Filtered because many air compressors leave some oil residue in the air. Lubrication when necessary was done to factory specs but I have forgotten what was used, probably something gotten from -hp- rather than locally. While I went to training classes at Palo Alto and spent some time at the microwave division factory I never visited the repair shop there so I don't know what procedures they used. We also painted cabinets when required. Note that older cabinets were painted in whatever the current color was so that you will find older instruments that originally came with the dark gray cabinets painted in the almost violet lighter gray or even blue. -- Richard Knoppow Los Angeles WB6KBL dickb...@ix.netcom.com ___ Drakelist mailing list Drakelist@zerobeat.net http://mailman.zerobeat.net/mailman/listinfo/drakelist
Re: [Drakelist] Baked Drakes
Never leave the PTO, meter or any other plastics like that on the rig when baking. I always remove the PTO, meter, front panel and, of course all knobs and tubes. It's basically a stripped chassis when it gets its wash and dry. Never submerge - only wash with brushes and detergent, rinse thoroughly with the sink sprayer above and below, then pour distilled water over it. I take the rigs out to the shed before the oven for an encounter with an air gun. That will remove most of the water. Yes, you have to re-oil everything when you're done and on the A and B receivers I also recommend removing the PBT coil carriage after cleaning to clean the dried-out grease from the assembly. The equipment looks and smells much better and runs cooler. After 40 - 50 years, even a clean-looking chassis is hiding a lot of dirt. 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! - Original Message - From: Ed Tanton n...@comcast.net To: 'Steve Wedge' w1es1...@earthlink.net; Drakelist@zerobeat.net Sent: Wednesday, November 30, 2011 9:46 PM Subject: RE: [Drakelist] T-4X: put on your thinking caps! Oven temp that won't harm plastic? I am going to need the same thing for several projects. I had simply planned to use Warm for 24 hours, but would love to hear your (or anyone else's) version Steve!!! Thanks. Ed Tanton website: http://www.n4xy.com All emails IN OUT checked by Norton AntiVirus with AutoProtect -- Wag more / Bark less -- ///snip Ah, well, the T-4X is over in the corner for now and will require all my tools to troubleshoot. I started on the first of the two R-4B's tonight, have dismantled and washed it and it's now in the oven drying. 73, Steve Wedge, W1ES/4 ///snip ___ Drakelist mailing list Drakelist@zerobeat.net http://mailman.zerobeat.net/mailman/listinfo/drakelist
Re: [Drakelist] Baked Drakes
- Original Message - From: Robert Fish rwf...@comcast.net To: Steve Wedge w1es1...@earthlink.net Cc: drakelist@zerobeat.net Sent: Wednesday, November 30, 2011 7:23 PM Subject: Re: [Drakelist] Baked Drakes Hey Steve, How long and at what temp? I would worry about getting water in the IF cans etc. Does it just bake out? ? Thanks, Bob K6GGO I will repeat the method used at Hewlett-Packard many years ago. First step was to remove anything that could be damaged by water or heat. All closed compartments were opened. Then the chassis was rinsed with warm water from a hose. Then sprayed with a paint spray gun filled with a solution of water and dishwashing detergent and also brushed if necessary with a bottle brush. After washing it was again rinsed off with the hose and warm water. Then blown out with compressed air to remove as much water as possible. Then it was baked in a thermostatically controlled electric oven at about 130F for at least 48 hours. I preferred to keep stuff in there for a week if it was available. Then whatever was removed was replaced and the instrument checked on a metered variac. This procedure took off pretty much anything other than serious fungus (that stuff went to the factory and I don't know what they did with it). -- Richard Knoppow Los Angeles WB6KBL dickb...@ix.netcom.com ___ Drakelist mailing list Drakelist@zerobeat.net http://mailman.zerobeat.net/mailman/listinfo/drakelist
