Well I couldn't wait for the tubes to get here, so I substituted some used ones in both chassis and began testing. It WORKED on the first try. Yeah, even I would not have bet on that but I'll take it.
My bench is not all that large so it take a few additional carts and such to hold all of the parts.
I did not get off with no issues though. Actually there were two.
Below you see the control/signal cable that runs between the chassis. There are three conductors that carry line voltage. Depending on the plug polarity (it is not polarized) and whether the set is on or off 120V can be on any - or 2 of the three wires. These 3 wires are twisted within the armored cable. Over years of rubbing and becoming brittle, there were many abrasions on these wires. The result could have been a short but what I saw was 120V AC on the chassis intermittently.
I knew that this cable was a problem. I had hoped that some repair to the end was going to suffice since an exact reproduction was going to be hard to produce. But now I have given into that reality.
I did not get off with no issues though. Actually there were two.
Below you see the control/signal cable that runs between the chassis. There are three conductors that carry line voltage. Depending on the plug polarity (it is not polarized) and whether the set is on or off 120V can be on any - or 2 of the three wires. These 3 wires are twisted within the armored cable. Over years of rubbing and becoming brittle, there were many abrasions on these wires. The result could have been a short but what I saw was 120V AC on the chassis intermittently.
I knew that this cable was a problem. I had hoped that some repair to the end was going to suffice since an exact reproduction was going to be hard to produce. But now I have given into that reality.
The other issue was less significant. In the comments on the earlier Strat post below John mentioned a problem with the "Q" relay not working. Well this one - the one I rewound - didn't work either. So -
I resisted the urge to take it apart and rather measured the source voltage. It was around 300V with a short warm-up. I measured the connection to the plates of the 85 tube. It was at around 280V. So I had continuity across the relay coil and an expected voltage drop meaning that the 85 was conducting.
I then checked the grid voltage generated by the AVC tube. Something close to 0 volts allows the 85 to conduct. A signal as high as 10V will switch the 85 off, deenergising the relay. I was seeing from -.4V to about -7V. So my AVC signal was good. (when the relay is energized the closure shorts the secondary of the high frequency interstage transformer which mutes the audio until another strong signal is tuned).
So what was the issue? Checking the less than deluxe relay (see pictures in the earlier post) I found that a little nudge closed the relay. The simple solutions would be to lessen the spring tension or move the stop so that the magnetic coil was closer to the throw. I chose the latter approach and all was well.
Below is a short video after alignment. The radio is only on a short antenna so short wave reception is limited. However, when I switched on the upper band I did receive several stations, WWV and even CB transmissions. This is notable since the oscillator section of this receiver is a bit challenged above 22mhz. So I was pleased.
I resisted the urge to take it apart and rather measured the source voltage. It was around 300V with a short warm-up. I measured the connection to the plates of the 85 tube. It was at around 280V. So I had continuity across the relay coil and an expected voltage drop meaning that the 85 was conducting.
I then checked the grid voltage generated by the AVC tube. Something close to 0 volts allows the 85 to conduct. A signal as high as 10V will switch the 85 off, deenergising the relay. I was seeing from -.4V to about -7V. So my AVC signal was good. (when the relay is energized the closure shorts the secondary of the high frequency interstage transformer which mutes the audio until another strong signal is tuned).
So what was the issue? Checking the less than deluxe relay (see pictures in the earlier post) I found that a little nudge closed the relay. The simple solutions would be to lessen the spring tension or move the stop so that the magnetic coil was closer to the throw. I chose the latter approach and all was well.
Below is a short video after alignment. The radio is only on a short antenna so short wave reception is limited. However, when I switched on the upper band I did receive several stations, WWV and even CB transmissions. This is notable since the oscillator section of this receiver is a bit challenged above 22mhz. So I was pleased.
So this concludes the chassis restoration. Once the NIB tubes arrive (42, 5Z3 and 45s) the chassis will be reinstalled into the cabinet.
Since this project was a trade, labor less parts for a unrestored McMurdo Silver Masterpiece V, I had declined the cabinet work, instead preferring to do the fun part. The cabinet was refinished by a friend, Gary, who lives a bit north of here. The cabinet is finished, but I have only seen pictures, so far. Probably within the next two weeks you can expect to see pictures of the reassembled 1000Z.
While this project was running I was also restoring the MPV. It is also finished - a very impressive 20 tube radio in itself. When I get some time I will post some pictures of it in the next blog.
Russ
Since this project was a trade, labor less parts for a unrestored McMurdo Silver Masterpiece V, I had declined the cabinet work, instead preferring to do the fun part. The cabinet was refinished by a friend, Gary, who lives a bit north of here. The cabinet is finished, but I have only seen pictures, so far. Probably within the next two weeks you can expect to see pictures of the reassembled 1000Z.
While this project was running I was also restoring the MPV. It is also finished - a very impressive 20 tube radio in itself. When I get some time I will post some pictures of it in the next blog.
Russ
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