Sometimes in a large, complex project like this, you realize you need to perform a lateral move to keep the overall project on a correct track. I reached that point this weekend. The Testor’s paints I was hoping to get in the mail last week did not arrive, which will slow forward progress a little bit. I took the opportunity to skip ahead a bit to look at what work will be coming up that I will need these paints for and try and plan accordingly.
Once I have the 3-Wing BAND Switch finished and reinstalled, the next item I want to tackle is the restoration and reassembly of the FREQUENCY MC Dial assembly, located on the right side, centre of the Sender front panel. This entire assembly is identical to the one in the Receivers for the 52-Set, and it is between these two dials that the critical sync of the Receiver and Sender operating frequency is established.
The FREQUENCY MC Dial on this Sender is in tough shape. The plating is almost entirely eaten away and rust around the rim is extensive. With some very careful cleaning, the Lower and Mid-Range Green and Yellow portions of the dial could probably be cleaned up reasonably well, but the High Range Orange portion on the opposite half of the dial may be too far gone to easily bring back. It also takes a good time under UV Light for all three portions of the dial to luminesce. The yellow portion is not too bad, but the Green and Orange portions fade off in just a few seconds.
I knew I had a very good condition FREQUENCT MC Dial from the parts receiver, but when I checked it out, I remembered what I had done way back at the start of this project when only having the three receivers to work with.
The Remote Receiver had a small white decal centred between the Meter and the Speaker indicating “NON-LUMINOUS DIAL”. Because of its position, and the fact the meter on the Remote Receiver was a different manufacturer’s product from the other two meters I had, I just assumed the decal was in reference to the Meter Dial. It was not until some time later, when I put the Remote Receiver front panel under UV Light that I realized it was the FREQUENCY MC Dial that was not fully luminous. I did not like that at the time and felt both receiver FREQUENCY MC Dials should match, so I took the fully luminous one off the parts receiver and placed it on my Remote Receiver. Fast Forward to now, and I realize the Remote Receiver is a stand alone item, and part of the history of my particular one is that it had its Meter and FREQUNCY MC Dial replaced at one time and that history should be preserved. SO…note to self, Put the non-luminous dial back on the Remote receiver and use the fully luminous dial on the Sender, if its own dial cannot be well restored.
David
|