[ARC5] Tuning Capacitor Removal - Help, please!

[Mike Hanz]

Good advice from Dave and Ken.

On items like this, I always start out with the "equal but opposite" 
ploy, but it assumes you have some method that you can use to give slow, 
graduated pressure to whatever is bent.  A good example is in the top 
two photos at http://aafradio.org/garajmahal/BC-AA-191.htm where a steel 
strut needed to be straightened.  On the command receivers, the panel 
metal is very soft, as Ken noted, so it does make it a bit easier.  One 
technique that you may be able to accomplish is to clamp the receiver on 
the table of a drill press - upside down in your case - using soft 
protection between the receiver and the steel table.  Then chuck a long 
1/2" bolt in the drill chuck.  You should then be able to preposition 
the head of the bolt at the tip of the bent down antenna post and begin 
to apply some pressure to it.  Then look at the metal surrounding the 
insulator.  If there are no ripples being formed in it, then move the 
downfeed lever a bit more.  You do risk breaking the ceramic insulator, 
but they are pretty resistant to steady pressure like this...it's impact 
that they don't like.  Just take your time and watch the area 
surrounding the insulator for distortion.  Once the insulator is 
completely horizontal again, you can make a determination if further 
work is needed to flatten the panel...aluminum is unfortunately a 
"stretchy" metal, so ripples are sometime unavoidable, but I would try 
the slow pressure approach first - you may be fortunate.  Another 
approach would be to clamp the receiver on the edge of a workbench and 
do something similar with a large C-clamp.  Once you get the antenna 
post straight again, you can decide whether you need to do more, which 
essentially says you will have to remove the capacitor per Dave and 
Ken's advice.  If you do have any ripples, then a bolt and nut with a 
couple of washers can be threaded through the insulator hole and used as 
a compression flattener.

Let us know how it goes,
Mike  KC4TOS