[ARC5] BC-348M

[Kenneth G. Gordon]

On 20 Dec 2013 at 13:39, Dennis Pharr wrote:

> Bill:
> 
> OK, you and Ken are obviously correct.  I was thinking the caps were
> single-section caps fully insulated from the can - but that must not
> be the case.

No.

>  They are multi-section with the can used as common.  

Yes.

> And, by the way, all but one of them show signs of leakage,

And just why are we NOT surprised? :-)

> so I am
> going to remove them and do the re-build on each one - which is a huge
> PIA and messy to boot.

Good on ya. I would definitely do the same. In fact, I have that in the queue 
for at least one of my RCH receivers, probably both.

> But, I can't bring myself to just gutting them
> out and replacing them with the modern caps in plain view.

No. That would be ugly.

>  I might
> consider doing that, but hate to since this particular radio is almost
> completely original - the only visible mod is someone in the past
> re-wired the filaments for 6.3vac. Also, all the paper caps need to be
> replaced - which will not look original either

Well, you CAN restuff those too, you know. It isn't all that difficult, but is very 
time consuming. I've never found that to be worthwhile.

> - so it really doesn't
> make sense to re-build the canned caps if all the other replaced caps
> will be visible.

I would disagree here: most of those paper caps CAN be replaced with 
modern caps that at least look somewhat close to the originals. However, the 
canned caps have a unique look all their own. If that receiver were mine, I 
would rebuild the canned caps but not the other paper ones. I'd simply 
replace those.

BTW, please DO NOT use those damned "Orange Drops"! I hate those 
things. There are more-modern caps which are at least as good, or better, 
and don't look so stupidly weird in an old radio.

>  I'm not sure which way to go here - I may just flip
> a coin.  

Well, of course, it's your radio, so do what seems best to you.

In any case, as I have said before, I found the BC-348 to be a very nice 
receiver. When you're finished, use it on the air. I'm sure you will enjoy it.

vy 73,

Ken W7EKB