[ARC5] Etching Crystals and WHINK Revisited - contact resistance.

[Mike Everette via ARC5]

With the FT-241, the leads from the holder pins are soldered or welded to electrodes attached to the quartz.  I've seen many of these wherein the welds (?) have broken.  No idea how to fix this.  Out of a box full of these crystals which were given to me maybe 30 years ago, about half of them are bad.




The FT-243s I have opened up have responded rather well to cleaning the brass plates (BE CAREFUL), and/or washing the quartz.  I've been able to repair several holders with brass plates broken away from the pins.  Not all, though.  





Something else that has worked for me, is to clean the quartz and put it into another holder with good brass.  I inherited a few ancient 7500-kc area FT-243s taken from old low-band FM gear, and used the holders for 80 and 40 meter crystals that had "gone dead"  or were "chirpy."  I don't remember whether the brass plates were the same size/shape as those in the original holders; but they all worked.  As far as I recall, all the "replacement" holders were of PR manufacture (Petersen Radio).  The 80 and 40 crystals were run-of-the-junque surplus.





73




Mike

WA4DLF