[Boatanchors] Dow Key Antenna Changeover Relay Info

[Bill Pancake]

Hello all... Just an FYI regarding some info an ELMER sent me regarding =
adjusting the relay contacts on a dow key antenna changeover relay. I =
found it very helpful.

RE: Dow Key Antenna Relay=20

by WB2WIK on November 24, 2003=20

The factory adjusted them for the correct spacing, so if nobody's played =
with it, it should still be set that way.=20

If someone has played with it, here's what I do:=20

Loosen nut on "receive" side (normally closed)connector, unscrew it =
until it loses contact with the relay lever arm, then screw it back in =
1/8" to assure good, solid contact, and tighten nut. Burnish both the =
SO-239 and the lever arm contacts with a very fine burnishing tool, =
which has a grit about equivalent to a piece of paper.=20

Now, loosen nut on "transmit" side (normally open) connector, and adjust =
it so that the relay lever arm travels 1/4" total from "RX" to "TX" and =
tighten nut. Burnish both "TX" side contacts as above.=20

If anyone had ever taken a file or sandpaper or anything gritty to those =
contacts, they're probably shot forever at this point and need to be =
replaced. The original surface was coin silver, which is soft and cannot =
be filed or sanded. The normal burnishing tool is a dollar bill!=20

I've owned an awful lot of these over the years, and have visited the =
factory where they're made several times. (Used to be in Minnesota many =
years ago, but has been in Santa Barbara, CA for a long time now.)=20

WB2WIK/6=20



--- StripMime Report -- processed MIME parts ---
multipart/alternative
  text/plain (text body -- kept)
  text/html
The reason this message is shown is because the post was in HTML
or had an attachment.  Attachments are not allowed.  To learn how
to post in Plain-Text go to: http://www.expita.com/nomime.html  ---