[Boatanchors] BC-1004, IT LIVES!

[Todd, KA1KAQ]

On Tue, 25 Jan 2005 02:45:10 -0000, Philip Atchley
<beaconeer at sbcglobal.net> wrote:
<snip>

> Are they all that stiff to turn the bandswitch?  I lubed it while I had
> it open, but it's still quite stiff.

Phil - 

Congrats on the resurrection, the old Super Pros are a nice playing
set with wonderful audio.

One tip on the bandswitch: they turn several wafers and will exhibit
more resistance than a smaller switch, but should still turn freely.
However, if it has ever been cleaned with a spray cleaner like Deox-it
or such, the old phenolic wafers will swell and cause the switch to
bind. I learned this the hard way with my old SX-28A. They didn't use
ceramic wafers much back then(mainly for power handling capabilities)
compared to later, so I'd almost bet that this is your problem.

A quick way to reverse it is to carefully bath the wafers in alcohol,
which should remove the offending substance from the wafer itself. If
the bandswitch is a problem with respect to making good contact, use a
Q-Tip or something along those lines with a little Deox-it on it to
clean each contact, instead of just spraying the wafer. You probably
already know this, but chances are good that someone before you did
not.

If that doesn't cure it, I'd check for a bent shaft or a bound up
rotator (or whatever the ball bearing mechanism is called). This past
weekend I had to swap out a bandswitch from a Clegg Zeus because the
shaft had somehow seized up and the former owner's attempt to force it
had broken the wafer. Even after I removed it, there was no breaking
it loose. It's almost as if the shaft has fused inside of its collar.

Hope this helps. 

de Todd/'Boomer'  KA1KAQ