[Boatanchors] Re: RE: Help! My coil slug is stuck! - MORE INFO

[Bill Pancake]

Ed,

It seems that the general opinion of those offering advice is that the thin wax coating that's inside the coil form is the problem. As the coil form & iron powder slug ages, the wax hardens with ambient temperature changes. A tiny "burr" of wax on the slug threads can cause a lot of trouble.

If a slug is at all hard to turn BUT you can still SMOOTHLY back it out of the form, a light coating of silicone grease on the threads of the slug will keep it from locking up in the future. Unfortunately, backing out the slug and reinserting it usually means doing a re-alignment to that circuit. Counting-the-thread-turns as you back out the slug might work for non-critical circuits in lieu of re-alignment.

Some folks suggested applying heat to the slug core's hex key hole with a pencil soldering iron if it is at the point where it WILL turn but not yet frozen in place. A hair dryer can heat it as well.

If the slug is VERY hard-to-turn and you hear a slight "cracking" sound when turning it, it is not just "sticking & jumping", it has just BROKEN into one or more pieces yet still seated in place in the coil form. That's what happened to mine. The aged slugs are extremely fragile.

As you try to turn it further (either direction) the cracked pieces expand and "lock" themselves to the inside of the coil form. Not going to be your best day. Drilling out the slug is about the only remedy.  Yet one ham said he had success using a bit of super glue on all the faces of a metal hex key wrench inserted into the cracked slug. Let it dry and was able to back all of the pieces of the cracked slug it out of the form at the same time. Then used acetone to release the super glue.

Everyone seems to agree that ANY type of petroleum-based oil, solvent or cleaner (contact cleaner, DeOxit, etc) for lubricating the coil form or slug is definitely to be AVOIDED as a few folks found out the hard way, hi.

73, Bill, wd0x


-----Original Message-----
From: Ed <elh54 at sbcglobal.net>
Sent: Jul 8, 2005 9:08 AM
To: Bill Pancake <bpancake at mindspring.com>
Subject: Re: [Hallicrafters] RE: Help! My coil slug is stuck!

Bill, did anyone suggest a way to keep from cracking the slug in the first 
place?
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Bill Pancake" <bpancake at mindspring.com>
To: <hallicrafters at mailman.qth.net>
Sent: Friday, July 08, 2005 8:03 AM
Subject: [Hallicrafters] RE: Help! My coil slug is stuck!


> Thanks to the many folks who offered some great advice on how to free up 
> the hex key powdered iron slug that was stuck inside the second mixer coil 
> (L23) of my Hallicrafters HT-32A transmitter.
>
> As many of you suspected, upon very close inspection, the slug was indeed 
> cracked in three places. After trying many different remedies, I ended up 
> removing the entire coil assembly, drilled out the cracked slug and 
> inserted a good slug I had in my parts box. As an added measure, I did add 
> a small bit of silicone grease to the threads of the new slug before 
> inserting it into the coil form. Once reinstalled, the coil aligned just 
> fine.
>
> Thanks again for all of the suggestions. It was certainly appreciated. 73, 
> Bill, wd0x
>
>
>
>
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