[Boatanchors] Disassembly of Vernier Drive Used in Ranger and Valiant Transmitters

Rodger wq9e at dtnspeed.net
Wed Oct 29 19:38:11 EST 2008


Mike,

It has been a couple of years since I did my last one but you have large 
nut which will take pliers or a wrench on one end and then the other end 
is unscrewed using a pair of pliers.  Be careful as there are 3 or 4 
ball bearings inside depending upon the style of yours, most of my 
Johnson gear uses 3 bearings in the sides and another as the end thrust 
bearing but my 500 and my Pacemaker have the end thrust ball as a 
permanent part of the shaft.

I have found the best way to clean the old grease and dirt out is to 
wipe off what comes off easily and then soak the parts in a small 
container of WD-40, agitating it some to help remove the remainder.  I 
then rinse with a bit more spray from the WD-40 bottle and dry with 
clean paper towels.  Then you need to re-lubricate, I use a red 
synthetic grease but any standard multi-purpose grease should be OK 
although I don't think the white lithium based is a great choice as at 
least some brands tend to harden quickly.  So far I have not had to 
replace the bearings in any of mine (unlike with the ball reduction 
drives used in RME receivers), probably because a transmitter VFO 
generally gets tuned much less than a receiver VFO.

The only semi-critical part is getting the proper tightness when you 
re-assemble the unit.  Too loose and it will slip, too tight and it will 
be stiff and will probably accentuate any wear points on the ball 
reduction parts.

Good luck with it.  I have done probably a dozen of these in the last 8 
years and it does make a big difference in the tuning feel.

73, Rodger WQ9E


Michael D. Harmon wrote:
> How do I disassemble the vernier drive assembly from a Ranger/Valiant 
> transmitter?
>
> I have two of these drives and both are very stiff and I can feel 
> "detents" caused by the (dry?) ball bearings inside the unit.  I'd 
> like to take them apart, clean and re-lube them, but I haven't figured 
> out how to get them open.
>
> Thanks!
> Mike, WB0LDJ
> mharmon at att dot net
> _______________________________________________
>
>



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