[Boatanchors] What is this "Tuning Tool" called??? Another long ramble. . .

[Phil]

Hi All,
While I was ordering some things for the Work Bench last week, some of 
the things I needed and ordered were good old fashioned "tuning tools".  
It must have been well over 30 years since I last ordered any, the last 
ones I bought were from RS maybe 20 years ago, and they were JUNK!  The 
plastic shafts were so skinny and soft they'd often twist rather than 
turn a tight slug.  I ended up tossing most of them in the garbage a 
long time ago.  So I was down to just the most basic ones, all being the 
old red GC stuff. Good tools but well worn.

Any-whooo, I ordered three different sets to be sure I was well covered, 
two of them GC brand.  Sheesh, they cost a lot more than they used to!   
I the GC P/N 18-530 8 piece CB Alignment Tool Kit (just like the old red 
GC tools I was so fond of), and also ordered the GC P/N AS-5007 9 piece 
Anti-Static Alignment Tool Kit.  NOT that I think I 'really' need the 
anti-static tools, but it looked like it had some that I'd want to 
have.  BOTH sets have a nice selection of the "long reach" Hex tools 
that are so vitally important for tuning BOTH slugs in an IF 
transformer.  The only one I had left was so worn I always had to be 
very careful NOT to let it slip and break a coil slug. . .

The third set I ordered is "Elenco Brand" 6 piece set.  Picture shows 4 
pieces, but the description says 6 + pouch, and that's what reviewers 
say they received.  Actually, I ordered this one by accident, it was the 
first tuning tool set I put in my "cart" and forgot to remove it when I 
found the two GC sets I really wanted. But I think it just 'might' have 
some additional really useful tools.

Anyway, if what I ordered lasts as long as the last ones (GC) that I 
bought I may never have to buy another tuning tool as long as I live.

Actually, my overall FAVORITE tuning tools is one I obtained when I was 
working at an Electronics assembly plant.  They provided us with a very 
nice tool that had "stepped" hex tool on one end and a small ceramic 
blade on the other.  That ceramic blade is non-metalic and nearly 
indestructible, good for trimmer caps etc. When I asked if they'd sell 
me a couple of them for my home use, they gave me a pair.  They're made 
by "Coilcraft" and I have one left, but have NEVER seen one on the 
market anywhere. Unfortunately the hex end is pretty much rounded off 
now, but it seemed to outlast the GC brand hex tools.
******************************************

OK, now for the 64,000 question.  Many, many years ago I had a special 
tool.  If I recall correctly it was plastic and had a brass insert 
(non-ferric) on one end and a ferric insert on the other end.  Useful 
for determining which way a coil had to be "tweaked" to bring it into 
resonance.  Slip one end and then the other into a coil and see whether 
the coil needed more or less inductance?

Anybody here remember what that tool was called, or who made it? Of 
course it'd probably be a fairly simple matter to make one at home with 
a hollow plastic tube and a brass screw on one end and a ferrite slug on 
the other. . .


-- 
73 From "The Beaconeer's Lair"
Phil, KO6BB
http://www.qsl.net/ko6bb/  (Web Page)

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