[Boatanchors] Cleaning a bandswitch

[Ed - K9EW]

I second Dale's suggestion about cleaning the crystal pins and sockets.

If some bands work and some don't, it may be a crystal problem.  The
crystals may have aged (oxidized) and won't oscillate due to high
resistance.  The solution then would be to find replacement crystals.  The
crystals could be resurrected, you may want to ask a crystal manufacturer
to do that for you.

-ed, k9ew

On Sat, Dec 20, 2025 at 8:29 AM parinc1 <parinc1 at frontier.com> wrote:

> The  standard cleaner sems to be DeOxid. They make it in a spray can but
> that is wasteful (and maybe  dangerous), so for years now I have ben buying
> it in a small plastic bottle with a needle applicator.  On a rotary switch,
> a Q tip + DeOxid  is  ideal as long as you  don't leave cotton threads.
> But  first, I would remove the heterodyne oscillator crystals and clean the
> pins and then insert/pull reinsert and se if that does  not solve your
> problem.
>
> Dale W4OP
> ________________________________
> From: boatanchors-bounces at mailman.qth.net <
> boatanchors-bounces at mailman.qth.net> on behalf of Dave Sublette <
> k4to.dave at gmail.com>
> Sent: Saturday, December 20, 2025 6:08 AM
> To: Boatanchors Reflector <Boatanchors at mailman.qth.net>
> Subject: [Boatanchors] Cleaning a bandswitch
>
> My beloved Drake 2B has quit operating on a couple of bands.  I suspect
> that a few positions on one or more of the bandswitch wafers need cleaning.
> Q-tips, isopropyl alcohol and spray contact cleaner come to mind,  But is
> seems to me that a very thin bladed burnishing tool for relay contacts
> might also be called for.  I know caution is in order so as not to file
> away the surface area of the delicat blades and fingers.  What other
> techniques might you know of?  I am not anywhere near to being a
> competent restoration tech.  I know there is a valued source of info here.
> What say ye?
>
> Thanks and 73,
>
> Dave, K4TO
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