[Central-Electronics] CE-200V progress/problems

[Paul]

I've recapped the PS in my newly acquired CE-200v with the caps provided by Nick Tusa (Thanks Nick!) and performed my basic resistance checks of the PS for obvious shorts etc. Everything looked OK so I went ahead with the power-up phase.
 
I have completed a power up to line voltage level, all tubes and lamps light (actually there were several tubes with no filaments, 6BL8 in the VFO and two 12AT7's, all of which have been replaced). Since I had the VFO out I had added the 160 meter decal for the installation kit to the frequency drum, also added the jumper wire to have the 160 meter position illuminated and added the 160 final tank coil. (http://www.w2ec.com/CE200v-160m-Closeup.jpg) I have not added the oscillator/driver/2nd mixer coil sets yet, I want to get the rig running on 80 thru 10 first before making any of those changes. Power supply voltages seem within reason, -100v, +347v and 735v no load.
 
Of course the rig is not fully operational, which is fine as I find I learn a lot more about a rig if I have to troubleshoot it to get it functioning, rather than have it just turn right on and play with no problems.
 
However, I also like to get an idea if other people have had similar problems with their rigs, it sometimes gives me a starting point of things to check. So I'm going to list the immediate problems I have with this CE-200v to see if they sound familiar to anyone, and if so, what the problems might have been if they've been resolved.
 
The good news is the VFO tracking calibration went extremely well. Even after my disassembly, cleaning and reassembly, the frequency was very close, only  a couple kc off at each end of the band. The subsequent 50kc step alignments went very well across the entire 1mc range and right now every 50kc point is probably within 100c or so.
 
Here is the list of problems so far, in no set order of priority:
 
1. Scope: the scope trace focus isn't working properly. The smallest point I can get is about 3/8" diameter which expands to about 1/2" diameter by adjusting the focus control. I can't get any finer point. The intensity control does seem to work OK, as the intensity adjusts from dim to a bright glow. The scope does seem to detect the RF as the 3/8"diameter spot does expand vertically as power is increased. 
 
2. Power output is low on 80/40 meters. In CW, with the CW carrier and power controls set at max (fully clockwise) all I get on my 50 ohm Waters dummy load/wattmeter is 26 watts on 80 meters and 12 watts on 40 meters. An undistorted carrier is displayed on my external scope (Kenwood SM-220) consistent with those power readings. On the CE-200V input power meter, the reading is 90 watts input on both 80 and 40 meters. Meter reads 0 as expected when not keyed. AM position reads the same as CW.
 
3. There is no power output at all on 20, 15 or 10 meters. With the same power control settings as 80 and 40, there is no power output displayed on either the dummy load wattmeter or external scope. The 200V meter indicates about 50 watts input with no output.
 
4. Poor sideband suppression: I switched to LSB and USB and find I am not able to null out the carrier. On 80 meters, in LSB, I have about 15 watts of output power showing. If I adjust the A null knob fully clockwise and the B null knob fully counterclockwise I can drop the power to about 10 watts, manipulation of the null controls cannot null the carrier more than that.
 
So far I have performed no alignment or other tests, I just wanted to see what the transmitter was capable of doing as it arrived to me.
 
So if anyone has ideas or suggestions, I'd certainly welcome them, and meantime I'll start digging thru the schematic and manual to see what I can learn about the operation of this transmitter. 
 
I'll probably look at the scope problem first, just to get a feeling of accomplishment, then attack the power problem. Since the rig does seem to work (output on 80 & 40), I'll probably try to perform an alignment first and if that doesn't resolve the power problems, attempt to follow the stages thru  to see if I can achieve maximum rated power on 80 and 40, then go after the non functioning 20 thru 10 meters if they haven't come alive after the alignment. Once I have full CW power on all bands I'll go after the SSB suppression issue.
 
73,
Paul W2EC