[Collins] Update on progress....75A-4 Receiver & 312A-1 Speaker

[Ralph Howes]

Greetings to the Collins reflector,
As some of you know, I recently became the owner of the above mentioned
Collins gear. They were very smoke laden and dirty from being stored
unprotected. I have washed the cabinets several times and have removed the
smoke smell but not all of the stains. I have ordered the paint from Mike,
KE4LGX. I'm waiting on that. I washed the chassis with a damp cloth & "Sun
?" dishwashing soap and the chassis cleaned up very nice. I did not wash the
underside but did brush the components and washed the supporting panels.
Most of the smell is gone but still have some. I'm planning on using a
couple of shallow pans with Arm & Hammer under the chassis and on top of the
chassis then cover the whole unit with a heavy towel and let it sit for
about a week then sit it in the sun for a while. Going to try this with the
speaker also. It didn't clean up as well as the chassis or cabinets. I did
brush the unit and cone and washed the metal back, outsid and q-tiped the
underside of the metal. The emblems cleaned up pretty well. The one on the
receiver is ok except for one side, there is a little rust in the groove. I
will try a litte V file to clean up the rust and use some "Extend" then a
little paint.
I found a fellow in California that had a couple of end caps that he was
willing to let go at a very reaonable price. They were white but identical
in all other aspects. Used but good condition. I received the chrome hood
from Butch and does it ever look nice. I found the bulb in a hardware store
in a little town south of here for aobut $6.00 less than most other places.
It is white, not clear.
Well that is about it for the time being. I took some pics before I started
and will take some after I'm done and will make them available to this
reflector and the CRA web site.
I want to thank all who responded to my request for any and all of the
information made a few weeks ago, especially Butch, Merle, Jim and Roger.
They went way out of there way to offer information and even made some
searches for me for the end caps. Sure meet some very nice folks in amatuer
radio............
Best Regards to all and a Very Merry Christmas,
Ralph Howes
W8BVH