[Elecraft] A testament to impatience, a good night's sleep, and a couple of cold ones

[Louis C. LaCour, Jr.]

This morning brought a new day here in New Orleans.... languishing in
mild temperatures, clear skies, and lots of sun.  And, oh yeah, those
contemptible bezel screws and that inscrutable LED filter tape.

After reading some emails with some suggested solutions (thanks
Stephanie and Jim), I decided to have another go.  In keeping with my
original post, here's how it worked out:

Problem 1 - The LED filter tape

Thinking I'd need to get replacements anyway, I went ahead and peeled
of the thick brown paper on the backside of the tape (which was
already affixed to the filter).  Lo and behold, there was some
quantity of adhesive remaining on the filter, so I went ahead and
positioned it over the LED opening in the panel.  Presto!  It held.

Problem 2 - Can't get bezel screws in

Stephanie led me to the solution: steel screws/aluminum panel.  Duh! 
So, very, very carefully, I used a small Phillips head jewelers
screwdriver to create a kind of countersink in the screw hole (from
the backside), got the screw standing up in the hole, and carefully
applied pressure while driving it in.  And of course, the steel screw
cut its own threads in the softer aluminum.  But, for the record, the
holes are supposed to be tapped, and these clearly were not.  In any
event, the bezel is now mounted.

So, all's well that ends well, I suppose.  But this is clearly one
area of the assembly that could probably use a bit of tweaking.  To
the credit of our friends at Elecraft (thanks to Gary and Scott), they
offered to send me a replacement panel with tapped screw holes, and
replacements for the filter and tape.  By copy to them I'm letting
them know that won't be needed.  Though I considered replacing the
four stainless steel screws since the heads got a little mangled
tapping the holes, I've decided to keep them as an eternal reminder of
my little victory over adversity.

Be well, all.

73, Louis

KE5GIU