[Gonset] Communicator 2 Squelch Drifting

[Geoff Fors]

Paul,

I assume you changed the paper capacitors to mylars already?

Otherwise, the main suspects are probably the 6T8 and any carbon comp
resistors in the squelch section.  I would check the present values of the
resistors to see if any have drifted high, if you haven't done so already,
and consider changing them to carbon or metal film types.  You may have to
change a handful of them in the squelch circuit.  Carbon comps will also
drift with temperature changes, unlike the new film types.

In the Communicator II's I have overhauled, I always seem to wind up
replacing 5-6 carbon composition resistors which have gone high or are
drifters.

Also, on the schematic (at least the 6 meter versions) there is some
notation about a resistor being factory selected for proper squelch
operation, so I presume that resistor must be critical.

In 35 years of servicing all types of communications gear, I have only
rarely found freeze spray to be helpful.  I don't know why, because common
sense says it should be.  I just seemed to waste money and make the hole in
the ozone layer bigger, trying to shotgun the problem, so I don't use it
very often.

Too bad Gonset made the chassis so hard to service out of the cabinet with
the power on.  There's no ground return other than the antenna cable shield
and the power cable isn't long enough to let the chassis sit upright on the
bench.  The power connectors are rare and very hard to find, making creation
of an extension cable a difficult task..

Geoff
WB6NVH