[GreenKeys] Saturday Morning Woes

[Tom Hunter]

Eugene,  You aren''t the only one who had trouble Saturday, I have a
Dovetron for copying The 850 group.
But it does not always play nice. The Signal Loss sometimes flickers with
space and that throws it into mark hold.
That makes it useless. I dug out a URA-17 and got it working. It worked
like  a champ two Saturdays ago.

My 28 is on top of a rack just above eye level so I have to stand on a 9
inch stool to see it.
With the arthritis in my knees, it is hard do get up and hell to get down.
I decided to run my 32 from the URA-17.

That day the Dovetron was working so I was printing while I was shooting
the 32 problem

Could not even get a good looking reading on the URA-17 loop current meter.

First problem - I must have fooled with the URA-17 during the week. The
controls were set all wrong. Corrected them.
Problem solved.

I set the loop for 20 Mils and because I have a 3-circuit plug on the 32
and 2-circuit plugs everywhere else, I built an adapter cable.

The 32 ran open. I normally  use the 32 on an IRL FSK-1000 through a box
with a 50 mil meter and a 275D mercury relay which I can use to key a 60
mil loop. I confirmed that the 32 worked with the IRL and the box. So I
plugged the box into the URL-17 loop. The 32 ran open. I pulled the box on
the bench several times and rang out the wiring with an ohmmeter.

Second problem - box finally failed on the bench, The coil in the relay was
intermittent. Another relay solved that.

Still the 32 ran open and there was no indication on the meter. Yet another
meter in the same loop read fine.

Back to the bench. The box now tested fine, even through the adapter cable.

Third problem - The jack I was using did not like a Switchcraft plug.When I
plugged it in, the shorting contact on the jack stayed shorted. I formed
the contact ( that is technical speak for bend it until it works.) Problem
solved.

Now the meter read and I could hear the relay clicking. But the 32 ran open

Fourth problem -  had to increase the current to 30 mils. The 32 started
printing. Final Problem solved.

By now it was 7 PM. But I will be all ready for next Saturday!

Tom   N3CRK
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