[Hallicrafters] Halli S-meters

[Barry Hauser]

Mike wrote:
> I decided to remove one of my S-meters from the radios cabinet and 
> try to find out why I could not see through it. I thought perhaps 
> it's just some mold or something and a little soap and water might 
> do the trick! After the meter was removed I removed the clear (I 
> suppose it was clear many years ago) lens which was completely 
> warped. After I applied some soap and water I noticed that it became 
> soft and pliable. What are these things made of, gelatin or 
> reinforced seaweed!

I think the old windows were made of cellulose.  I've done the same thing
with soap and hot water, and have been able to reshape the formed ones to
some extent.  Often they shrink.  Sometimes they seem to melt away into
nothingness -- probably mold or some bacteria eats them.  There also may
be some slight pock marks.  You may have succeed in flattening it out by
soaking in hot water and working it with your hands, then placing a
weight over the piece as it cools and dries out.

Thin plexiglas is a solution, but you might find a free one that's more
like the original -- from a blister pack from something you recently
bought.  Coincidently, as I write this, I'm looking at the package from a
"Telezapper" I picked up at RS.  Has some useful flat areas, but there
are a lot of pegboard items like this.  You can cut it with a scissors
and if it has a few scratches, polish it out with compound.

A bigger problem are shaped lenses, such as those covering the dials on
old Zenith T/O's or the Halli S-29, etc.  However, I understand that
someone is reproducing these to order -- I believe with the blister pack
type plastic.

Barry

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