[Hallicrafters] SX-71 Restoration update

[GBrown]

Well, only have weekends to work on restoration projects. I think you all
know how that is. I have put all the good tested Hallicrafters logoed tubes
in a box for safe keeping. I replaced them all with nos tubes. ALL
capacitors and 90% of the resistors were replaced. Replaced the line cord
with a three wire and also installed a primary line fuse on the AC. Done the
bypass AC line bypass thing with two nos 1.6KV caps. I turned it on and
after about 20 seconds, sound from the external speaker. Not knowing where I
was on the dial, just tuned around on different bands and found some cw.
Pitch works great and audio sounds good. No hints of smoke in the air. I
turned on the signal generator and freq.counter to allow 1/2 hour warm up
time. Grabbed the alignment instructions and was I in for a surprise. No,
nothing was dead on freq. Matter of fact, everything was just the opposite
of where it should be. 75 meters was way down on the left side of the scale.
Now, this was a head scratchier. Hmmmmm, did they make SX-71's with reverse
dials. Probably not, must be something else wrong. Well, you probably
guessed it. Both the main tune and bandspread dial cords were strung the
wrong way. YES, that's right, couldn't believe it. I removed all the dial
cord and installed new cord, the right way, turned it on and alignment took
about 1 hour to complete. Everything fell into place. Didn't even go into
the house to have supper. Stayed in the shop till 10:00 PM just listening to
this piece of history fill the room with AM, SSB and CW. Now, it will be
complete when I get the cabinet and front panel back from my friends custom
paint shop. Only problem is a lazy S-meter. I replaced the adjust pot,
which, by the way, had a dead spot. That brought the meter back to life but
its a bit stingy.
Next project, just arrived, SX-62.
Regards,
Gary...WZ1M