[Hammarlund] SP-600 dial slip

[Craig Roberts]

Hey y'all,

Now that it's playing just as it should, my SP-600 needs once last 
little repair -- or tweak.  The dial slips.  Not much, mind you, and 
only at certain points when tuning very slowly. Still...

Are there any common dial mechanism problems and fixes you know of? 

By the way, thanks to all for their replies to my RF amp problem query 
and follow-up.  As you may remember, the loss of sensitivity was due to 
the failure of R6 -- a 1K 1/2W resistor in the first RF amp section.  I 
replaced it with a 1 Watt component. I did the same with R5 (510 Ohm) 
and their R15 and R16 counterparts in the second RF amp section.  I was 
very happy to hear from our banjo bangin' buddy Dr. Andy Moorer that he 
made these substitutions routinely in his SP-600 rebuilds since, in his 
words, the stock  resistors seem "underpowered."  I figure he knows what 
he's talking about.  Look at his resume. He's a pretty smart dude -- and 
a year older than I am (which makes him a wise, OLD man).

I thank Andy for his great hint.  I'd certainly recommend making these 
swaps -- and checking ALL resistors for value and signs of overheating 
-- when pulling the RF deck.  As I said earlier, dealing with the RF 
deck isn't difficult, but it is rather tedious -- especially the 
rewiring process during reassembly.  It's something I'd rather do just 
once per receiver.

Say -- this is off-topic but something I've always wondered about.  How 
come we get 59 reports from all over the planet at any time of day or 
night on 20 meters during contest weekends, but can't  work past our 
second bedrooms after sunset the rest of the time?  I find it 
interesting that my modest little barefoot rig on a two element beam 
becomes a 2KW behemoth on a Sterba curtain during a contest.  Maybe we 
should just declare EVERY weekend a contest weekend.

73,

Craig
W3CRR