[Milsurplus] fixing loose meter glass, the easy (lazy) way.

[Boeing377]

The guy fixing the RAK? wrote: "I only wanted to fix the meter glass."

I've faced similar problems, most recently on my ARR 7 S meter. 

I use a toothpick to put some tiny dabs of clear RTV silicone adhesive on the periphery of the internal circle to which the glass was previously adhered. I do this with the meter facing up so that the glass falls away from the mounting circle and allows access. Usually the glass resting against the face does not permanently bend the meter pointer, rather just deflects it and it springs back when the glass is lifted off.

I then turn the meter so that the glass is facing down and use gravity to my advantage. The RTV (before it sets up) allows slight movement of the glass to get good positioning. Any RTV slop over can be easily cleaned up with an Xacto knife once it has dried. 

I have pondered the idea of making a vacuum device (taking vacuum from my de soldering station) to hold the glass and allow it to be pulled around with positive control, but haven't done it yet. I think I'd use a very flexible (floppy) suction cup and feed a vacuum pipe into it.

I ruined a couple of surplus meters trying to take them apart to fix things. That's how I was driven to this lazy method. I've also used it to re-attach glass tuning dial covers. 

73
Mark
AF6IM
www.parachutemobile.org