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

[J. Forster]

If you search eBay for:

vacuum pickup tool

you get over 100 hits on the Title alone. They start at a couple of bucks
and have assorted suction cup sizes..

-John

================



> Hi Mark,
>
> I'm that guy. I couldn't find a suction cup small enough but that's
> exactly what I was going to do. I have some meter movements around here
> that don't come undone without damage. The mil ones that are sealed are
> sealed very well but I don't think the glass can come loose. It can
> certainly break.
>
> I didn't know if the meters in the RAK were made to disassemble until
> opened the radio. There are three screws that hold the meter in the
> front panel of course. I removed those and the wires from the terminals.
> Then there are three more screws around the circumference of the
> two-piece meter body. With those screws removed the rear half along with
> terminal and the entire meter movement slide right out the back of the
> case. The front half has the glass, a brass ring that fits the perimeter
> of the case immediately behind the glass, and the zeroing screw. So I
> cleaned off the old cement and carefully added a tiny bit of silicone
> sealer/adhesive and pressed the glass back in place. None of the silcone
> goop shows (grin). I am leaving it to cure overnight and tomorrow I will
> reassemble it and install it back in the RAK.
>
> Had I been unable to disassemble the meter I was going to put a spot of
> silcone on a broom straw. glue the end to the outside of the glass, and
> then use that to maneuver the glass to make the repair as you have
> outlined. After all the dust settled I should have been able to remove
> the straw and the silicone pimple. I don't think the silicone would come
> away cleanly with a plastic lens.
>
> Thanks for your comments. Other list members may need to fix up an old
> meter and the info will be handy.
>
> 73,
>
> Bill  KU8H
>
>
> On Mon, 2012-10-29 at 13:11 -0400, Boeing377 wrote:
>> 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
>
>
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