[Milsurplus] AN/ARC-2A Meter Fixed.

[David Stinson]

Hue asked:
>...How do you lube a meter ??
Removed the meter- have to take the LF RECEIVER
switch nut off, unsolder the wire to the LF
Antenna post and move that switch as far as you
can from the meter.  This allows access to the
bottom right meter mounting screw nut.  Removed
the meter case and carefully, gently cleaned it
out.  Using a soft brush, cleaned dust and stuff
from the scale and blew gently in the mechanism to
dislodge any cruddies.  

Under a strong light, inspected the meter movement
and found the front "watch spring" laying against
the movement mounting frame.  Held the movement
perpendicular to my mouth and gently blew across
the needle and face.  After about three puffs, the
spring "sprung" back where it belonged.  Have a
small bottle of very light "watch oil" I got out
of a "box lot" at an auction.  Again under a
strong light and with as steady a hand as possible
for an old man, I dipped a toothpick in the oil
and touched it to the pivot points front and back.
Took a couple of tries in the back because you
have to work through a little slot, unless you
want to completely disassemble the meter.  I don't
recommend that; everything in there is fragile and
can go North on you. 

Again, using gentle breaths, I "exercised" the
needle back and forth a couple of dozen times and
it seemed to be free.  After centering the
zero-adjustment, used a jeweler's screwdriver to
carefully adjusted the little white needle-stop at
the zero side because the needle was falling too
far below zero. Put it all back together and seems
to be working OK now.

Note if you have a dead ARC-2 meter:  The ARC-2
meter movement is a rare 2 mA FS.  However, the
meter face has a note calling for an external
shunt.  I haven't dug into the diagram to find it
(not much play-radio time lately), but if you can
find just about any current movement that will
fit, like a common 1 mA, swap the scale and adjust
the value of that shunt, it should substitute.

>Why you getting rid of the ARC-2?
I have both an ARC-2 and an ARC-2A. For now, I'm
only looking to offer the ARC-2A.  I need to move
some things to help with expenses and- more
important- because a certain gentleman with a
black cloak and a scythe is standing behind me,
looking at his watch and tapping his foot.  I had
undiagnosed and untreated diabetes for at least 20
years before they finally discovered it during a
routine employment physical; I had no idea what
was causing the various issues and it seems the
Docs didn't either. Nothing we do gets my A1C
under 8.  No one gets away with uncontrolled
diabetes for 30-40 years.  So things are going to
get "slim" around here over the next year.

GL OM ES 73 DE Dave AB5S