[R-390] Squirrely PTO & SJC update

[Tim Shoppa]

> Funny how some of us seem to experience the same type things at about the 
> same time.....at times.  (confused yet?)
>
> I have been fighting with my Cosmos PTO for the last week of available 
> evenings.  Same problems...got the jitters with reversing direction or even 
> when fine tuning at times. Tap on the PTO cover with a small screwdriver 
> handle and the het tone would bounce all over the place. (most noticeable 
> with the bfo on and using a heterodyne tone for discernment)

I've been doing most of my testing with a receiver on the bench in CW mode
to pick up the hetrodyne. It's a lot easier to hear the squirreliness than it is to
see it on a frequency counter.

That said, my squirrely PTO seems to have cured itself without me ever doing
any of the dissection that Roger or Cecil suggested. I did do a little cleaning on
the square rod that the spider arm rides on, and that may have been enough.
It had some visible deposits (maybe grease turned into shellac?) that might have
been hampering smooth action at some points on the dial.

Looking inside the PTO I see some greasy/shellacy gunk elsewhere but not
on the mechanics. After reading Cecil's success I am tempted to tear down and
scrub-bright and wash the whole innards.

Could the grease been intended to make the airtight/nitrogen-tight seal of the
cans against the O-rings?

Is there any purpose at all at this point to pump the PTO full of dry nitrogen again?

Tim.