[R-390] [KA9EGW] s/n 4214

[2002tii]

Brian wrote:

>A number of people have advocated soap and water.  I'm a bit baffled...I've
>never heard of any piece of 'tronics water wouldn't muck up.
>*     *     *     I'm having a REAL hard time wrapping my head around it

I don't do this often, but it works and is sometimes the best 
method.  I've always used liquid dish detergent -- I believe some 
folks on the list were singing the praises of "Simple Green" cleaner 
for this.  These days, I might try one of the citrus solvent 
cleaners.  I've even used the power washer on some particularly grimy 
boatanchors.

The keys to success are: (1) don't soak it for days (I generally 
don't immerse, but use running water for tens of minutes), and (2) 
get it dry promptly -- in a LOW oven (125 F or less), or in the 
bright sunshine on a hot, dry day, or with a hairdryer or hot air 
gun.  Make sure you keep it warm enough for long enough that you 
evaporate ALL the water hiding in crevices and inside IF cans and 
suchlike, but don't get it hot enough to melt anything.  If you have 
mineral-rich tap water, consider a final rinse in distilled water.

My first experience with water washing was the AM/FM tuner board of 
an early '70s Pioneer receiver that the owner's cat had peed in.  The 
dried kitty pee added leakage paths from everywhere to everywhere 
else, and the tuner was stone dead.  I figured we had nothing to 
lose, so I undid about 80 wire-wrap connections to the tuner board 
and took the dial pully off the tuning cap, pulled the tuner board 
out, and washed it in the sink with soap and hot water.  Dried it 
with a hot air gun, reassembled it, touched up the alignment, and it 
was good as new.

Best regards,

Don