[R-390] [off topic] HQ-180A alignment craziness

[mlmccauley at att.net]

I'm having big trouble doing an alignment on this set, and to my 
thinking what I see just doesn't make any sense. Any help anyone could 
give me would be greatly appreciated.

As I tell this tale, bear in mind that, as is, the set will receive 
stations and properly demodulate AM, SSB and CW. Sensitivity is poor, 
but the radio does basically work. Selectivity is super tight, standard 
HQ-180A behavior.

The very first step in the procedure is an initial rough alignment of 
the 60KHz 3rd IF. You connect a voltmeter to the AM detector and a 60KHz 
CW source to the coupling cap going to the grid of the 2nd mixer 
(presumably, leakage though the self-oscillating mixer gets the 60KHz 
out the back of this stage (?)). You are instructed to tweak the 60KHz 
IF transformers for maximum negative voltage at the test point.

The directions say to keep reducing the signal level as you tweak so as 
to keep the test point from going no more negative than -5VDC. Problem 
is, I see -.35VDC, which never changes, 60KHz injection or no, low or 
high injection level.

I've verified the generator freq at 60KHz with a counter that tests one 
Hertz off at 10MHz against a Cesium standard. I even swapped voltmeters.

I've verified the injection and test point about 47 times.

Any ideas?

A guess - could it be that the 2nd oscillator (395KHz), mixer, and IF 
transformers have been jacked with *so badly* that the IF strip is tuned 
to a totally different frequency than 60KHz? These sets are notoriously 
super-selective, maybe my "real" 60KHz is being chopped off, totally 
outside the bandpass of the IF strip.

I'm stumped. I've aligned entire radios and had them working great in 
the time that I've been messing with step #1 on this set.

Again, thanks in advance for your help.

Mike, WB5MYY