[SignalOne] Yet More CX7A Work

[jerry]

Hello,

    I hope the blow-by-blow isn't annoying anybody.  I do it because I 
like to share the pain :).
Also, I think stuff like this is a good resource for people who may 
encounter it in the future.

   Since the back panel was a non-starter, I put all its fasteners back 
and got to work on removing
the bottom PA cage.

   First thing - I had to remove the Front End board.  There's just no 
wiggle room with it in there.
Spent about an hour labelling every last wire.  I labeled them with the 
standard numbers from the Thomas
manual, and also made notes on the manual page.  This is not BTW the 
original 1973 copy;  this is a printout
of a PDF from hamanuals.com.  I printed it double sided and bound it 
with my ancient and finicky comb binding
machine.  I used a Brother P-touch to make the labels.

   Getting the front end board out is a bit of a Chinese puzzle, because 
the bandswitch shaft sticks out so far.
But I managed it... whups!  I didn't know there was a wire UNDER the 
card!  And there's TWO pins sticking out
under the card.  Which one does it connect to?  Won't be hard to figure 
out;  this is the wire to the preselector
capacitor.  I bet one of those pins is a ground, and the other one - 
isn't.

   Removed all the fasteners from the bottom PA cage.  Now it moves a 
little.  But not easily and not much.  Gotta
figure out what's holding it up and unsolder that.  In the PA cage, 
there is no substitute for lots of pictures.
Thank goodness for digital cameras!

   I'm expecting a lifetime supply of the appropriate brass 1-64 hardware 
for the switch pin on Monday.

                             - Jerry, KF6VB