Saturday, Nov. 21, 2015 — I’m here in the shack reviewing my To-Do list, and I have several projects I want to focus on between now and the end of the year.
J-37 DOUBLE KEY. For starters, I need to finish my J-37 iambic combo key; I have created a template for the holes and the necessary parts from Vibroplex are pinned to my bulletin board. My drill press awaits my purchase of the right-size chuck key … my brother gave it to me, but not the damn key, so acquire one I must.
To stripe it with pre-1940 Vibroplex trim, I need to find my Beugler pinstriping tool or buy its replacement. I DID buy a Beugler — one that was older than the J-37 keys themselves — and worn all to hell. The plunger won’t seal, the wheel heads fall off, its a mess. And of course, it didn’t have the size I’m looking for. That purchase didn’t do what was intended — prompt the discovery of the Beugler I bought several years ago, which remains “somewhere” in my shack.
I can still drill the holes, however, stripes or no stripes.
HEATHKIT SB-102. The rig is actually next to me, looking me in the eye and saying “Have you bought the damn parts yet??”
Actually, I did just order dial string and a dial string spring for the load control. I’m going to buy O-rings for the other two. I know they are available in the proper size by mail order, but I’ve had excellent luck buying the right diameter o-ring and the cutting it to size. I glue the ends back together with Crazy Glue, and I’ve gotten lots of service out of o-rings installed like that.
I have a SB-600 speaker/power supply in the back of my Jeep (been carrying it around for nearly a year, I guess!). Forgot I had it in there until recently. I also have two other SB-10x rigs in the barn, one of them is worse for wear and looks pretty rough. The other is still in the box it was shipped in. I’m not going to touch those until I get the one I have here in the shack up and running.
HALLICRAFTERS FPM 300 X-LOCK. I purchased the Cumbria Designs X-Lock stabilizer kit earlier this year for my Hallicrafters FPM-300. I love operating the rig, but Lord have mercy, it drifts worse than my Hallicrafters SR-150 ever did (or maybe after years of PLL rigs, I’ve become spoiled?).
The kit is here, I just need to assemble and install in the 300. I have other boat anchors that might be good candidates for the X-Lock, including the SB-102, SR-150, a Swan 350 and 500, an Atlas 215, et al.
STATION REDESIGN. My shack has been organized the same since I put it together almost 10 years ago. I have rigs in place I haven’t turned on in ages … I probably need to pull out some of the rigs and replace them with ones I would like to put on the air over the winter … specifically my Drake TR-7 and the SB-102 at least.
My to-do list continues to grow. What else is new?? hi hi
73 es CUL de KY4Z 73 SK CL …. dit dit …