Ryan NV5E writes:
I don=E2=80=99t know what all else is inside. I pulled the cover off the re=
ceiver the other day, just to take a look around. I like how it=E2=80=99s a=
ll copper in there. And thanks for the heads up on the voltage in there.
Ryan, if you can, pop the covers off the tx and rx and get some
(high resolution and well lit) pictures of the top and bottom
chassis of both, then post those to the list.
Just by eyeballing those somebody might be able to spot if a previous
owner has been golden screwdrivering in there, or if there are any
other gotchas that stand out.
I also second the advice about putting both rigs on a variac to
start. Given their age, a little babying is in order. You can buy
variacs on fleaBay for <$100, and that is money well invested. A
5A should do, although a 10A would give you more head room on the
transmitter. Watch how much current you pull through the variac.
If you run both the rx and tx through it concurrently, you need a
10A.
Do NOT buy one of the cheap chinese bright red ones you see everywhere.
They are death traps. (See the mailing list archives -- somewhere
around last spring? -- for a lively discussion on that topic.)
Note the variac will not carry the power supply for the amp. For
that you might consider just pre-emptively recapping the power
supply. But take a look inside the PSU first, as the former owner
might have done that already.
And finally, as others have said, buy or download the manuals for
everything and (re-)read them until you have them memorized :-)
--lyndon
