Hi Joel,
That sounds familiar! If you roll the shaft on a flat surface,like a glass desktop or similar,you will probably see that it’s a bit bent.?
I took a bunch of measurements and made sketches (will be an adventure? to find) but i bet you will be able to “see” what needs to be done. ?
I scoured the interwebs for a similar part, ended up just straightening the bent shaft. I believe it’s called a Jackson vernier drive…
Maybe someone online has a tip on how to do that without a lathe?
73’蝉
Jon WB1AJJ?
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On Sunday, March 20, 2022, 10:09 PM, Joel Weder <jweder@...> wrote:
I've disassembled the VFO mechanism sufficiently that I know the culprit. I just don't know what to call it, as there's no mechanical drawing in the manual, or list of VFO mechanical parts that I can find. The problem is with the shaft, bearings & gear that the VFO knob connects directly to. Everything looks to be brass except for the aluminum shaft.
Once I backed off the knurled (and spring-loaded as i discovered) brass nut that holds it all together a bit, the "catching" stopped. But now when I tighten it even hand-tight (it needed wrenches to remove) it again catches at several points around its rotation. There is some grease inside along with the three bearings, though my disassembly/reassembly may have caused some to be lost.?The knurled nut on my FV-301 is quite tight, so I doubt that tightness is the problem. Perhaps I need to get some more grease back in with the bearings?? If so, any suggestions on specific type? (something hopefully available at Home Depot or a repair shop?)
As a bit more description of the components... The aluminum shaft is inserted into the hollow brass shaft, and has a flared area near the end that captures the bearings, which are inserted thru holes in the side of the brass shaft. It all is held in compression by a spring inside the end of the brass shaft, with another smaller bearing between the spring and the end of the aluminum shaft, and a spring inside the knurled nut.
Joel, VE6EI