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Hi again,
I'd pretty much finished restoring my FT-301 analog rig, but have noticed that the dial has three spots in every revolution where it catches just a bit. Right around 14, 47 and 80 kHz positions (if I'm turning the dial slowly) it'll feel like the mechanism has just fallen into a little hole. Moving it beyond takes just a bit more pressure. If I want to (for example) dial in 14.212 (just below or above one of these spots) the mechanism will pull over to .214. Other than this, the mechanism is very smooth, no grinding or roughness at all.
This doesn't really sound like a congealed-grease problem to me, rather perhaps an issue with a mis-aligned or damaged gear. I'm considering removing the gear mechanism from the radio, but it seems rather complicated to get it all out. i haven't seen anyone's comments on how best to do this, despite quite a bit of searching. For example, do I need to completely remove the front panel ? From a look inside it does seem to be necessary, but if there are any shortcuts I'd really appreciate hearing about it before I tear the radio completely apart!
Joel, VE6EI
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Well I decided to get brave and just try it. A step by step procedure to remove the VFO assembly from my FT-301:
- Unplug RCA connector on bottom of VFO
- Remove white tape from connector at back of VFO and disconnect
- Unsolder white/orange wire from red LED at the Channel switch. (note where it goes back later)
- Remove two screws on crossbar at bottom front of VFO?
- You'll probably need to remove the Filter and AM modules to gain access for the next step
- Remove screws holding crossbar at top back of VFO
- Entire VFO, gear drive & circular plastic kHz display should now wiggle out.
You might need to remove other items - I already had the small lamp bracket out and front panel off. Those may NOT be necessary.
Joel, VE6EI
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I had a similar binding problem on my FT-221. It turned out the central shaft in the vernier drive was slightly bent. I convinced it back into straightness with a lathe, a maple dowel and a bit of patience.
I’ll have to peek under the hood of my ‘301 again, but what I recall from the 221?is a couple enjoyable evenings removing the front panel (great time to clean n shine), one to take it apart, a half hour on the lathe during lunch break and back together the next evening. I was working on a hotel room desk, took tons of snaps with my?cell phone and kept the screws organized and away from the carpet. Sounds like you are halfway there.
It works as smooth as silk now, straightened, clean and lubed.
Hope this helps a bit…key is patience, lots of notes and pics, and keep in mind how nice it will be when you’re done.
73s
Jon WB1AJJ
On Saturday, March 19, 2022, 9:46 PM, Joel Weder <jweder@...> wrote: Well I decided to get brave and just try it. A step by step procedure to remove the VFO assembly from my FT-301:
- Unplug RCA connector on bottom of VFO
- Remove white tape from connector at back of VFO and disconnect
- Unsolder white/orange wire from red LED at the Channel switch. (note where it goes back later)
- Remove two screws on crossbar at bottom front of VFO?
- You'll probably need to remove the Filter and AM modules to gain access for the next step
- Remove screws holding crossbar at top back of VFO
- Entire VFO, gear drive & circular plastic kHz display should now wiggle out.
You might need to remove other items - I already had the small lamp bracket out and front panel off. Those may NOT be necessary.
Joel, VE6EI
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Hi Jon, ? Well I must commend you on your determination, working on that radio in a hotel room! Lucky that you had access to a lathe. I don't know anyone who has one, but perhaps I can find a way to manage it. I'll hopefully have some time tonight and tomorrow night to disassemble the gear mechanism. I'll update the group with my results. ? As a backup plan I'll scavenge the mechanism from my FV-301. It's just a show-piece now anyway. Can't imagine anyone needing to work split today with one of these old beasts. (wanting to - that's another matter!) ?
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I travel for work for months at a time. Bringing projects with me saves my sanity!
Make sure to have a plastic bin handy to catch the tiny balls in the vernier as you disassemble and clean. They can be difficult to find in the carpet…ask me how I know.
You might find another way other than chucking it up in a lathe if it’s bent…it was what I had access to at work and it was easy to tweak and measure till it was pretty close. ?Who knows, yours might be a-ok.
I will be interested to hear what you find and if you get it sorted out!
On Sunday, March 20, 2022, 3:18 PM, Joel Weder <jweder@...> wrote: Hi Jon, ? Well I must commend you on your determination, working on that radio in a hotel room! Lucky that you had access to a lathe. I don't know anyone who has one, but perhaps I can find a way to manage it. I'll hopefully have some time tonight and tomorrow night to disassemble the gear mechanism. I'll update the group with my results. ? As a backup plan I'll scavenge the mechanism from my FV-301. It's just a show-piece now anyway. Can't imagine anyone needing to work split today with one of these old beasts. (wanting to - that's another matter!) ?
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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
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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?
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
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I uploaded some photos, including a couple of the shaft in question, but forgot to click the "Notify..." button. The photo folder is called "FT-301 VFO Mechanism Repair" for whoever's interested. ? This little gadget is a very complex way to connect a small gear to the VFO knob. I guess they ran out of room for one more gear. It provides about a 5:1 reduction, though I can't for the life of me see how it works. Some internal interaction between the springs and bearings perhaps? If anyone has a good description I'd love to hear it. ? I've taken a quick look at the aluminum shaft. It doesn't seem to be bent, but I'll look again in the cold light of day. ? Joel, VE6EI
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Well darn, that shaft was NOT bent. But still several points in rotation of the shaft where it "sticks" momentarily. Perhaps some fresh grease might help? Anybody have a suggestion for a good grease for this sort of purpose??
Luckily if I can't get this smoothed out I have an FV-301 I can pirate the Jackson drive from...
Joel, VE6EI
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Joel,
I'd look at Tri-Flo, or the special mix I use...50/50 synthetic motorcycle chain lube and Park Tool synthetic bicycle grease.
I've reconditioned many Yaesu and Kenwood VFO drives with this formulation and it works.
Any grease with added friction modifiers is suitable, though.?
73 - Fred, N8YX?
Sent from my Verizon, Samsung Galaxy smartphone
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-------- Original message -------- From: Joel Weder <jweder@...> Date: 3/22/22 10:14 PM (GMT-05:00) Subject: Re: [yaesuft301d] Removing FT-301 VFO mechanism ?
Well darn, that shaft was NOT bent. But still several points in rotation of the shaft where it "sticks" momentarily. Perhaps some fresh grease might help? Anybody have a suggestion for a good grease for this sort of purpose?? Luckily if I can't get this smoothed out I have an FV-301 I can pirate the Jackson drive from... Joel, VE6EI
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Hi Fred, ? Thanks for your ideas. I've never even heard of friction modifiers, but hey I guess I learned something today. Sounds like I might be making a trip to Canadian Tire on the weekend.? Check them out online, great store! Everything for cars, trucks, bikes, home, back yard, kitchen, whatever... ?
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Hi Joel
I just received the VFO stabilizer board sold by K4DPK.
I have an old FT-301D from new that always had a slow drift of the VFO.
So I thought I wold try to improve it.
It looks like to connect his unit to the VFO i need to get at
some of the connections to PB1440.
If I follow your VFO removal procedure will I have access to the board?
Thanks
Fred
N1DEC
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Easy fix. Replace the grease and the ball bearings. Hardware store, bearing company or auto parts. Standard size. Please let me know if this is going through. I've been trying to get on here for some time but to no avail.
Thank you
Dave
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Dave Bohlen
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You don't have to remove the VFO to install the stabilizer. I've done lots of them. Directions are in the Elcon library. Easy job with basic ham skills.?
Dave
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Did this go through?
Dave
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Dave Bohlen
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Hey, great thank you. Did the tip on the bumpity bump VFO go through. Had a couple of those. Hi hi
Dave
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On May 28, 2024, at 4:29 PM, Fred, N1DEC via groups.io <fredvp@...> wrote:
Yes..
Sent from my iPhone 7
On May 28, 2024, at 7:27 PM, Dave Bohlen via groups.io <db_bohlen@...> wrote:
?Did this go through?
Dave
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Dave Bohlen
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Dave Bohlen
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Hi
All your message are posted on the Yaesu site.
Fred
On 5/28/2024 7:30 PM, Dave Bohlen via
groups.io wrote:
Hey, great thank you. Did the tip on the bumpity bump VFO go through. Had a couple of those. Hi hi
Dave
On May 28, 2024, at 4:29 PM, Fred, N1DEC via groups.io <fredvp@...> wrote:
Yes..
Sent from my iPhone 7
On May 28, 2024, at 7:27 PM, Dave Bohlen via groups.io <db_bohlen@...> wrote:
?Did this go through?
Dave
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Dave Bohlen
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Sent from Thunderbird mail ....
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Oh, Great Fred thank you. I’m used to radio. You say something, the other person says something at least copy or over. But I guess the web is not like radio. My first time on a web site. Then everybody says things so short? No one wants to rag chew anymore. No activity on HF anymore. Thought maybe I would find my tribe here. I guess I talk to much. Thank you for letting me know stuff goes through. Guess folks just don’t talk anymore? 73
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On May 28, 2024, at 7:15 PM, Fred, N1DEC via < fredvp@...> wrote:
Hi
All your message are posted on the Yaesu site.
Fred
On 5/28/2024 7:30 PM, Dave Bohlen via
wrote:
Hey, great thank you. Did the tip on the bumpity bump VFO go through. Had a couple of those. Hi hi
Dave
On May 28, 2024, at 4:29 PM, Fred, N1DEC via <fredvp@...> wrote:
Yes..
Sent from my iPhone 7
On May 28, 2024, at 7:27 PM, Dave Bohlen via <db_bohlen@...> wrote:
?Did this go through?
Dave
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Dave Bohlen
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Sent from Thunderbird mail ....
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Dave Bohlen
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If you go as far as to remove the VFO replace the bearings and grease. Chump change and standard bearing. Easy to come by. Just one more thing that it is not.
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Dave Bohlen
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Joel Weder, VE6EI
Fred, N1DEC
Fred, N1DEC