Knight | Space Spanner

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...the answer was, "I have the radio, and the controls aren't mounted like yours. They are mounted with one hex nut behind the panel so that only a minimum amount of the threaded bushing extends through the panel. Your suspicions are correct.

Vince
"
 
A few minutes later, Vince sent this picture. Click on it for full size.
 
OK, let's think about this. I wanted to keep the radio original. However, if James had skipped the steps where he was supposed to mount the hex nuts, the radio isn't going to look right. He used the lock washer behind the bandswitch control, but didn't bother with the hex nut. We'll never know why. Perhaps the neighborhood bully shook him down for hex nuts.

At any rate, the controls were going to get the hex nuts so the radio looks right.
 

PROBLEM!

 
 
 
Now there is a problem. How can you back the bandswitch out with everything connected to it? You can't, mostly because of the heavy leads on the big brown capacitor on the left. It goes from the switch to the coil and the leads might as well be pieces of coat hanger, they're so stiff. Should I start unsoldering everything? What if something gets damaged?

Just then, this came in from the radio forum: "
Did you try unbolting the coil to see if you could move it and the switch enough to put on the nut and washer? You might also have to unbolt the 12AT7 socket. Be very careful with the connections on the coils. They were really only intended for one soldering operation.

Jay"
 
That was the answer! In this photo both coils and the tube socket have been detached and everything is slowly being backed out.
 
 
Success!
 
The knobs are now in their proper positions in relation to the front panel.
 

 
RE-STUFFING CAPACITORS
 
 
 
For some reason, James installed the filter capacitor facing backwards. This means we can reuse the wire!
 
 
 
The new capacitors are rated at 160 volts, 10 volts higher than the old ones.

 
 
 
There is a big ceramic covered capacitor labeled "CERACAP" which I broke while trying to melt the plastic out of the ends. The wax inside boiled and the pressure burst the ceramic apart. Next time, I'll drill a hole in the end first. Ironically, there was probably nothing wrong with it.

Interesting that inside is a lit cigar butt. No wonder these radios smoke.
 
 
 
The ceramic was replaced with PVC. It's now called a "PLASTICAP."
 

 
 
All done. That was fairly easy. A voltage check showed all the voltages to be higher than predicted in the manual.
That's because the radio is expecting to see 110 volts AC, but our outlets are testing at 121 volts AC.

 
My only regret. The re-stuffed filter capacitor had been sitting on the kitchen table for a few days. I absent mindedly picked it up one night and cut all the leads to the same length so it would look nice. When I went to install it, the blue wire was about a millimeter too short. DOH!!

 
The knobs were soaked overnight in soapy water and then polished. Thankfully, nobody called me on the phone during the polishing operation and asked what I was doing. (Nudge nudge, wink wink.)

The white pointers are craft paint. Very easy to use, you carefully fill the indentation, let it dry, and then scrape the excess off with a thumbnail. The results are excellent.

The knobs are marked "DAKA-WARE CHICAGO" on the back. They were manufactured by Davies Molding Co. and are made of phenolic plastic

 
Space Spanner
Refurbished Space Spanner.
 
Here's a short video showing the Space Spanner in action.
 
 

 
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