| HOW I DO A SOFT START. |
| THIS IS A CRITICAL STEP. IF YOU DO NOT DO THIS, FORGET ABOUT RESTORATION. PLUGGING YOUR SET INTO THE WALL AND TURNING IT ON CAN CAUSE SERIOUS (POSSIBLY IRREVERSABLE) DAMAGE TO CRITICAL PARTS. IT CAN CAUSE A FILTER CAP TO EXPLODE AND SEND PCB'S ALL OVER THE PLACE. IT CAN CAUSE A FIRE. THERE ARE MANY WAYS TO GO ABOUT THIS STEP. THIS WORKS FOR ME, BUT IT MAY NOT WORK FOR YOU. SEVERAL OF THE SITES ON THE LINKS PAGE HAVE OTHER SOFT START METHODS. REMOVE THE HORIZONTAL OUTPUT TUBE OR DISCONNECT THE TOP CAP. I SWITCH THE SET ON AND PLUG IT INTO THE ISOLATION TRANSFORMER. SET THE VARIAC TO ZERO, AND PLUG THE ISOLATION TRANSFORMER INTO IT. TURN ON THE ISOLATION TRANSFORMER AND VARIAC. SET THE VARIAC FOR 25 VOLTS AND RAISE IT BY FIVE VOLTS EVERY 15 MINUTES. DURING THIS PHASE, CHECK FOR THE FOLLOWING... 1. SMOKE (NOT FROM TOBACCO PRODUCTS). THIS IS BAD. 2. FIRE (NOT GOOD EITHER). YOU SHOULD HAVE A TYPE A-B-C FIRE EXTINGUISHER. 3. FRYING OR HISSING SOUNDS. THIS COULD INDICATE BAD ELECTROLYTICS AND/OR A BAD POWER TRANSFORMER. 4. TUBES GLOWING RED OR BLUE. IF THIS HAPPENS, IT MAY BE THE TUBE, OR SOMETHING ELSE. 5. NOTHING (AT AROUND 70 VOLTS). DID YOU CHECK FUSES? 6. OVERLY WARM OR HOT ELECTROLYTIC CANS. THEY MAY GET SLIGHTLY WARM FROM HEAT TRANSFER FROM THE TUBES. IF THEY GET HOT, THEY'RE BAD. IF THIS HAPPENS, KILL THE VARIAC AND REPLACE THEM. 7. HOT POWER TRANSFORMER. IF THE TRANSFORMER IS HOT AT REDUCED VOLTAGE, YOU NEED TO FIND OUT WHY. IT COULD BE BAD FILTER, SHORTED RECTIFIERS, OR A BAD TRANSFORMER. IF ANY OF THE ABOVE HAPPENS, TURN OFF THE VARIAC. DO NOT PASS "GO". RECAP THE SET AND DO IT AGAIN. IN THE CASE OF THE POWER TRANSFORMER, REMOVE THE RECTIFIER TUBE OR DIODES, AND ALL TUBES AND DO A SOFT START. IF IT FRYS, HISSES OR GETS HOT AT REDUCED VOLTAGE, IT'S BAD. AT ROUND 60 VOLTS, YOU SHOULD HEAR SOMETHING FROM THE SPEAKER. AT AROUND 70-80 VOLTS, YOU MAY RECIEVE STATIONS. AT ABOUT 90 VOLTS, YOU SHOULD GET STATIONS AND DECENT VOLUME. AT ABOUT 100 VOLTS, THE TUNER SHOULD BE STRONGER AND THE SOUND SHOULD HAVE GOOD VOLUME. HUM CAN INDICATE BAD ELECTROLYTICS. ONCE YOU GET TO FULL LINE VOLTAGE, TURN OFF THE VARIAC. REINSTALL THE HORIZONTAL OUTPUT TUBE OR RECONNECT THE TOP CAP. TURN IT BACK ON. YOU MAY GET A PICTURE, BUT DON'T BE SURPRIZED IF YOU DON'T. ANY TUBE ELECTRONICS THAT HAVE BEEN SITTING UNUSED FOR ALL THESE YEARS ARE IN NO CONDITION TO BE POWERED UP AT FULL VOLTAGE. THE SOFT START CAN REFORM THE ELECTROLYTIC CAPS. OF ALL MY RESTORATIONS, ONLY ONE SET'S ELECTROLYTICS REFORMED. YOU WILL MOST LIKELY REPLACE THEM ANYWAY. THIS IS A TEDIOUS STEP. IT IS ALSO BORING. IT IS ALSO NECESSARY, UNLESS YOU WANT A STATIC DISPLAY. MANY OF THE WEBSITES ON THE LINKS PAGE HAVE SOFT-START METHODS. IF MY WAY DOESN'T WORK FOR YOU, ONE OF THEIRS MIGHT. |