Heathkit HP-23 bridge rectifier failure

[Dick KF4NS]

Just had a strange failure in my HP-23A (purchased from a friend last 
year for a spare) while using it with my Heathkit HW-100 on the bench. 
Had been running some tests and making some xmit adjustments and quit 
to go to lunch. Got back and the rig was off. Found the rig and cable 
ok so started checking the PS which would trip with each reset of the 
breaker in the HP-23. No mic was plugged in and vox was not on and rig 
was in recv mode.

Only took a short time to discover that the HV was shorted to ground. 
Suffered an avalanche through the four diodes in the bridge. All 
looked fine, no burns or discoloration. They were all shorted.

This brings up a point. Is the breaker in there adequate? It appears 
not to me. I am so lucky that the xfmr was not destroyed. Has anyone 
replaced the breaker in there with a fuse or built a crowbar circuit 
to improve protection?
73, Dick KF4NS
St Petersburg, FL 33714 USA
Keep The Glow! 

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