[Heath] Lubing / Unsticking' the SB-401 LMO

[Mark V Johnson]

I use a judicious amount of WD-40 to soften and clean up old grease. Like
any cleaner, don't use an excessive amount. For new lube, I just put a drop
of light oil on the main dial shaft and a tiny bit on the main bearing on
the LMO; assuming you have the LMO out of the radio and on the bench to
service it. 

When I read your first post I would have thought the problem was not
sticking end to end lock tabs, or washers, but a misaligned dial. I'd
recommend going to the manual and adjust the dial per the calibration and
alignment steps as outlined. 

I've seldom had problems with the slip disc's. Any problems usually have to
do with heavy drag on the LMO due to age and dirt or excessive use of oil
over the years. I found that the installation and adjustment procedures
outlined in the manual are good and make sense. Just need to read and
carefully follow the steps. 

If you have the LMO out of the radio and want to fix any chance of
intermittent function due to the variable capacitor contact wipers being
dirty or worn, I'd recommend a fix I've used on all my Heath gear and that
is soldering a small piece of braided wire directly to the variable cap
rotor and the grounded frame. It's easier with the tube LMO's but certainly
doable on the SB-102 solid state units. Worth the effort. 

Mark Johnson VE3LU/VE3DJU

 

-----Original Message-----
From: Heath [mailto:heath-bounces at puck.nether.net] On Behalf Of Robert Myers
Sent: July-27-14 7:13 PM
To: heathkit at yahoogroups.com; heathkit at mailman.qth.net;
heath at puck.nether.net
Subject: [Heath] Lubing / Unsticking' the SB-401 LMO

Thanks to everyone for advice on 'unsticking' the SB-401 LMO that locks at
4-1/4 revolutions (as shown on the turns counter dial).

A couple follow up questions:  

1. What grease cutters or cleaners do people recommend for removing the
dried, or thick, original lubricant. 

2.  What do people recommend for lubricating the system after step 1 (and do
you need to use conductive grease anywhere in there)?

Thanks,
--- Rob Myers, VE3JQL


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