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Old September 20th 06, 06:55 PM posted to rec.radio.amateur.homebrew
[email protected] LenAnderson@ieee.org is offline
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First recorded activity by RadioBanter: Aug 2006
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Default ARC-5 Tuning Shaft Adapters

Andrew VK3BFA wrote:
wrote:
Does anyone have or can they direct me to a couple of "splined"
tuning shaft adapters that fit the ARC-5 Command Set receivers?
I'd like to adapt some of the ganged variable capacitors from
those sets into some homebuilt equipment...lovely antibacklash
gear reduction on them.


Hi Len,
nope - rare as rocking horse manure. I machined ones from brass rod -
receiver end, a press fit on the splines, other end, quarter inch for
knob.

Andrew VK3BFA.


Thanks, Andrew...I got that impression after several hours of web
surfing. :-) :-(

My 1948-acquired Command Set surplus stock has slowly
withered away ($6 for receivers, $12 for transmitters, $18 for
antenna tuning unit-modulator-Tx dynamotor at that time).
I'd gotten 4 of the tuning "knob" adapters back then, 2 got
traded-sold, 1 remains on a 6-9 MHz receiver, and 1 is lost
somewhere unknown.

Beautiful anti-backlash worm drive on those ganged capacitors.
Would be good for tuning anything.

Not being a machinist I was hoping someone would come up
with the correct words to describe the splined whatsis so that
I could haunt a few mechanical parts suppliers for something
that would mate smoothly with it. I tried some copper tubing
(pressed over splines) with marginal success (several
diameters, easy to get at do-it-yourself stores for various
small water piping uses) but those bend rather easily. [it's not
too swift when one's home machine shop consists of a Big Lots
table top drill press...:-) ]

I did come across a Magnificent website with Great pictures of
WW2 radio equipment in US military aviation:
http://aafradio.org
Now there is a Collector! [and a consultant at the Smithsonian
Air and Space Museum]