The PHILCO Phorum

I have been following Steve's (Stall-U-Rated) thread on his 16B. The topic of alignment tools came up. Steve asked, why not make an insulated screw driver tip for the tool? To be honest, I had not thought about it, I have always just wrapped a piece of tape around a screw driver. This did start me thinking about it. I could not think of a good way to make a tip or adapter for the hex tool but, I did make a prototype complete tool. The tip has been turned down to .200 inch with a steel insert imbedded in the end. I can make a few of these if there is any interest.

Radio Alignment Tool by Steve Davis, on Flickr

Radio Alignment Tool by Steve Davis, on Flickr

Radio Alignment Tool by Steve Davis, on Flickr

Steve

I could see a demand for them, not just great for philcos, but other tuning and alignment purposes..
Put one on ebay and see if it gets some attention..

Awesome job Icon_thumbup

Steve

Im in..

Is the shaft fiber with a metal end?

I'm with Phlogiston. If the shaft is fiber or some other non conductive material, I'm in.

Russ, the shank is nylon with a steel insert. The insert is slightly narrower than the turned down portion of the shank so it should not cause a short.

I have post an ad in the "For Sale" section.

Steve

Steve

I guess the questions about the metal portion are there to make sure it does not affect the tuning frequency. Though in my experience with IF cans regular metal screwdriver with insulated handle didn't. However with tuning trimmers on the tuning cap it did.

One good tool people would appreciate is that one used to align ARMCO slugs in coils like in Transoceanic radios. It is finicky. Should fit exactly or it will break the slug, and should be non-magnetic and preferably non-metal.
The existing tools are flimsy and if the core is stuck, the narrow diameter of the shaft does not allow to apply good torque plus it could twist/break.

(03-14-2019, 12:28 PM)morzh Wrote: [ -> ]Steve

I guess the questions about the metal portion are there to make sure it does not affect the tuning frequency. Though in my experience with IF cans regular metal screwdriver with insulated handle didn't. However with tuning trimmers on the tuning cap it did.

One good tool people would appreciate is that one used to align ARMCO slugs in coils like in Transoceanic radios. It is finicky. Should fit exactly or it will break the slug, and should be non-magnetic and preferably non-metal.
The existing tools are flimsy and if the core is stuck, the narrow diameter of the shaft does not allow to apply good torque plus it could twist/break.

Yes, on both statements.

To be even clearer - is any part of the shaft metal besides the end?

The steel tip is about 1/8 x 1/4 with a small spike just over 1/16 wide and about 3/8 long. The tip is small enough that I can't imagine it having much effect on the tuning. It certainly would have less effect than using an ordinary screw driver. I'm away from my shop right now, but the first of the week, I will post some photos.

Steve

Steve I have your other tools which are fantastic. I'm in for one of these too, just let me know how much and where to send the payment.?

Gregg

https://www.philcoradio.com/phorum/showt...?tid=19753

Icon_smile

Thanks Ron!

Here you can see the actual size of the steel tip. The weight is .16 gram.