01-08-2020, 08:35 PM
After replacing 95+% of the wire, all of the capacitors and resistors, its first power up was a success! At 80 volts AC input, I had stations all across the BCB dial and all other bands as well (the highest band had very little activity but was working.) At full AC power, everything worked perfectly even without tube shields. Magnetic tuning is working as well as the selectivity control. I like it when things come together without problems!
The volume control works normally even without the ground side tied to ground so I'll leave it as it came from the factory.
Now to tackle the AutoTune assembly. I need to repair or replace both shadow masks. The dial is ok but I have a new one coming in case I break the original. It is very brittle. As I did with my 37-116, I may play with the AutoTune lighting of the station tabs. On my 37-116, it was very dim even though 4 lamps attempt to light it. The 38-116 has only 2. Plus, the polished reflector ring is broken and I don't know if I can repair it.
The volume control works normally even without the ground side tied to ground so I'll leave it as it came from the factory.
Now to tackle the AutoTune assembly. I need to repair or replace both shadow masks. The dial is ok but I have a new one coming in case I break the original. It is very brittle. As I did with my 37-116, I may play with the AutoTune lighting of the station tabs. On my 37-116, it was very dim even though 4 lamps attempt to light it. The 38-116 has only 2. Plus, the polished reflector ring is broken and I don't know if I can repair it.