Uh....couldn't 'ya get another knob from TT?
..Dave
----- Original Message -----
From: "Ed Worst" <edworst@att.net>
To: "TenTec Contesting" <tentec@contesting.com>; "TenTec List"
<Tentec@mailman.qth.net>
Sent: Wednesday, August 17, 2005 2:37 PM
Subject: [TenTec] MUSHY KNOBS
> I've noticed for some time that some of the switches on my TenTec gear
> seem
> to be, well, mushy. The Mode Switch and the Band Switch are especially
> prone to this.
>
> It turns out it's the knob, not the switch, and the problem is that if you
> overtighten the setscrew, the inner circle of the knob cracks and doesn't
> maintain a firm grip on the shaft. Take one of those knobs off and look
> at
> the underside and you'll see what I mean. There's a circular gap between
> the inner circle which fits the shaft and the outer circle which is where
> the body of the knob begins. (Seems like a poor design, given the
> function
> of the knob.)
>
> I thought that if I filled in that gap in the knob, it would make the knob
> solid and less likely to crack when the setscrew is tightened. So I tried
> some J-B WELD as filler, and it worked. First, I had to restore the inner
> ring to its original position. This was done with a flat wooden
> toothpick,
> but other items will work also. Just don't plan on re-using this spacer
> because it'll become a permanent part of the repair. Mix about a 1 inch
> stripe of Part A and Part B of the J-B WELD together, and carefully fill
> in
> the gap. The J-B WELD has the consistency of toothpaste, so you'll have
> to
> work it down into the gap. I used another flat toothpick to do this.
> Wipe
> off any stray epoxy before it sets. The package recommends a 15 hr cure
> time, and I'd recommend following this recommendation. The last thing you
> want is to apply any stress to the epoxy before it's fully cured. By the
> way, I chose J.B. Weld because it seems to be readily available at any
> autoparts store, and also because the description on the package states,
> in
> part, "The city of Dallas, Texas repaired a cracked Caterpillar engine
> block
> with J-B WELD and saved $4,000.00 plus 30 days down time." If it's good
> enough for that, it should be good enough for plastic knobs.
>
> So, if you have this "mushy knob" problem, give J-B WELD a try. It works
> for me.
>
> 73,
> ed - k9ew
>
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