Mike Baker wrote:
> Hi Vic,
> You didn't say how large the back of the meter movement was in diameter
> or how
> far from the back of the front panel they protrude into the cabinet but let
> me give
> you a fix I have used with good success in the past.
>
> If your meter has a 3" diameter movement area and it is about 2" deep,
> then your
> covers are factory made at home depot or some other plumbing supply store.
> Copper
> pipe caps made to sweat onto copper pipe. If they are not deep enough, have
> the guy
> at the store cut you a scrap piece of 3" pipe to extend the cap the needed
> distance
> to clear the terminals of the meter.
> Next, drill a hole in the cap near the most convenient place to bring out
> the
> wires and either use some soft copper tubing the appropriate diameter, say
> 1/4 inch,
> and solder the end even with the inside of the meter cover. Flex into
> position and
> run your wires. At the other end of the 1/4 copper tube, use some copper
> wholly
> strap around it and solder it to the tube and ground it to the chassis.
> Ok, so now all you have to do is get the large cap attached to the front
> panel
> somehow, right? Well, they make this stuff that is used as door tread
> flashing for
> the bottom of exterior doors that is in 4 ft lengths and made of brass or
> something
> like it and it solders up nicely if needed but it already has pre drilled
> holes in
> it for attachment to the bottom of a door. Bend yourself a circle of this
> stuff the
> same dia. as the pipe cap for both the inside and outside if there is room,
> other
> wise just for the outside, mark some hole locations and drill thru the front
> panel
> and using countersunk flat head machine screws, bolt down the
> fingerstock/flashing.
> Check the fit to the pipe cap to see it is snug, and then solder the nuts and
> screws
> to the flashing. Now it won' t come unscrewed ever, and you can fill the
> screw
> holes in the front paner before you paint it with autobody bondo or JB weld
> and sand
> it smooth before you prime and paint it.
> Back on the inside, if the caps don't stay in place good enough due to the
> weight of the caps, drill and tap the caps for a small machine screw and
> using a
> washer to aid in the grip, slide the screw in-between the fingers of the
> finger
> stock and tighten it down to make a better contact.
> If your meters are lighted, you might want to use ultra bright clear or
> colored
> LED's instead of lamps cause getting back into the meter to change a bulb is
> going
> to be a bitch after installing this shield system!!
> If done correctly, it looks good, works good and is a positive shielding
> of your
> metering system. As a bonus, if you are into making the interior as pretty
> as the
> outside, you can polish the outside caps and cover them with either a clear
> coat
> epoxy paint or use a colored paint if you choose to complete the professional
> look.
> Personally, I leave them unpainted and just shined up a bit before closing up
> the
> cabinet.
> Well, hope this gives you something to think about. I know I thought a
> long
> time about how to do this until I was walking around inside a Home Depot
> store one
> day and hit upon this brainstorm and found it actually works!
> Best 73
> Mike Baker KØQZ
> Peoria, AZ. DM33VN
>
> Vic Rosenthal wrote:
>
> > I have four 3" meters across the top of the panel of the RF section of my
> > (under
> > construction) amplifier. They are about 3-1/2" away from the tank coil. I
> > have
> > several options:
> >
> > - Build the top of the enclosure under the meters. The best idea, but I'm
> > not
> > sure it's practical. If not,
> >
> > - Make shields out of cat food cans or something. Any suggestions?
> >
> > - Forget about shielding them. Is this a bad idea?
> >
> > 73,
> > Vic, K2VCO
> > Fresno CA
> >
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