"That would be like putting a Chevy 350 into a '65 Mustang (or a Ford 390
into a '70 Chevelle 354). It will work, perhaps look OK, but still a
'butcher'
job."
Amateurs, by their very nature, are resourceful. Indeed, one of the
justifications for amateur radio is that during an emergency they can make
things work.
When a part breaks in my amp, transmitter, receiver, engine or aircraft, I
do not hesitate to fabricate my own replacement. The fact is that if a
factory part breaks, it may be inadequate for the purpose intended. So, the
goal then becomes to make a replacement better than the original. If I
could not do that, frankly, I would lose interest in amateur radio.
I restore old radios, and some parts are simply not available. Sometimes I
need to make duplicate knobs. When I get done, nobody will know which one
is the original and which one is the clone. Duplicating a rectifier block
is trivial. It would look just like the original.
In some cases, where the part is ugly or does not work very well, putting in
a factory replacement part might be a butcher job, while putting in an
improved part would be that - an improvement. In some cases, where the
performance is the justification for it's existence, the looks may not be
critical. It needs to be reliable.
My brother put a supercharged Chevy engine in a 32 Ford and it won a lot of
car shows. I would not call it a butcher job.
Merry Christmas Colin K7FM
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