- 2026
- Jan
- 7
Some changes here at projects.
When I started this blog, I didn’t quite understand the way the image function of flatpress worked - I’ve made several changes over the years but none of them were really satisfactory to me, or even standardized.
I’ve decided to start at the beginning and clean up images, resizing loose images (those not in a gallery) to more standard sizes, adjusting them so they aren’t all over the place in the posts, and generally providing a cleaner look. I’ll crop junk off of them so you just get the part that’s important, instead of a tiny part in a big image. I’m also moving images to more useful locations within the site, collecting posts together so they’re not in random folders.
This is going to be a long project, but older posts should start to look better for you - and perhaps even load just a tad quicker since they won’t be megabytes long. There may be some broken things while I move folders and optimize images, but they should resolve quickly.
So…in honor of the old web - here’s an under construction gif.
Project Status
2021 - Nothing to do.
2022 - Completed January 8th 2026.
2023 - Completed January 9th 2026.
2024 - In process.
- 2026
- Jan
- 7
Checking out some recent acquisitions - #2 - Sencore PS120 Oscilloscope
While not really a “recent” acquisition, this oscilloscope was something waiting it’s turn on the bench. This came from the Fort Wayne Hamfest in 2024, and was - for the most part - taken because it was offered for a few bucks. I took it because I didn’t want to see it get tossed in the trash, and wanted to give it at least a chance.
I never really had any intention of using the device, but the rusty crusty case was interesting. Would it still work? Who knows. I also never really had intention of fixing the device, so there’s that. The device itself is a Sencore PS120 12MHz oscilloscope, and dates to about 1966.
Upon investigation, the obvious problems are, well, obvious. The case is very rusty as if this thing sat in a damp but not wet location for some years.
The face is similarly dirty, like this thing was in a barn or something.
There’s a lot of dirt inside the unit as well.
Of note here is the CRT, made by DuMont. The tubes themselves are a mix of brands, with the Sencore name still on about half of them. There’s nothing special here other than the CRT.
However, when looking into the chassis itself, there is one interesting note:
There’s a lot of Sprague Orange Drops in here, and I doubt those are original. I’m guessing someone was in here trying to solve problems. So let’s plug it in!
I originally thought about using my death cheater to power this thing, but the power input terminals have exposed holes. I soldered a power cord in and did some basic checks. The power switch works, and the resistance across the line is about 9Ω. That’s good, it’s the transformer primary. That’s not shorted, so let’s raw dog the thing. I plugged it into the isolation transformer with a 2A current limit. Hit the switch, and…
I get a dot on the screen. Great! However, nothing else. Focus and intensity work, but anything to move the trace doesn’t work. No manual movement, no sweep, no nothing. I’d guess this is why there are so many new capacitors in the thing, the previous owner was trying to fix this problem and gave up. The Internet says to replace capacitors and it will fix everything, but that doesn’t always work.
It does have a good CRT, and someone can probably use that. I remove my cord and will put this into the “Donate This Stuff” pile for later disposal.
That’s all for this one, it was either going to be a work or don’t situation, and it don’t work.
Stay tuned for more junk!
Next part of this series: Coming sometime!
Previous part of this series: https://wereboar.com … cent-acquisitions-1/
- 2026
- Jan
- 6
Checking out some recent acquisitions - #1
This is going to be the first post in a seldom-series of equipment checkout posts. I’m going to take the unit apart, see if there’s anything that would prevent it from being turned on, do some basic “look here” things, and then turn it on.
This first post is two late year purchases, one from the Cleveland hamfest, the other from Fort Wayne.
This first one comes from Cleveland, and is a standard two-tube capacitor analyzer with an added headphone amp so you only needed one instrument on your desk. It probably designed for a set of high-impedance headphones of the WWII surplus variety, and much of the unit is built from surplus parts.
This was made by the Superior Instruments Company of New York. It’s in decent enough shape for the age. It’s complete, and has little damage to the front panel - but is in dire need of a cleaning.
The back of the unit is rougher, but would most likely clean up nicely with a good scrub. We don’t even get a cord grommet here. The power cord itself is a nice gray-blue that matches the case, but is quite rock-hard at this point.
We don’t even get an underwriter’s knot here, the cord is just draped across the chassis with no thought as to how it affects the circuit.
The chassis is about as cheap as you can get. A partial internal contains almost all of the components and tubes. Tube complement is:
1626 RF Triode being used as a diode (!)
VT-153 (12C8) being used as a headphone amplifier
1629 Magic Eye
All of these are mil-variants, which suggests they had lots of cheap surplus tubes. The triode is of particular interest. The manufacturer tied the control grid to the plate, making a diode out of the device. This tube also has a lower heater current than actual rectifiers, so they could use a smaller transformer. A way to use up what most likely would have been very cheap tubes that were of little use otherwise (the 1626 is a very low gain RF amp,) and as a way to use a cheaper transformer. Cost-reduced all the way.
The bottom of the device contains most of the leaded components of the unit.
There’s probably some surplus here as well, especially those silvery capacitors with no other markings. Of special interest is that big motor starter capacitor to the left - it’s not even marked on the schematic. I also like the red Astron part in here, all by itself.
Speaking of the schematic:
The device I have and this schematic only agree so far as “yes, there is that type of part in that circuit.” Not much else does - it looks like Superior probably used whatever they could get their hands on that was close enough.
Note the 2.0μF motor starter capacitor isn’t on the schematic - it should be connected to the power factor control. Who knows if this was omitted, changed, or added after the fact. Considering this was as cheap as could be, I would guess that the person who drew it was trying to be cost-effective, but it was found out later that the circuit didn’t quite work as planned. Other capacitor analyzers I have with a power factor measurement have a big capacitor in that circuit, so…whatever. There it is.
I don’t see anything that would prevent this from working, so let’s plug it in and see if there’s smoke!
The eye tube lights up. It’s acceptable, and can be seen in a lit room.
There’s no other power indicator on this device. I guess you really don’t need one.
DC on the power supply is kind of bleah, especially for having almost no current draw. This may be a symptom of using the wrong tube in the wrong place, or a bad filter. I didn’t stick a new filter in here, that may happen later. This is just to see if it works.
So, let’s put a capacitor on it. I chose a 8μF “Mighty Midget” removed from a previous rebuild. It’s gone quite high, so we should see something well in excess of 8μF.
The device seems to indicate this is about 14μF and change - we’re reading the top portion of the middle scale.
Let’s get a second opinion.
The second doctor disagrees with the first. However:
Doctor #3 agrees with doctor #1.
So, this device is probably as accurate as this type of device can be. It goes back together for later potential rebuild.
Next up is another IG-72. I purchased this at Fort Wayne, mostly as a spare for the one I already have. It’s in ok shape.
The back is likewise in not terrible shape, and has some interesting markings.
Of note is the fact that this one has a grounded cord, whereas others I’ve seen do not. There’s also the stamp in the corner.
It says “MEISINGER BEECHCRAFT, INC.” and was apparently part of their repair area test equipment. That’s really cool, this one has a history.
It was certainly used, but not abused:
It has the obligatory soldering iron melted spots. It was also millerized - whatever that means.
The inside is clean, but dusty. The transformer is a bit loose.
Tube complement is:
6X4 Rectifier
6AU6
6CL6
The CL6 and AU6 form the oscillator and output amplifier pair. It’s a standard Wien bridge oscillator with a light bulb in the middle as a PTC resistor. Two of the tubes are most likey the original Mullard tubes, and one is an RCA.
The bottom looks to have been factory built.
The bulb was goop’d in, probably to keep it from vibrating out during use in a running aircraft.
Nothing sticks out as preventing operation. Let’s pull the rectifier, as these liked to arc across the cheap socket.
Nope, that’s good. Time to plug it in. Power is applied. We have tube lights.
The needle comes up, and look there - this one still has it’s little red film for the power lamp.
The DC on this one is so clean, I can’t get anything off the power supply. The output is equally clean.
The signal does distort a little at the bottom of the wave when it’s turned up to full output, but that’s a known Wein bridge issue. I can dial it back a little and probably be fine.
That’s all for this one - other than some cosmetics, this device is fully operational and seems to be in great shape.
I’ll have more in this series as I pick up more devices. Stay tuned!
Next part of this series: https://wereboar.com … -ps120-oscilloscope/
- 2026
- Jan
- 2
An EICO 902 Harmonic Distortion Analyzer Part 2: A well used unit.
In the first part of this series, we discovered that the power switch in this unit was bad. It also needs a fuse, so let’s replace that first. I have some of these old Seneca Fuses laying around - Seneca, of course, being a company that was based right here in Columbus before being acquired by a company called Russell Industries, and lost when that entity closed. These particular ones were made after the Russell purchase, but whatever. They’re fuses.
In order to do some basic testing, I’m going to just jumper the switch for now.
This time, we get glow.
Power supply ripple is well within acceptable range for 330VDC.
The regulator tube is doing it’s job.
The first thing I notice, however, is the meter is bouncing around. Just tapping switches makes it move, so they’re either very dirty, or worn. In particular, the main selector switch, that of being able to select the range, seems very touchy. I can see there’s a groove worn into the brass, and the remainder is very dark with oxidation. That’s not good…it’s got a lot of precision resistors soldered on to it, and would be almost impossible to source. Being the main switch, I can see where it would have had a lot of use.
But, since the power switch is known bad, I’m going to pull it, tear it down, and see what we can do with it. It’s an assembly made of various components marked Clarostat, so it will most likely be able to be torn down - and it is.
The problem here lies in the final piece on the right. That’s the business end of the power switch, but the actual issue lies under the phenolic wafer. There’s a piece of brass there, and it’s most likely worn from use. I can’t get it out because the switch itself is riveted together. Were this 1970, I would simply purchase that piece - but it’s not. I’ve sprayed and cleaned it the best I can, but it’s not giving me anything but some high-resistance wobble when I move it. Back together it goes. I’m just going to tie the ends of the power cable together and cover them for now. The power switch on the outlet strip will work as it’s power switch for now.
After some experimentation and cleaning, the range selector is very tired and worn. It’s quite noisy, and just touching it will make the meter slam to the right. I don’t think any amount of cleaning is going to help this, the brass is just worn away.
I’ve also noticed that some of the tube sockets are very worn, and a simple touch will make the meter go nuts. That’s not good either.
This unit certainly didn’t sit on a shelf and look pretty, and due to the number of components that are worn out, it may not be a useful project. I’m going to put it back together for now while I decide what is going to happen to it. Unfortunately, not every device can be saved.
Stay tuned!
Next part of this series: Coming sometime, perhaps.
Previous part of this series: https://wereboar.com … rt-1-whats-going-on/
- 2026
- Jan
- 2
Another S-38C on my bench, part 5: All done and wrap-up.
Welcome to 2026. The weather here was cold and snowy, so I decided to finish up this radio.
This unit was simply a “replace the parts that will go bad so we can use the device.” As such, there’s not a whole lot to say here. I did a quick check per the schematic to make sure everyone was in the right spot, and soldered it in.
I did replace the power cord along with the suspect parts, simply because the previous owner put a short extension cord plug on it. I used one of my stock power cords with a bit thinner insulation. It works better going through the grommet and looks more period correct.
The money shot:
Unfortunately, I can’t post video here as the host doesn’t allow streaming due to bandwidth limits, but the unit sounds good and I don’t hear any silver mica disease problems.
I now have a working S-38C again. I may put this one on display in the front room, as it’s actually usable. I’m not sure yet. The other one I did earlier may go back on the bench to see if I can get rid of it’s noise problems. Who knows, but stay tuned!
A comment on the loop on top - this was a cheap tuned loop given to me by a friend. It works wonders, and takes up far less space than a longwire. I know these are available on that site named after a river, if you have desire to purchase one.
Here’s the complete series list for this unit:
Part 1, Examination and Diagnosis: https://wereboar.com … ation-and-diagnosis/
Part 2, Parts: https://wereboar.com … -bench-part-2-parts/
Part 3, We have parts: https://wereboar.com … art-3-we-have-parts/
Part 4, Installing the parts: https://wereboar.com … nstalling-the-parts/
Part 5: You’re reading it now!
That’s all for this device. Next up is an EICO 902 I/M Analyzer with some issues.
Previous part of this series: https://wereboar.com … nstalling-the-parts/
- 2025
- Dec
- 31
The last post of 2025.
I hope that 2025 was good to you, and I hope you found something here on projects that caught your interest. I have a number of devices lined up for the coming months, and there’s plenty of hamfests on the way.
Have a Happy New Year, and I’ll see you in 2026.
- 2025
- Dec
- 31
An EICO 902 Harmonic Distortion Analyzer Part 1: What’s going on?
While the Hallicrafters S-38C is waiting for a check before plugging it in, I’m starting on this analyzer. This is a standard null-type analyzer of a nature similar to many others. You input a frequency, null out the fundamental, and what’s left is the distortion. It’s spat out on a meter and scope terminals.
These devices seem to go for a lot of money, so I was quite surprised to be able to pick it up at Dayton 2025 for $30. I believe the gentleman I purchased it from was the original owner, and the device appears to have been factory built.
It’s in need of a cleaning:
Inside it’s dusty but relatively clean. A little rust on the transformer.
And the bottom is nice and clean and shows almost no trace of work.
The only imperfection I can see is this little wire snip, and I’d say that was left from the original build.
The top has one modification, someone cut open a tube shield. It was suggested that perhaps this tube ran hot and was not operating properly (thus the blackened metal,) and this was an attempt to make it work. Rather crude, and I may see if I can get a new shield and see what happens. If this is indeed an issue, I’ll cut the top to be a bit more clean than this let’s just chop-job it.
So, it’s in great shape. There’s some wax paper capacitors that will need changed, but it’s good enough to try out. First thing, is it needs a new cord. The original is barely hanging on at the input to the chassis, so it gets a new polarized cord. It also needs a pilot bulb lens, but I have some other lamps that may fit here. Fuse is present and not blown, but the glass is cracked, so that’s changed out. Plug in, and…
Nothing.
Turns out the power switch is completely open.
I only had one jumper with me, and it was in use as a temporary fuse. So, I decided to call it until I could get a proper fuse in the unit, at which point I’ll jumper the switch temporarily.
It looks like I can get this component apart to see what’s wrong, so I may do that in the near future. Stay tuned!
Next part of this series: https://wereboar.com … -2-a-well-used-unit/
- 2025
- Dec
- 30
The 2025 hamfest wrap-up and (almost) last post of the year.
This will be near to the last post of the year here on projects, and it’s something to browse while you’re waiting for the new year holiday to start. I found out earlier this year that you can reference galleries from different points within this blogging system, and thought it would be cool to have a year-end page with all of the stuff I saw at hamfests. So…here it is! The only ones that won’t be presented in that manner is the SCARF show in May and the Central PA hamfest - both of those because there were very few pictures. They’ll be links instead.
Without further ado, here is the stuff I saw this year at hamfests:
.
The Sunday Creek ARF Hamfest, Shade Ohio.
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The Cuyahoga Falls ARC Hamfest, Cuyahoga Falls Ohio.
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The TUSCO Hamfest, New Philadelphia Ohio.
.
The Athens County ARA Hamfest, Athens Ohio.
.
The Dayton Hamvention, Xenia Ohio.
Friday:
.
Saturday:
.
The Scioto Valley ARC, Piketon Ohio.
https://wereboar.com … -2025-svarc-hamfest/
Breezeshooters Hamfest, Butler Pennsylvania.
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Columbus (Shriners) Hamfest, Columbus Ohio.
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Cincinnati Hamfest, Cincinnati Ohio.
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Johnstown Swappers Day, Johnstown Ohio.
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The Findlay Hamfest, Findlay Ohio.
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The Central Pennsylvania Hamfest, Clearfield Pennsylvania.
https://wereboar.com … ennsylvania-hamfest/
The Cleveland Hamfest, Berea Ohio.
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The Early Television Museum Fall Swap, Hilliard Ohio.
(no image annotations on these pictures)
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MARC @ MAPS Hamfest, Green (North Canton) Ohio.
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The Fort Wayne Hamfest, Fort Wayne Indiana.
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Here’s next year’s list. I’ve cut back some due to smaller shows all having the same vendors: https://wereboar.com … mfest-and-show-list/
That’s all for 2025. See you in the new year with more projects and more junk…I mean good stuff!
- 2025
- Dec
- 22
Another S-38C on my bench, part 4: Installing the parts.
Working inside a wild chassis is always an exercise in delicate maneuvers…you have to get in to places without burning or breaking other components that might be unreplaceable. I’ve spent a few hours replacing the paper capacitors in this Hallicrafters S-38C. At least, the ones I know of, some of the postage stamps might also be paper…but the majority of the problem devices are gone, modern parts in their place.
This one has been a bit different. For most of my projects, I’ve been gutting the chassis and starting over. Not here - the old stuff must remain because this is a more complex device with a lot of inductors and adjustable capacitors for the various frequency bands. I did take the time to move some of the parts to more convenient locales, however - mostly necessity as some of the new ones don’t reach as far as the old ones did.
I did choose some different parts after studying where they actually lay in the circuit. The yellow boxy part and the blue drop are both safety capacitors, chosen because these tie the line to various points like power and chassis ground. The remaining parts are regular film devices.
I haven’t soldered everything yet, I want to give it a final look over with schematic in hand. But, another hour or so, and this device is ready to play once more. Well, at least some of the local AM stuff, there’s just not much on SW these days that this thing can hear.
Time to clean the wax off my fingers and pull the schematics, and then clean the wax off of the new parts. That stuff gets everywhere!
Next part of this series: https://wereboar.com … ll-done-and-wrap-up/
Previous part of this series: https://wereboar.com … art-3-we-have-parts/
- 2025
- Dec
- 9
Another S-38C on my bench, part 3: We have parts!
In the last installment, we talked about getting parts for the Hallicrafters S-38C. Justradios.com comes through again with values marked per the schematic.
I have exact values as per the schematic, not that it really matters too much. But, if you can get them, why not?
2 x 0.05μF
2 x 0.02μF
1 x 0.01μF
1 x 0.002μF
and
1 x 0.022 for the across-the-line capactitor.
I’ll probably get to this in a couple of weeks, as there’s some holiday prep that needs to be accomplished this weekend.
Next part of this series: https://wereboar.com … nstalling-the-parts/
Previous part of this series: https://wereboar.com … -bench-part-2-parts/