An EICO 147A Signal Tracer chassis #2: One part replacement and a lot of cleanup.
Tuesday, March 17, 2026 at 08:08:19
This is the second EICO 147A chassis that I purchased from the Early Television Museum - this one was considerably more dirty than the first, and looked to have had coffee spilled on it at some point. The initial analysis after acquisition is posted here if you’d like to read it.
The second chassis was very dirty on the outside. The front was covered with caked-on dirt, as was the case.
I was concerned that this was a smoker’s choice, but it looks like the dirt is just dirt. The space underneath the knobs was clean.
The front cleaned up well with 409, as did the case itself. I got a weird hit of old coffee while scrubbing the case itself…
It was mostly a matter of just some time and elbow grease. This one has certainly seen some use, some of the front panel sides are chewed up, and the bottom of the case has some rust where the paint was torn off.
This one is much worse inside than the other, and looks to have been assembled by an inexperienced builder. But, it still needs the same part as the first chassis…
This one is most certainly wax paper. It tested fine, but it’s still getting replaced. A new film capacitor was installed in it’s place.
This unit has a mod on back where a previous owner put a mini twist-lock plug on it. I replaced the cord on the socket end, and it’s polarized…but the plug in the unit itself is not. You can push the socket on any direction, so a label was applied to let the operator know that the socket needs to be attached in a certain direction:
Does it work? There was really no reason it should not work because it did before I started, but yes. Everything is now operational.
This one may eventually end up for sale, as I don’t need three of these devices. Who knows?
The Superior Instruments Co. Model 76 is currently on the bench for a rebuild, and the Cuyahoga Falls Hamfest is coming up soon. Stay tuned!