Vintage/Classic Chassis/Mechanical Renovation/Restoration Techniques

[VK5RC]

Inspired by these excellent posts in eevblog and my own very limited mainly electronic only repair of some old HP gear of mine, I thought putting some of the exceptional repair posts in one location so that it may help those about to MAINTAIN OUR HERITAGE, (OK that is a bit over the top).
tautech has started an excellent 'manual collection' archive (see sticky topic) and I thought posts that look at the chassis/mechanical areas may be of interest.
All credit to
robrenz  https://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/hp-3410a-ac-microvoltmeter-restoration/msg433969/#msg433969
- Cal/Sticker Removal       - Polishing Bakelite knobs
- Polishing BNC                - Engraved Dial Restoration
- Texta from Vinyl            - Analogue Meter Dial Repair
- Scratch from Plastic/Al   - Repair Al Corrosion
- Panel Dent Repair
3D Print Files for those lost feet, knobs, fittings - invaluable
 - Thanks beanflying et al
  https://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/replacement-knobs-feet-and-fittings-for-test-equipment/msg2255136/#msg2255136/
High Quality Finishing 3D printed butons etc Thanks xrunner  See reply 110705
  https://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/test-equipment-anonymous-(tea)-group-therapy-thread/msg3926399/#msg3926399
General Tube/CRO Wisdom!
- Tek Oscilloscope Fault Finding http://www.sphere.bc.ca/test/tek-parts/troubleshooting-scopes.pdf/
  https://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/vintage-tek-restoration-pictures-by-martin/
- Soldering Ceramic Strips       - Repair Filament Transformer Tek555
- Plug In Panel Repair 555      - Cleaning Tek Cover Panels
- Rebuild Filer Frame Tek515  - Panel Construction Tek515
- Dust Removal                      - Tube Placement 'Map'

CRT restoration for the brave.
        KE5FX http://www.ke5fx.com/crt.html
- Extreme DMM Repair
   by TiN  https://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/restoration-glory-of-keithley-2001-dmm/?topicseen
      https://www.eevblog.com/forum/repair/repair-old-rusty-hp-3458a/
- TiN A Keithly 'God' - now converting to the dark side - HP. A volt nut extreme++
table of cleaning methods and potential problems
 by ModemHead http://mrmodemhead.com/blog/dirty-multimeter-clean-up
 also - methods of getting access to various sections of Flukes
        - repair of 80 series Fluke terminals  http://mrmodemhead.com/blog/fluke-80-series-jack-assembly-rebuild/
Xrunner https://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/hp-3435a-extreme-makeover/
  - good clean of a MM, ribbon cable repair
   https://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/wavetek-model-271-function-generator-restoration-calibration/msg959179/#msg959179/
- repair of keyboard membrane
Xrunner and PedrodaGr8  https://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/keithley-179-trms-dmm-repairrefurb/
 - Repair of Fluke DMM and some great PLASTIC WELDING TIPS reply 72


TEK SCOPE REPAIR (the warm glow of a CRT!)
  - 502/555 +Others  https://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/vintage-tek-restoration-pictures-by-martin/
  - 465        https://www.eevblog.com/forum/projects/tektronix-465-repair-and-restoration/msg85387/#msg85387
                  https://www.eevblog.com/forum/repair/tektronix-465/
  - 485        https://www.eevblog.com/forum/repair/tek-485-repair-and-restoration-prologue/
  - 2465B    https://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/tektronix-2465b-oscilloscope-teardown
                  http://www.condoraudio.com/wp-content/uploads/Projects/Tektronix-2465B-Oscilloscope-Restoration-Repair.pdf
  -7603      https://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/tek-7603-scope-w-7a18-amp-7b53a-timebase-restoration/msg172135/#msg172135

HP/Agilent/Keysight Mechanical Probs
   - 34401  Front-Rear Switch Problem https://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/hpagilentkeysight-34401a-2w-problem/
   - 53230 Intermittent Ch 1 BNC connector   https://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/comparing-two-hp-z3805a-gpsdo-10-mhz-frequencies-for-lab-use/15/  see reply 28
   - 1980s "clacky" Button Problem http://www.rbarrios.com/projects/hpswitch/
https://www.eevblog.com/forum/repair/quick-fix-my-2c-fix-for-hp-button-key-(in-this-case-hp8662a)/

Old Hard Drive equipment
    - https://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/preserving-test-equipment-with-hard-drives/

Old equipment Front Panel / Potentiometer Shaft Repair
    - Engraved Dial Repair see robrenz re 3410 link above
    - Glass Dial Repair https://www.eevblog.com/forum/repair/repro-glass-dial-scale-for-a-hallicrafters-s-38d/
    - Repair of twin shafts  Mnementh reply 9190 on Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread ~p368

3D Printing Front Panel Parts
    - Phillips PE1539 / PM6670 ; ch_scr uses 3D printer to great application https://www.eevblog.com/forum/repair/late-70s-early-80s-philips-test-gear-bezel-cover-replacement/

Nixie Tubes
    - Rejuvenation (some limits) http://www.tube-tester.com/sites/nixie/different/cathode%20poisoning/cathode-poisoning.htm/
    - and https://www.eevblog.com/forum/repair/rejuvenating-nixies-some-comments-photos/
VFD Rejuvenation
    - https://www.eevblog.com/forum/chat/vacuum-fluorescent-display-rejuvenation/
Fluke DMM repair / restoration;  MrModemhead has excellent website
    http://mrmodemhead.com/blog/fluke-80-series-jack-assembly-rebuild/
    - see xrunners work above re Fluke 179

OLD AC POWER CONNECTORS cubdriver and bitseeker found a great archived webpage
    https://web.archive.org/web/20160802081036/http://www.cs.ubc.ca/~hilpert/e/powerConn/index.html/

Cleaning Dead Battery Goop From Terminals. Abbrev from mnementh
....Scrub battery connectors and PCBs with a toothbrush (or where possible without destroying plastic, a stainless steel detail brush) and Windex (Real Windex, or the good store brand stuff that you can smell has with lots of ammonia in it) to neutralize alkaline deposits and clean battery contacts down to clean metal. Rinse with distilled water and dry on a towel on your dash in the sun, or use your hair dryer/heat gun on low as conditions demand.
.... smear a little silicone dielectric grease (can get cheaply from auto/car part suppliers)  between the batteries and contacts to prevent corrosive relapse common with cleaned battery terminals.

These 'postees' have freely shared knowledge about areas not easily found elsewhere.
Edits; Links corrected, techniques described, Tek scope section added
PS As a suggestion,  include a  photo of the finished item,  and a brief description of an included technique eg removing texta from vinyl

[robrenz]

shameless self promotion   

tek-7603-scope-w-7a18-amp-7b53a-timebase-restoration

hp-6114a-precision-power-supply-restoration

Good link for the 3410A ac-microvoltmeter restore

[tautech]

shameless self promotion   

Rubbish. You're worthy of of the respect many hold of you for your brilliant work. 

C'mon EEVbees where are other threads worthy of inclusion?

[robrenz]

Thank you very much! 

This Tek 465 repair/restore by ModemHead definitely belongs here 

[VK5RC]

Thanks for the link,  Interesting baking soda toothpaste technique.  I have used car polish to get rid of small scratches on a plastic screen before (avoiding lettering) with success but did not take before photos.

[TerraHertz]

Also
https://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/preserving-test-equipment-with-hard-drives/
Preserving test equipment with hard drives

[VK5RC]

@TiN marvelous Keithley Repair  https://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/restoration-glory-of-keithley-2001-dmm/?topicseen

[VK5RC]

@envisionelec and willb on vfd restoration https://www.eevblog.com/forum/chat/vacuum-fluorescent-display-rejuvenation/

KE5FX  on crt restoration 'for the brave'
http://www.ke5fx.com/crt.html

[Tim F]

This is probably more retro/ghetto than 'vintage' but i've done a light resto on an old SCR regulated powersupply 
SCR Regulated Powersupply Teardown

[tautech]

Nice work Tim.

Welcome to the forum.

[xrunner]

Just found this thread last night. Here's a couple of mine if you're interested -

HP 3435A Extreme Makeover

Repair of a Vintage Simpson 461-2 DMM

[VK5RC]

Thanks for sharing your work xrunner,  nice cleaning tips re plastic (Mothers Mag Cleaner) and disassembly of multi pole push button switches.

[VK5RC]

@TiN's et al epic file re Keighley 2001
https://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/restoration-glory-of-keithley-2001-dmm/

[xrunner]

Here I go again -

Keithley 179 TRMS DMM Repair/Refurb

[robrenz]

Here is a new front panel enhancement of a IET LOM-510A micro ohm meter and a transfer of a fresh calibration to a second unit.
Thread link here

[VK5RC]

Excellent work guys,  thanks for sharing.

[VK5RC]

A good resource re Nixie Tubes
https://groups.google.com/forum/#!forum/neonixie-l

[Zucca]

The glorious Bastard TEK 24xx Scope

https://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/tektronix-2465b-oscilloscope-teardown/

with nice explanation on how to upgrade an almost done NVRAM with an FRAM

[Addicted2AnalogTek]

Ah yes, I remember this finding this thread in my venture to restore the first Tek 465 that I acquired!  It wasn't much of a restore job, though - it only needed a thorough cleaning after sitting in someones garage for 20 odd years.. Otherwise it was/still is in practically mint condition mechanically/electrically. All original, too! (Well, other than the Channel 2 X100 attenuator I blew, but the new one looks exactly the same anyway!)  I didn't have to replace a single tantalum on it - yet.

This 468 I picked up may be the same deal, or may be a tad bit more involved.  I'm going to need some outside assistance in diagnosing my small issue. (Don't think it's really worthy of it's own thread just yet..)
When I bought it, it was described as "not able to read input". After a decent cleaning it almost works just fine. The only issue that it has, other than seeming to be quite a bit out of cal, is that channel 2 seems to enjoy doing "the wave" and has "the jitters".   I don't know if this is a crusty adjustment pot somewhere, a tantalum going bad, just bad cal, or what.   It seems to go away while I am adjusting the vertical position slowly (too slow and it's still noticeable). I tried dripping deoxit then IPA down the shaft into it and rotating (multiple cycles of this), which didn't work. I've tried jiggling/putting pressure on all the knobs/switches, etc etc.   The Ch2 vert pos pot does seem to be quite a bit more loose than the CH1 pot, though.

If you all think I should make a new thread for this repair, or post this stuff in a diff thread, let me know.

[Addicted2AnalogTek]

Found a page regarding the restoration of the 24xx series scopes.

http://www.condoraudio.com/wp-content/uploads/Projects/Tektronix-2465B-Oscilloscope-Restoration-Repair.pdf

[VK5RC]

An excellent chassis repair of a Keysight E3649A PSU including plastics repair by HighVoltage
https://www.eevblog.com/forum/repair/brand-new-keysight-e3649a-psu-repair-and-teardown/?topicseen

Edit; Credit to Author of link

[tautech]

Nicely documented repair and restoration of an HP 6177C DC Current Source by motocoder
https://www.eevblog.com/forum/repair/hp-6177c-dc-current-source-repair-and-restoration-(complete)/

[VK5RC]

https://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/fluke-87-button-problem/?topicseen
Repair of intermittent rubber buttons including other links to ModemHead's site and some suppliers of materials for repair of rubber buttons

[VK5RC]

Corrosion repair to leaked battery terminals
https://www.eevblog.com/forum/chat/fluke-187-corroded-battery-terminals-how-to-clean/?topicseen

[VK5RC]

Repair of Sticky Push Button Switch Bank by xrunner
https://www.eevblog.com/forum/chat/whatever-happened-to-ham-radio/390/?topicseen