"Dick" wrote in message
...
I brought home a Swan SW-120 tranceiver from the estate of
an old
friend. The radio has significance to me because of who
owned it, as
well as it being the first of the Swan tranceivers. I
would like to
refurbish it.

The radio appears to have been left uncovered on a shelf
in the garage
for many years, and is very dirty on the inside. I have
cleaned a lot
of newer, solid-state equipment by simply giving them a
good scrubbing
with dish washing detergent and warm water followed by a
thorough
rinsing with a hose. I then let the chassis sit out in
the sun until
it is very dry. I don't think that would be such a good
idea with an
older tube-type radio. Things like meters, relays,
transformers and
switches could be damaged by submersing them in soapy
water.

What is the recommended cleaning procedure for older
equipment? Is
there a ham radio website that discusses refurbishing?

Dick

I worked for Hewlett-Packard many years ago. We
routinely washed equipment by spraying it out using a paint
sprayer and a solution of plain dishwashing detergent along
with a couple of brushes. After washing the equipment was
rinsed off with a hose and then blown out with air. After
that it was baked in an electric oven running at about 130F
for a few days. Of course all meters etc were removed.
_Sealed_ transformers and chokes should also be removed
because they can have small leaks which allow some moisture
to enter which will not bake out. Any moisture trapped
inside can cause arcing and the loss of the coil.
There might be problems with parts like IF cans with
paper coil formers and possibly with ferrite slugs.


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Richard Knoppow
Los Angeles, CA, USA