Re: Racal RA17
There is a group on Yahoo Groups called RacalRA17forum . It is usually pretty quiet on there, but there is a lot of knowledge on there, so in addition to any advice you get here, that forum is worth joining. Rob Filby is the ultimate RA17 guru.
But there is nothing you could have done by knob twiddling that caused an RA17 to cease working. It was either a random blow of a fuse, or as a result of random short circuit in a valve for example, or a short in Plessey mains plug because of degraded insulation (yup!). It would have done the same if your dad had turned it on - you were just in the wrong place at the wrong time. A shame he took it so badly - at age 13 I encouraged my son and daughter to learn how to use electronics and tools properly.
Repair and alignment of one of these beasts take time, patience, and the correct equipment. 50-odd paper capacitors need to be replaced, always (the Hunts paper ones will, absolutely, be leaky or open circuit) just for starters, and any duff valves replaced. Dramatically out of spec resistors will need to be replaced. If any of the silver mica capacitors in the critical filters are duff, the filters will need to be realigned.
Anyway - you get the drift! But when a set is on song, it is as sensitive as most sets out there, and have the joy of much knob "twiddling" to get the best signal! I've had Radio Australia coming in as strongly as Radio 4. And that was on a side lobe of their transmissions to the Philippines.
Craig
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