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100V
METER FACEPLATES |
If you own a Central Electronics
100V, no doubt your panel meter has seen better days.
After 50 years of being baked by that hot #47 indicator
bulb used for backlighting, most have turned a horrible
dark red color. Worse, we have seen on some meters where
the red silk-screened scales have completely faded out
and are nearly impossible to read.
Make
your meters look new again with our freshly manufactured
replacement meter faceplates. Our faceplates have been
carefully crafted to match the color scheme and scales
when your 100V’s meter was first installed at
the Belmont Street factory. Best of all, they are easy
to install…even for us enthusiasts whose eyes
have aged along with our vintage and highly collectable
radios.
The
100V panel meter faceplate is in stock and available
for immediate delivery. The price, you ask? Just $42
ppd.
So,
what’s next? Assuming there is sufficient interest
in these 100V replacement faceplates, our next product
release will be a corresponding replacement KC dial
plate and, ultimately, new 200V meter faceplates. Restored
Central Electronic exciters and transmitters sound great
on the air. No reason they shouldn’t look great
in the shack, too!
The old and the new
...

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RELAY
COIL |
The
Type-A Telephone Relay used in the 10B/20, 100/200V
exciters and 600L amplifier have started to experience
failures at a rather high rate. The problem appears
to be a failure of the rather small (44-gauge) wire
used within the relay coil. The very small wire diameter,
trace acid compounds in the insulation/varnish and
humidity cause the wire to simply corrode open. Of
course, the open is at the very bottom of the tens
of thousands of turns, so repair is impossible.
TCS
has found a source for replacement coils, however,
several factors have conspired to make their per-unit
cost fairly high. Those factors include the Industry's
transition from relay to solid-state logic within
telephone switching systems (where these relays were
principally used), their relatively high impedance
(10,000 Ohms) and the need for this replacement to
fit within the existing relay frame.
Replacement
of the telephone-style relays is, in itself, impractical
as the effort (and resulting cost) to develop and
package a replacement kit, with instructions sufficiently
detailed to permit field installation, is excessively
complex.
TCS
has purchased an initial 50-lot quantity of replacement
relay coils and can deliver immediately from stock.
As these coils are custom made to fit exactly within
the existing CE relay frame, field installation requires
the removal of only one screw and soldering just two
wires.
The
cost of this coil is $65 plus USPS |
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COVER |
Many
100V and 200V transmitters have somehow, over the years,
lost their PA covers. We have manufactured a run of
replacement cover kits and these are now available for
$20 each, ppd. Kits include one perforated cover and
the necessary nickel plated hardware for installation.
Kits are available for immediate shipment from stock. |
160
METER CONVERSION |
The
long-awaited 160-meter conversion kit is now available.
The kit is not for the appliance operator crowd, as
it requires the installation of two low-level coil/capacitor
assemblies, 160m crystal, resistors/bypass caps deep
within the PA Coil Compartment and band-drum lettering.
The easiest part of the whole installation is the
output coupler...it just plugs in!
Kits
are available at a cost of $195. Owners wanting the
160 conversion, but lacking the necessary equipment
to perform the installation can return their units to
TCS. The cost for a TCS-provided installation, excluding
return shipping, is $250. |
NICKEL
PLATED HARDWARE |
TCS
has located a source for identical nickel plated machine
and sheet metal screws as used on all Central Electronics
products. There is no better way to improve the appearance
of these rigs than to replace that unsightly rusty
hardware.
Currently
available hardware includes 8-32 machine screws, #6
and #4 Type-B sheetmetal screws and replacement rack
mount screws and shoulder washers.
Please
email
us with your requirements for a firm price quotation.
If there is sufficient interest, we can kit complete
hardware kits for these vintage radios. |
100/200V
REPLACEMENT HV CAPACITORS |
That's
right, folks...they're finally here! Central Electronics
used the finest parts available for their premiere
100V and 200V transmitters, but every electrolytic
filter capacitor has a finite life. And, after over
40 years of reliable service those original HV filter
capacitors are far past their prime and living on
borrowed time.
I
have had a custom run of these extremely hard-to-find
capacitors manufactured and the first shipment of
parts has been received. These are exact-fit, USA-manufactured
capacitors that are designed to replace the original
equipment parts. Joe Batchelor, the design engineer
for the 100/200V line, asked Sprague to put as many
microfarads as possible into a 4-inch twist-lok can.
They got 250mfds, but we managed to squeeze in a few
more for 270 @ 450VDC.
These
are packaged as a set of three for a total price of
$125, ppd within the U.S. Stock up now, as the failure
of this critical component will certainly sideline your
rig for a good many days. |
AUDIO
LIMITER TRANSFORMER |
If
the limiter fails to function, verify that the 28681
feedback transformer is functional by resistance testing
the primary/secondary windings. If an open is found,
it is likely that acid from the mercury cells has migrated
up one or more transformer leads and has corroded open
the small gauge wire used in the transformer, itself.
Replacement transformers are available now, for $15
plus postage. |
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