16 Slide Rules in a Glass Case
The Slide Rule is as old as dirt dating back to 1622 and invented by an English Clergyman and Mathematician named William Oughtred. Any EE student of 1960's vintage, worth his salt, carried a K&E (In a Green Case) strapped to his belt... always at the ready.
In the 1970's we saw the advent of the battery powered electronic calculator whose magic depended on those batteries not giving out at a critical time. The early Apollo astronauts carried slide rules.
Three place accuracy on the slide rule could be achieved depending on how good you could squint... no batteries required. Many military weapons pre 1970 were designed using a slide rule.
So, it is with our wonderful hobby where using simple tools it is possible build highly capable equipment without having Claude (Some AI Avatar) lurking over your shoulder. Prior to 2021 AI was just a bulge in some guy's undershorts but today it will put you out of your job.
My sojourn with Project X has forced me to break the glass and use old tools and technology to solve problems. But that requires tribal knowledge, and most hams just want to Google something or ask Claude to do it. But those two sources cannot replace a lifetime of experience in coming up with unique solutions.
Let me give you an example. An idiot (prior owner) on my Project X rig took one of the front panel 4-40 screws connecting the front panel to the rest of the chassis and enlarged the hole to 1/4 inch and cut away the area behind the panel. In that hole he placed a miniature toggle switch so he could turn off the panel lamps. An unwanted, unnecessary extra switch and hole in the front panel.
Front Panel Screw Hole Replaced with a Toggle Switch
I did the You Tube video thing and saw some esoteric and downright nasty solutions like smearing JB Weld all over the front panel to welding the hole with a TIG welder.
In rummaging through my hardware boxes, I hit upon a solution. I have a stock of aluminum and steel pillars. Some are hex shaped, and others are round. I found a bunch that were just ever so slightly larger than 1/4-inch OD. They also had an untapped hole in the center which I tapped for a 4-40 bolt.
It was an interference fit (read tight*) and with a bit of judicious tapping on the pillar got it to fit in the panel space flush with front face. On the back of the panel the spacer extends about 1/16 inch which enables laying a bead of super glue around the circumference. The one shown in the photo below was cut using a hacksaw to 1/2 half its length.
Spacer & 4-40 Tap
The spacer is just barely visible being just slightly larger than the 4-40 bolt head.
If I would want to go a step further, Ten Tec used Nylon cup washers on their case screws. Four 4-40 cup washers one on each of the screws would really make everything hidden. I broke the glass case.
Today is Wednesday and Wednesday used to be Pancake Day. On that day our lawn maintenance staff (Jose, Peppi and Luis) would arrive promptly a 7:15 AM to cut the grass, trim bushes and clean up the residue. My XYL hated the noise and a break the glass solution was to take her to IHOP for the senior special breakfast... including pancakes. Sadly, both are gone as the local IHOP was a victim of the Covid19 downturn. Somehow making that very breakfast at home is just not the same.
Them that know can make things go!
73's
Pete N6QW
* Think of 300-pound Mary Jo in the back seat of the 57 VW Beetle.