Collins 30K1 - Restoration Visual Essay - Amateur Radio Station W1UJR

Collins 30K-1 Transmitter Restoration

The Cleaning, Restoration and Service of a Collins Time Capsule

Incoming

Shipping a 400 lb transmitter across the country is no easy task, but thanks to a
good packer and BAX Airfreight it arrived safe and sound in just two days!

You can’t use Styrofoam peanuts with these heavyweights, nothing less than high
density packing foam will do the trick!

RF Deck

The 30K-1 RF Deck, with a W7MGA mod, the DPDT knife switch attached to the
bandswitch. MGA was using multiple antennas and his implementation of a
switching network was both elegant and easily reversible. For my purposes, a
single antenna fed with balance line, I removed the switch. Thankfully he had
left the bandswitch connectors hanging on a loop of wire on the inside of the
cabinet, it was simple to reinstall for a single output.

The one and only casualty of the cross country move were the four porcelain
standoff insulators which attach the Output Network to the front cabinet. It
would appear that the inertia of the moving was too great. Thankfully my
junk box yielded four perfect spares!

The back of the meter panel and top of the RF Deck, prior to cleaning work.

The removed Output Network, prior to cleaning. Note plug in coil set on the left
side of the air variable cap, I have both the low and high band sets, so the TX
will cover 75 – 10 meters.

The Output Network after cleaning, a quick trip through the dishwasher did
the trick, washing away nearly half a century’s worth of dirt and dust.

The Front of the RF Output Network, note the insulation panels on the front of
of the unit. I assume these prevent arc over from the meter terminals.

The cleaning of the RF Deck. The large Johnson cap was removed and
disassembled for a through cleaning. Sure it takes time, but look at the results!

Modulator Deck

The Modulation Deck before and after cleaning photos. Love that 75th glow!
I did have a problem with the audio gain pot on the audio deck, the
unit was defective and a replacement 500K A/B pot was found and installed.

Low Voltage Deck

The Low Voltage Power Supply Deck, before and after cleaning. The unit
cleaned up very nicely, no repairs were needed, other than cleaning relay
contacts.

HV Power Supply Deck