Wednesday, May 28, 2025

Antenna Tuner Project

I've been scavenging parts for a transmatch, for quite some time. A friend recently gave me an old BLJ amplifier parts unit, and the aluminum cabinet seems exactly what I needed for the project. 

I gutted the entire unit, repaired a hole in the lid, and stripped it to it's aluminum base. I riveted the faceplate into the cabinet, I still need to work out a few dings before priming and painting. Here's a few pics, up to this point. Stay tuned...


This is how it started...

The faceplate was originally held in place by only the toggle switches...


There were several layers of paint from 50 years of being repainted...

The hoke in the lid was _very_ rough and had to be cleaned up before a patch was applied...





After the hole was recut squarely, this is a patch of similar material I'll use to repair the lid...



A pic from under the lid...

Lid repaired. I still have to add some flat bar to the lid to stiffen it up a bit.