Base Alliance HD-73 Refresh

[357]

I will be posting some images and tips for doing some maintenance on the HD73.
In particular the direction pointer potentiometer gear.
I plan on flipping the metal gear so the contact is higher or lower.
I have 2 hd73's, one came in a tower, one off ebay that has the stripped teeth on the aforementioned gear.

 

[357]

I plan on flipping the metal gear so the contact is higher or lower.

and there we have it...
Line the little tit and the zero to reassemble

 

[357]

Clean the bearing races.
Use dish soap and water, paper towel, sos pads and lots of elbow grease.

 

[357]

Time to start lubing. Lay a bead of lithium grease in the "bowl" race and put in 50 ball bearings. (after you scrubbed them with carb cleaner and polished each one with paper towel.)



Then put some grease on the gears, remember it isn't a 5 speed trans. or a 350 chevy, it only spins at 1 rpm for the most part, what I have is plenty.
Then lay a bead on the internal gear race and the gears and lay it on top of the bearings, lining up the notch to the "tit".
Put some grease under the full stop lever

 

[357]

Now the pain in the ass part.
The potentiometer for the dirction needle needs to be alligned.
When you line the notch in the gear ring, the pot needs to be all the way to the left or right to where it stops, then spin the motor gears by hand and while rocking the "pot" gear, keep checking for slack in it and rotate the ring gear so the slot lines up with the outside the the stop lever, lift the ring gear and rotate the pot gear so that its all the way full stop, then wire the rotor to the control box and start turning back the other way from where the full stop was on the pot. Keep going from the S all the way 360 to the other S on the control box.
Slide the stop lever to the other full stop position and slowly inch the slot back to the tit, while rocking the pot gear to make sure it doesn't come to the end of its travel.

It should line up again with the slot and the center of the stop lever, you get about a "tooth" of overshoot on the pot on each full rotation left then right, if you dont you got to lift the side of the ring gear and position the pot gear to give 1 tooth of overshoot.

When you have gone full rotation both ways a few times and the needle is lining up and the pot gear isnt binding, put the to cover on.

 

[357]

Then lay a bead in the clamp ring race and put in the remaining 50 bearings.
Lay a bead on top of the bearings and then put the ring in a open part of your table.



*The top cover should already be on and aligned at this point.

Now put the rotor in the center and lift the clamp ring up and align the bolt holes and start feeding bolts to it to keep the ring from falling or tilting and spilling bearings on the floor and under the stove.

 

[357]

Done. Do some final tests and tighten the bolts up tight.
I did 2 of these today.

 

[357]

All the images.

https://imgur.com/a/kagrO

 

[BigJ373]

turning the house around big time ! sweet

 

[Hurricane145]

What did you use to clean up the outside of the rotor (if you did)? I have three of them to go through ...someday!
I would like to clean up the outside of them as they look pretty grubby. You mentioned SOS pads for some internal parts. I hadn't thought of that for cleaning up the outside. It might work pretty well.
The HD73 was only $100 when they came out so it was a good price at the time. Not a very strong rotor though for even the usual tribander antenna. They break a lot. That piece that your two white nylon or plastic gears that were stripped sit on breaks a lot. I think it is just a pot metal piece.
Nice job on yours! Good tutorial!

 

[357]

Thanks! I didn't really clean the outside but that acid stuff for magwheels would probably get it looking good.

73's

 

[Hurricane145]

Thanks! I didn't really clean the outside but that acid stuff for magwheels would probably get it looking good.

73's

That sounds like another good idea. I would try that first. I get too stuck on media blasting, hot tanks and things like that which are more expensive to get done and not as readily available as your ideas.

 

[BigJ373]

Thanks! I didn't really clean the outside but that acid stuff for magwheels would probably get it looking good.

73's

BRINE TIME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Shadetree Mechanic]

Holy rotor goodness, how did I miss this? Good stuff!

 

[357]

still never got to use the rotor.
Its just sitting here...