Monday, May 8, 2017

Yeah! The range is back to 100%

And everything works, even the target turners.

See, the guy (or guys) that built it in 1980 or so ran the signal cable(s) for the control for the (homebuilt!) target turners and timers in the same conduit as the power, clean into the breaker box, then out again through a hole drilled in the side of the breaker box (not to code).

Replacement of the (now doubled breakers) box of even older vintage necessitated cutting this wire in order to remove the breaker box.......With zero slack in the control cables.

Which led to a lot of work. Splicing and more splicing. With wires that don't match to colors because I have NO idea where they got the unmarked multiconductor cable with the weird colors. (Pastels? Really?) Blue with gray tracer and brown with red and yellow with white and all sorts of other interesting combinations.

Then, a bad splice led to lots of fun, as there is absolutely ZERO documentation on this thing. And I haven't done relay logic (and an odd mix of 1980's TTL) in like 30 years, since my first job outa tech school. Which made troubleshooting interesting and fun. Especially since the logic appears to be in several widely dispersed relay enclosures.....

It would have been nice to have a diagram, even a wiring diagram, much less a layout of the relays.

But it works, and I have made notes that should have been made 37 years or so ago (and maybe they were, but some dickhead tossed em?) and have placed the documentation inside the control box for the next poor soul who has to work on this.

If you do stuff like that, PLEASE remember the guy in the future who has to work on your stuff. Document.....Place documentation in the main control panel or nearby. Maybe notes as to where everything is?

But hey, it gave my brain a real workout, and the range is up and working the way it was when I started. 

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