I’ve been powering up some of my old QRP gear to see if any of it still works. The gear has been stacked up on a shelf above my operating position for years. In testing some of this gear, I came across a curious problem.

Last night I was rearranging some of my equipment and re-routing some coax cables. When I went to move my Oak Hills Research power meter, it was stuck to the shelf. The rubber feet on the bottom of the meter had become slightly soft and sticky. I didn’t think too much of it at the time. I just finished connecting the cables and placed it back on the shelf. 

Today, I took my old MFJ-9030 transceiver down from the shelf and was greeted with a gooey mess. The rubber feet had completely dissolved and turned into a sticky, tar-like mess. Using a single-edged razor blade, I scraped off as much as I could from both the radio and the residue on the shelf. I used some mineral spirits to clean up as best I could. The mineral spirits worked great, but I still had sticky spots where the feet were attached to the radio. I cut some pieces of aluminum duct tape to cover those spots, and I applied four new feet from my junk box. 

My theory is that the rubber (or whatever material they are) feet reacted with the finish on the shelf. I know that vinyl guitar straps and accessories can damage the lacquer finish used on some high-end guitars (like my 1973 Martin D35 acoustic), so I suspect something like that happened to my radio equipment. I built the shelf and my operating table from some repurposed shelves that were in the house when we moved in back in the late 70s. So, I have no idea what kind of finish is on them. 

Besides the power meter I mentioned earlier, it looks like my old MFJ-941-E antenna tuner is also affected. So, I’ll have to replace the feet on those items and clean up the residue on the shelf with the mineral spirits. Needless to say, some of this equipment hasn’t been moved in years.

This wasn’t exactly how I wanted to spend my afternoon, but I’m glad I spotted the problem.

72, Craig WB3GCK

Back in December, Becky Schoenfeld W1BXY, Editorial Director for ARRL’s On the Air magazine, asked me if I would be interested in writing a detailed set of step-by-step instructions for my Drive-on Portable Antenna Support. Naturally, I said I would.

I submitted my manuscript, along with an all-new set of pictures. The article was published in the current issue (May/June 2024) of On the Air (pages 20-22).

If you’re interested, have a look. ARRL members have access On the Air as part of their membership.

73, Craig WB3GCK

While exchanging Christmas gifts with my (far) better half, she surprised me with a couple of additions to my ham radio wardrobe.

Apparently I was successful in staying off the “naughty list” this year. 

I hope you also had great holiday.

73, Craig WB3GCK