s reassembly
     Page 3 - Module Restoration
     Page 4 - Master Oscillator and FSK Keyer Restoration
     Page 5 - Back to Life - and On The Air!

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The adventure begins - thanks to Chuck W3FJJ
AN/FRT-17 in situ at Chuck's house in Maryland - 1500 lbs.	Step 1 - remove the drawers - Nick K4NYW & John K4OZY	Step 2 - turn it over onto the dolly. The book says 1100 lbs. without the drawers..... Step 3 - roll it out to the truck and engine hoist	Step 4 - Hoist away Ready to go - this was nowhere near as smooth a procedure as it seems - we had to try several variations of lift/push/pry/pull before getting it all aboard.
The next night - back in North Carolina
Unload the drawers	Hoist it out - things went smoother this time! Experience helps - so does gravity	John, Nick, Hoist	Wrap it up for Christmas - well, for a few days until I have time to get the transformers out and do some serious cleaning
Day 1 of nice weather - removing parts for cleaning and to lighten the load If I take enough reference photos, maybe I'll remember how to put it back together......




interlock goes here	HV caps removed
	fil xfmr tray below HV caps
leads unsoldered	fil xfmr tray removed	mod xfmr
	Mod xfmr - oof!	plenty of critter debris	blower removed HV choke removed at rear
AC mains terminal board	600v choke & HV choke removed	115/230 terminal board on standoffs
	MV xfmr removed
end of day 1 - reference photos plate xfmr, regulator xfmr, and autoxfmr still to go
Day 2 - Half a day of kneeling over with my head stuck in the power supply compartment trying to figure out how to get access to the mounting screws for the remaining heavy iron - whew - at least I got the plate xfmr out. Still need to work on the autoxfmr and regulator - not only are they inaccessible but that portion of the deck plate is rusty so the screws are a pain. I'll let the liquid wrench soak in for a few days while my back recovers.
Work bench	Mod xfmr	Take a photo before starting	Beginning to remove the rectifier deck
More work on the rectifier deck	the deck is removed and lookee here - a previous visitor to the power supply cabinet	Do you think I am ever going to get this re-assembled???	Getting access to the left front regulator mounting screw (hidden in that corner) is a real problem
Maybe stripping the left door will help?		End of the day - the plate xfmr is out	Here's what's left
Day 3 - I have a plan. I'll try to remove the fan mounting tray (below the modulator, above the power supply deck) in order to get access to the remaining power supply components. I'll have to remove components and a wire harness, but it looks do-able. Only had 2 hours of daylight today but made some plans and progress.
Documentation shots of the fan tray			--
			--
relays mounted on front wall of fan tray >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Odd little pieces at front corners - removable so that the harness can be taken out?		unbolted the RHS xfmr mounting tray	it got dark before I could unsolder and remove xfmrs.
Day 4 - got in a few hours before dark/cold. Removed everything from the fan tray - left all the wires attached to the relay bank and to the controls and power resistors on top and bottom of the tray. Still need to remove the AM-CW HV relay mounted on the left side - got access to it by removing a xfmr above it - then maybe can try to remove the tray itself. Radical thought - I may be able to pull the entire wiring harness out - it runs up the corners of the frame but looks removable from there. We'll see!
relay bank hanging free - not as much a disaster as it appears....honest!			spark gap for ?
inside the tray
HV interlock
	>>>> components from top of tray >>>>
what a mess of entrails!		now the tray is filthy but free of wiring and components.	ready to come out - I hope! Remaining components on bottom deck plate are visible through the fan hole.
Day 5 - The rain quit and the sun came back out today. So I dealt with some really really rusty screws (had to chisel the heads off) and got the Fan Tray removed. Then I chiseled a few more screws, but finally got the rest of the heavy iron out. Next up is unsoldering the smaller stuff, removing the harness (I hope) and a good washing for the frame.
		Ta-da! - the fan tray is finally out

LHS - HV relay support bracket loose			1200v choke removal enables access to autoxfmr and regulator xfmr
They're out!			--
		Components in the garage awaiting cleaning

Day 6 - a few more hours of daylight (did I mention all this is happening in mid-December?) and down on my knees for unsoldering some more of the wiring harness
RHS xfmr bracket	RHS door		HV relays
		MV rectifier fil xfmr	--
Cable routing
		Control panel
			Resistors beneath antenna coupler drawer

I'm getting close....maybe tomorrow I can get the harness out.
Day 7 - OK, I've got it apart - the big question is how long will it take to get back together?????????
Document the wiring harness





		OMG! What Have I Done!!!
JP says "That's It!			Steel Bottom deck
Now two of us can lift it easily

Heading for the basement ham shack
			Ok, we're there - just outside the shack door - will leave it here a while to dry off
Will I ever figure out where all those wires go???			The Rack is in the Shack! - Stay Tuned for Part II as our hero attempts to re-assemble the world's biggest Heathkit !!!!
A brief spell of warm weather after Christmas - so I did a first-level cleaning on the drawers and slides, removing mouse pee & poop, acorns, general grunge, etc. before moving them into the house.
		MO/FSK power supply

			And temporary reassembly inside the shack 12/31/12 - the wiring harness and 800 lbs of xfmrs have yet to be re-installed!
I pulled the transformers from the MO/FSK power supply so I could move the Modulator drawer. All the other transformers are still in the garage too.		--
Warm weather in January - starting to untangle & clean the wiring harness
	Fan tray items		separating the rectifier sockets.



		Cut filament wires....	Tucked in for the evening..
The next day - more work removing components from the harness and documenting same

	relay "3"
		terminal strip for AN/FRT-18 connection



			--



A day of rain and then a nice warm day for working again - a sunny 70 degree Saturday in January!




Let's get crazy - hit the wiring with Windex, scrub with toothbrush, rinse with hose, repeat - then dry it out (I hope)
			Result - it is now no longer incredible filthy, just kind of normally dirty...
Where'd it go?	Spread out to dry for a while	"central nervous system" of AN/FRT-17
End of the one sunny day - time to haul it all inside	Spread it out, turn up the room heat, turn on the fan....and cross my fingers!
Another warm weekend day! time to wash some misc. metalwork...



		Before	After



	Basking in the late winter sun