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I have been repairing Delkim ® "conversions" now for over 15 years, and I have put this page here to impart some of my experience for you.
The Delkim ® "conversion" featuring volume, tone and the LED in a vertical line next to a GPO dae4t style speaker was in production from roughly 1983-86 and as the only mechanical operating parts in it are the reed switch and wheel, and the wheel plods on forever. This leaves the reed and it has a finite life, i.e. it can only operate so many times before it fails, it can operate millions of times I might add, but it is still the most likely failure in the alarm if/when it stops working!
If you move the reed switch from the magnet on the end of the wheel vane when changing your battery for example. The alarm will work when the battery is connected but then not "wake up" after the LED has gone off. The gap should be about 1mm, too close and the magnet can impair the movement of the wheel a small amount, acting as a brake, too far and the alarm will remain a "sleeping beauty".
Check the battery connectors when you change the battery, make sure there is no corrosion/verdigris on them.
Check the speaker nuts are tight (just above the battery, under the wheel slot) if they are loose or corroded you can get no or distorted sound.
Also, in 15+ years of repairs something I nearly always find inside a Delkim ® "conversion" is the pesky arachnid! Spiders just seem to love em, I have some ideas why but they are not important here ;)
They often build nest sacks on or near the vanes of the wheel, I have had some repairs that were mostly due to the wheel not moving because of this! Clean em off if they are found!
That covers the basic stuff you should be aware of checking once a year in those heads... now for a couple of other tips and a disaster recovery to remember!
The case features a T&G (tongue and groove) seal, smearing a thick substance like Vaseline into the groove ONLY can help stop water ingress when in normal angling use. DO NOT apply it to the pcb as it can trap water against the PCB and cause much bigger problems! The nice gap around the jack socket provides enough air flow, escape for any moisture that sneaks in the alarm!
Disaster! Your alarm takes on water like the titanic when you manage to drop it in the lake! Don't panic just yet! The following applies to newer Delkim ® alarms and pretty much all alarms, Optonic ®, Micron ® etc etc. The very first thing after you recover the alarm, is to remove the battery! Simply turning the alarm off won't do! Water can bypass the switch in most modern designs and a few older ones too! Get the battery out right away! If you are on the session and you want to dry it out, leave it as open as you can on your bivvy table if it's a nice dry day, in the bivvy to take home and dry in an airing cupboard if not! Several alarms I have scrapped could have been repaired if the battery had been removed right away!
If you're still awake at this point it is also a good idea after a heavy downpour (proper heavy) to air dry your alarms at home with the battery out and any battery doors etc open to allow moisture to escape!
I will update this page frequently if I find cause or new ideas to mention.
I hope this page has been of help to anyone that reads it!
Tight Lines,
Darren Henwood
You can mail me with questions if you want.
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