Help repair Uhlmann floor reel

[wwillis]

Help!! I have an Ulhmann floor reel and the mercotac contact is bad. Does anyone know how to remove the old one from the reel spindle? It appears to be press fitted into a white nylon bushing.
Thanks

[DHCJr]

That is all it is and there are the 2 solder connections if you wanted to replace it. Just pull and it comes up.

Uhlmann actually gets the part here in California. I don't have the address with me, but I will get it. They are not cheap.

[neevel]

http://www.mercotac.com is the URL, the 205 is the model you want. Pull the top portion of the socket-- the one attached the the guide conduit that runs above the drum-- up with your fingers. It takes some force, but you should still take some care not to damage the wires as they exit the conduit. This will expose the Mercotac itself, seated in the center of the spool. Pull the mercotac straight up (I usually need a pair of pliers), and it and the lower socket will come out, with the two wires from the floor cord socket attached to the socket. You can now pull the old mercotac out of the lower socket by hand.

-Dave

[wwillis]

Thanks for the help. I thought about just pulling it out, but was afraid I would tear something up. Thanks again for the help.
Will

[neevel]

BTW, be sure to give a thorough check to _all_ the wiring and connectors in the path, and try cleaning the contacts of the mercotac sockets, before changing the mercotac. Mercotacs do go bad sometimes, but problems elsewhere in the A & B lines are more common. I assume you've tested between both ends of the cable (i.e., from right after the mercotac to the body cord coupling) to eliminate any possibility that it's the cable.

-Dave

[wwillis]

Thanks Neevel,

We are pretty sure it is the mercotac. The funny thing is that the reel works just fine if it is up-side down, but not if it is right side up. This tells me there is something wrong with the mercury part of the switch.

Thanks again
Will

[oiuyt]

Uhm, or a wire with a break which, when gravity pulls on the two parts in the correct direction closes again.

Simple repair: flip the reel over at the beginning of practice. :)

-B :)

[DHCJr]

Also, when you say a reel doesn't work, what does that mean. If it was Foil, I might supect the spring. Which line is bad. The best way is to test each line seperately and as Neevel so aptly put find out at which section is bad.

It reminds me of a reel, that I thought was the same problem. What it turned out to be was under the plastic tubes, there was a cold-solder joint connecting the mercotac from the factory. It kept on having intermittent failures.