Heathkit IT-5230 CR 23-style adapter

mc300baud

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ok, i just finished my CR 23-style adapter for my HK 5230... i used the connector and wiring for a homemade adapter that came with my kit that i'll never use.

i haven't tested it yet but i'm pretty sure the pinout should be correct. here's a chart:

5230 molex pin / element / socket pin
-------------- -------- ----------
1 (orange) / G2 grids / 7
2 (none) / - / -
3 (blue) / blue / 11
4 (black) / heater / 9
5 (none) / - / -
6 (brown) / heater / 10
7 (white) / G1 grids / 5
8 (green) / green / 6
9 (red) / red / 8

sorry, the stupid formatting that i can't undo ate my nicely spaced chart. i'll try to redo this with diagrams as a .jpg file or something soon.

colors in () indicate wire colors on the cable coming from the 5230; they may or may not match up to wire colors on your adapter (mine did not.) the molex pin numbers should be the same on either side of the molex connector, at least mine is marked that way.

when i get a chance in the next few days i'll take a picture but for now i've neglected my poor wife enough this evening and i'd better go clean up the mess i left on the dining room table.

i'm also going to do a CR 31-style adapter for 8-pin sockets, especially the K7000 "small neck" series. i'll post that when i've got it done.
 
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Thanks dude! This will come in handy. Have you used your 5230 on any tubes yet and did it work ok? I have one but did not use it being I don't have any adapters made yet.
 
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i haven't tried it on any tubes yet; hopefully i'll get a chance tonight.

the most important part of the paperwork to have for building adapters is the Illustration Booklet, which on page 8 has pinouts for a "round color tube" that lists which element each pin goes to. it's essentially the same table i made above with a different socket pin list. there's also a table for black and white tubes which is the same minus connections for blue/green/red.
 
hey, just wanted to say that i finally got a chance to attempt a rejuve on a tube with the adapter i made and it seems to have been successful. i had a very dim K4600 that now has a pretty nice picture. when i started none of the gun currents registered above 2; by the time i was done they all pegged at 10.

now to build a CR 31-style adapter...
 
ok, here's a picture of the adapter i made, using the socket from a Kortek K1-2-VOA with a busted neckboard.

hk5230adapter-cr23.jpg


i left the ends uncovered as shrinktube wouldn't fit over my horrible blobs of solder, and i did not pick the colors of the wires. also, i figure i'm smart enough not to stick my fingers into the socket when i'm using it.

the two matching darker brown wires twisted together are the heater wires, yellow G1 grids, medium brown G2 grids, black wire is blue cathode, and red and green wires match to red and green cathodes respectively.

the nifty braiding was done by the previous owner, but i removed his electrical tape with all the sticky residue and added the zipties. the large one around the socket does a great job as strain relief and does not get in the way when connected to a tube.

Bob Roberts carries the molex connector; it's a .093 9-pin (same pin size as standard monitor A/C connectors.)
 
Thanks for posting this, I'm going to do the same exact thing in about a week when I get my Heathkit in. Why don't you zap a tube and take before and after pics with this puppy?
 
i thought about taking a before picture only after i'd already done the rejuve, of course.

i've got a 25" K7400 that needs a rejuve as well so i'll take pictures of that. it's not nearly as dim as the K4600 was (the picture on that was almost completely gone,) but it should be enough to be a decent demonstration.
 
did you finish any other adapters? would love to see pictures as they are a big help with me trying to build one for my heath kit rejuver.
 
i haven't yet... my next one will be a CR 31 style for the K7000 small neck tubes, of which i have several. i've been too distracted lately getting my cabs ready for my parties this weekend to build more adapters, but i'll post a picture when i get it done.
 
I have this rejuvenator and the heater voltage can't be adjusted below 8 volts. If I get it working I will post the fix.
 
Bumping to say thanks. The socket pinout info in mc300baud's first post was the last bit I needed to build my own CR23 adapter.
 
Thanks this was extremely helpful especially since the heath kit is a lot easier to find than some of the others mine did not come with a CR 23 but it came with a universal I was able to figure out with this pin out
 
glad people are finding this handy! hard to believe i posted this like, 13 years ago.

i don't believe i ever made the adapter for the small-neck K7000 tubes, and as i've been concentrating on pins (as i operate and those are what make money these days) for a number of years, i haven't rejuved any tubes in a long time. still got my Heathkit though just in case.
 
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