RCBS Chargemaster 1500 problem

[Otis Campbell]

Got my Chargemaster 1500 out to use today and it seems like the motor driving the powder dispenser has gone bad. Turns very slow when empty and won't turn at all with powder in the hopper. I tried lubricating the gears and bushings where the powder feed tube goes thru the plastic case but hasn't helped. Has anyone had this problem and found a source for the small motor? Thanks for any advice.

[Coltsmoke]

I had one doing the same, took it apart and cleaned it all, problem solved.

[steveu834]

Don’t lube the gears, clean only. I also had what I thought was a key pad problem, but it ended up being a wire tie in the scale that was too tight. I cut the tie and it has worked great.

[omgb]

These machines are fairly delicate and prone to corrosion on key electronic parts. I had mine give me fits before I figured out the issue. Get some electronic contact cleaner from Amazon. It's the stuff they used for cleaning tuners on old TVs and radios. Separate the scale from the dispenser. Get some Q-tips and some 800-grit wet/dry sandpaper. Get that Q-Tip wet with cleaner and scrub the contacts. If possible, touch them up with the sandpaper. Then spray liberally with the contact cleaner. Now before everything gets dry, assemble and disassemble the two parts several times. Clean it one more time with the cleaner and reassemble. See it this fixes your problem. The dispenser gets its power from the scale. If the contacts are corroded, you may be getting low voltage.

[Kurt]

When I develop a contact problem with the relays in my Ham Radio gear I use paper or a dollar bill (works best) and wipe the paper between the contacts. I have worked on two of the RCBS units and I always found cold solder joints to be the problem.

[RB1Shooter]

I believe the "cold solder joints" problem, good troubleshooting! However, for the novice;

How do you recognize the cold solder joints?
Are there specific components or areas you have found cold solder joints?

Thnaks!

[bpcr shooter]

cold solder joints are usually dull in color, or white. They may be cracked too. If you have a multimeter, check resistance across the joints, it should be zero (unless its a resistor) if there is resistance, thats a cold joint or there is a problem with that part. To fix a cold joint, just reheat it.

matt

[bpcrshooter62]

HI most things these days are flood soldered as they are mass produced. Over the years i have found it is easier to just re-solder all the connections by hand rather than spending the time to find the one or two cold ones that are causing the problem. After doing them all things seam to work for many years problem free. Keep shooting and having fun

[Kurt]

I believe the "cold solder joints" problem, good troubleshooting! However, for the novice;

How do you recognize the cold solder joints?
Are there specific components or areas you have found cold solder joints?

Thnaks!

Matt's and bpcrshooter62 areas good as I can answer your question.
Also run a voltage check to see where it stops.

[Otis Campbell]

the problem sure seems to be in the control board on the dispenser half. Multimeter is only showing about .8 volt going to the motor when activated. Motor is marked as 4.5 volt and when I put that much directly to it the drive seems to work as it should. I will do a little more inspecting the solder joints.

[Kurt]

I would check the input/output on the regulator. I would think it would be one of the 7800 series (7818 maybe) I was self educated in the vacuum tube world before multi legged beasts they call transistors
I think the problem is the Chines still have not figured out that we run on 60 HZ and not 50 HZ

I still have a TCK 4 Naval transmitter that was decommissioned in 1947 that runs on a couple 813's in the finals
It sure plays havoc with the neighbors TV and telephones when I send CW

[omgb]

If you end up unable to fix it, I have a card somewhere around here from the outfit RCBS used to repair these units. They still do the work. When I spoke with them a year or so ago, they said the cost was in the neighborhood of $150 but, you got a warranty and a certified unit. I don't much like $150 but you can't buy much of a replacement for that price.

[RB1Shooter]

DD, I would be interested in the company that does that. Heck, you can't buy primers for that price!

Please post the company name and any other contact information.

[omgb]

I'm going to search for that info.

[omgb]

https://lonemountaincommunications.com/rcbs.html

Above is the link. Lone Mountain Communications is the company. Looks as if there has been a price increase.