The Radarange Blues..... & Info for Owners

[cadman]

Well, the new caps arrived for a couple of RR's - the 6W and the 10. The 10 is now back in business, all 4 glorious programs. But the 6W (who was getting caps as preventative maintenance) needs an HV diode and a triac (broken base). Ugh. With the new caps we were back to digital goodness, but playing with it for a few minutes, it was working 1 out of 10 times (thought it may have always had this problem)

The blues? Ben and I have passed up these machines in their smashed up or defaced state, good components and all. And when we picked up the Speed Queen we passed up the perfect repair unit...two hours away. Dang it.

For those who are curious- we hit up the local Amana dealer where they let us in the backroom and took our fill of RR info this evening.

The RR-1: Two buttons, START (blue) and LIGHT (green). The timers add so one will expire and the other will start if they are both advanced.

The RR-2: Three buttons and timers are redundant.

The RR-3H: Has a LOCK slider below the front vent. Perm Mag? Dunno.

The RR-4 Uses a Permanent Magnet for the magnetron and has no defrost.

The RR-4D Has Defrost and includes the gov't mandated dual safety interlock board req'd post Aug of '74. If a relay should stick or someone jambs in the START button and other parts also fail, the unit will not operate with the door open and a thermal fuse will pop.

The RR-4DW Same as above, but the metal stirrer is air driven. No more add'tl motor.

Anyone know the difference between the RR-6 and 6W?

Cory

 

[toggleswitch]

Magnetron ignorance

For those of us.....well ok me.....who have no idea about even the basics of magnetrons, can you recommend a site (or post a link) so we may pull our heads of our a@@e@ and get some smarts?

LOL

Thanks

 

[petek]

Oh no..way too many models, it's gonna be like finding hens teeth for those old ones. Suppose one will show up when I'm not looking.

 

[Cybrvanr]

Neat information! You may be able to find the diodes at Triacs you need at Radio Shack, or MCM electronics. They are pretty common parts that shouldn't be too hard to come by!

 

[cadman]

Hey Toggleswitch- The best explanation I've found is actually in the opening pages of the Amana service manuals. It's all so clear!

Unfortunately, the web explanations either get decidely technical or fudge here and there.

Basically, the magnetron is a vacuum tube that is the heart of a radio oscillator. The machine cooks with radio waves, and radio waves are nothing more than radiated electromagnetic energy. Get near enough to an energy source and you can receive an RF burn, just like how low frequency (thermal energy of a heat lamp) keeps buffet food warm, or higher frequency ultraviolet energy (from the sun) causes a sun tan.

A magnetic field around the tube, and the internal structure of equally spaced cavities, creates a directable wave of energy with sufficient wavelength and power to cause excitement in water molecules nearby. The friction of the vibrating molecules is what generates heat in the food being cooked. To ensure even cooking, the directed path of energy is bounced off a stirrer (a fan blade) and richochets off the stainless steel walls of the oven. Note that the glass tray in radaranges is a special glass and is "invisible" to the waves, they bounce of the SS microwave floor and back into the food. I've read the waves are around 1meter in length and cannot escape the holes in the Radars' mesh. To keep the rest out, the thick white portion of the door is solid poly plastic to absorb energy directed its way. Any that trys to escape around the door edge is stopped by the seal, which is carbon-loaded vinyl.

So now you know!

Cybrvanr, I'm afraid those parts are some special bits (the triac is stud mount RCA, and the diode is several inches in length in a hi-pot case) but I am keeping my eyes peeled for parts machines. I will not give up : )
Cory