Checked out the old TWA terminal at JFK and the wiring bundles were a sight to see

I was at the TWA Hotel last week and got a close look at some of the old avionics bays they have on display. The sheer number of individual wires in those old analog bundles, all hand-laced, is wild compared to today's digital buses. Anyone still work on gear from that era and have stories about troubleshooting those rats' nests?

2 comments

2 Comments

jamesknight7d ago

Had a similar bundle in an old radio rack. A continuity tester and a lot of patience was the only fix. Took three days to find one broken wire.

oscarmurray7d ago

Three days sounds about right for that kind of hunt. I read a piece by an old repairman who said you should always check the wires that bend or get pinched first, like where they go through a chassis hole. He called it "chasing the stress points." It makes the job a bit less like looking for a needle in a haystack. That method saved me a ton of time on a vintage amplifier last year. The break was right where the harness turned a sharp corner against the frame.