Johnson Ranger "VFO light block" Question

[nq5t]

I'm restoring a Ranger II. Apparently there is some kind of "light block" material that is supposed to installed behind the VFO dial escutcheon. Does anyone know what the original material was?  It is missing from the Ranger I have.

And for the record, in case it helps anyone else ...

I purchased some escutcheon replacement rubber trim material from a fairly well known Ranger restorer. It doesn't work. It's too thick, and prevents the escutcheon from sitting close enough to the front panel to permit the red/green lamp assembly filter threads from passing through far enough to attach the lamp fixtures. I found another product that works very well.  It's model aircraft "cockpit combing" -- Fourmost Products, U-TRIM Small, product ID "FOR 147".  Works well and is a virtual perfect match for the original.

Grant NQ5T

[wa3dsp]

Yes, that is what I used and it worked well. I documented this on my Ranger restoration page only I used the large size. It seems to match the original fairly well.

http://www.crompton.com/hamradio/JohnsonRanger/RangerRestoration.html

I believe I have seen another comment either here or somewhere else since then referring to yet another product they thought worked better.

[kt4ae]

The light block in mine was deteriorated and gummy.  So, just for grins, I removed it.  The improvement was startling.  The dial and pointer are edge lit and bright.  It's hard to see what the need was.

Harry, KT4AE

[nq5t]

The light block in mine was deteriorated and gummy.  So, just for grins, I removed it.  The improvement was startling.  The dial and pointer are edge lit and bright.  It's hard to see what the need was.

I presume there must have been in issue (or some concern there would be an issue) of light leak around the perimeter of the VFO escutcheon, even with the rubber trim in place.  I'm thinking about running a strip of 1/8" thick hard felt around the inside perimeter so that it extends just slightly (maybe 1/32") above the rubber trim — and will compress when the escutcheon is snugged to the panel.

Grant NQ5T