[drh4683]

The space command motor shaft is supposed to be set far back (unmeshed) from the drive gear when not in operation. When the motor is actuated, the shaft is pulled forward like a solenoid and it meshes to the driven gear to start changing channels. Make sure that the motor shaft floats up and down freely. Those often can be stickey and will not turn, or not float leading to a non-functioning drive motor. Does the motor run when you press the channel indicator buttons on the front of the set? If not, definitly have a seized motor due to dried out/sticky grease which 9 times out of 10 they are stuck when they sit idle for 20+ years. A little bit of 3 in one oil on the front and rear motor bushing while pressing the shaft back and fourth a few times will free it up. The shaft is springloaded so it should return to its natural (disengaged) position without binding.

When you get the drive motor going, you may find that the motor may want to run non-stop cycling through the channels when you push the channel button. There is a leaf switch on the back end of the tuner, usually under a little fiberboard cover. The starwheel with the channel tabs (which are used as skip/no skip tabs that shut the motor off) pass by the leaf rocker and are supposed to push the motor switch off when a channel tab is set to a stop position (those metal tabs are turned 1/4 turn with a screw driver and click into position). That leaf rocker gets sticky from dried grease resulting in the non-stop free wheeling of the tuner drive. When the rocker leaf doesnt move freely, a channel tab thats set to the stop position will not be able to pivot the leaf over in which to break the contacts that shut the motor off. These are very typical issues that you'll discover with old space command sets that have sat forever. A little oil on that leaf while rocking it back and fourth will help too and get your space command drive system up to par.

The channel indicator bulb is special on these sets. Since you had the tuner out, you probably saw that the lamp shines through a channel number wheel on the tuner. The focused light through that wheel is projected forward and is displayed on a special matte finish lens on the control panel. It looks like an ordinary #47 bulb but its not. You need a #239 miniature lamp which has a special filament and envelope to focus the beam. Use of any other bulb will make focusing the channel number on the display impossible.