[falcon123]

As I've stirred such a hornet's nest, I don't think I've the heart to tell you all that it has been resolved and the error was entirely my fault. What a long strange trip it's been. Anyway here's the story. It would seem that the threaded shaft is long enough and the coil wound on the tube just far enough away on a tube also long enough that it's possible to actually screw the slug PAST its resonant point where it starts to peak again as the core moves inward but as this inward movement has its limits it wouldn't peak. On a whim with no success earlier today I elected to back the slug completely out against its stop. This design leaves more than 1'' of threaded rod standing above its nut. With the generator on the set and warmed for two hours previously playing on AM b.c. I set it up to run the IF alignment again. In the AM alignment the 2nd IF primary is the 3rd adjustment. Lo and behold it peaked just fine with about 5/8'' of stud protruding. The rest of the alignment progressed without issue. My only defence is this range of adjustment seems unnecessary and set me up for
the fall. I will remember this when dealing with Hallicrafters' IF transformers in the future, but IT'S FIXED!!! and that's what counts and I learned some things along the way and thats a PLUS. I wish to thank all you folks who responded. In the future I'll try to be better prepared for class. Regards, John.