Every living language develops a jargon, a slang, even locational "accents".  

Younger hams never experienced copying the old "Great Lakes Swing" CW, done with a bug and elongated the dashes to unbelievable lengths.  A hard copy at first to say the least.  But there was a good reason behind that CW "accent" -- the noise levels and static they had to contend with.  Once you learned how to copy the Swing CW, you did indeed find that there was less need to ask for a repeat or worse yet, just sit there like a bump on a log and miss copy.  

An EN for an R?  

Ain't that big of a deal, get over it.  

I thought you young cats were all about celebrating diversity?  

Don't change it, insulation will certainly detune the entire thing.  

The bare solid wire in those circuits is design intentional.  

And make it an Iambic Keyer to go with that paddle and start keying Iambic from the gitgo.  

One more thing--

*Do not be afraid to send a QRS to someone you have contacted.  

The worst they can do is refuse to slow down.  

If that happens, end the QSO and get on with one or more of the above tips.  No harm nor foul there.  

*Try calling CQ at your speed level.  

*Search the band for others calling CQ at a comfortable speed for you.

*Monitor existing QSO's that you can copy, be polite and wait until they are through, then try to contact one of 'em.  

This will teach you a lot more about the art than arranging QSO's via the internet as a sked IMO.  

That may not seem apparent to you from your side of the thing, but right now you very likely don't know what it is that you don't know and the above are tried and true methods that will get your feet wet fast -- and you will gain proficiency a lot faster.  

>>Just speaking for me, I found that my RX code speed improved dramatically when I put the pen down and just listened. After a while I began hearing words and abbreviations not letters.

Hear-hear.  

But there are indeed times when the direct copy method is desirable.  

In such cases where there is no typewriter, I recommend cursive handwriting.  

The cursive will be able to keep up when your skills get up around the 20wpm area, so why print to begin with?  

You may have to clean the brass contacts more often.  

Old timer's method of cleaning code key contacts still works well, use a clean dollar bill to burnish them lightly.  The silk in the paper works very well.  

A close second is the cheap business card with the rough finish on both sides, that rough finish is usually put there by adding abrasive clay to the paper.  

Just close the contacts on the dollar bill or bidness card lightly and slide the paper back and forth between them a few times to burnish 'em clean and not hurt their polish.  You don't want the contact points to get rough, you want smooth and clean, baby.  

What, no cayenne pepper?  

Component in either the rcv or the xmit circuit is out of spec.  

Could be as simple as a cold solder joint or as complicated as a Zitter, Cap o other component out of spec.  

Sometimes a recal can correct, but if you find that you have to do more than just lightly tweak an adjustable cap, coil or pot, stop and look for the bad component or connection, it will be there.  

Anything that could change the impedance of either section where it loads the preselector is suspect.  

Quite often the case that a close or magnified examination of the hardware, plates or escutcheons, etc. will reveal telltale clues about what goes where.  Look for the mark or ring made by a space being in the same place for years.  The dirtier the faceplate/chassis the better for this, often the dust or corrosion tells a story.  

BTW ceramic filters are often the culprit that goes microphonic enough to create feedback.  

*Calibration or recalibration should be avoided unless and until you have troubleshot the microphonic and found and corrected whatever is causing same.  Avoid the Golden Calibration Screwdriver, please.  

This could be an easy job for Your Friend the Spudger Tool.  

Some hams purchase plastic spudger tools.  

This old ham prefers to take a couple sets of disposable chopsticks home with him after stuffing his face at the local Chinese restaurant.  You can even carve the bamboo tips a bit to get into tight spaces when necessary.  

The troubleshoot here can be easy or difficult, but it seems you've already located the guilty section of the rcvr, with the chassis open and operating you should be able to lightly tap on each component, each solder joint, perhaps adjusting whatever controls affect the microphonic while doing so if necessary and locate the offending party.  

There is only ONE thing causing this problem, that's statistical logic proved through years of troubleshooting.  

Find that one thing and do whatever is needed to correct it.  

Oftentimes it may prove to be one single cold solder joint, always resolder the joints in the offending section first, avoid the need to spend money on new components unless absolutely necessary is my mantra.  

Tap, tap, tap, this is often an easy troubleshoot.

 

Don't think single resistor, think voltage divider, the previous poster is telling you right.  At RF, the cap can also function as one leg of the resistive divider.  If the cap is the right one for the freq.  

See if you can google up the schematic for the amp the man mentions, copy the circuit if you can.  

For "two eyes" people:

http://www.mcmelectronics.com/product/DONEGAN-OPTICAL-CO-7-/21-6575

I'm a four-eyes, my favorite is this little dealie from ZEISS, compact and clips onto my eyeglasses:

http://www.eyewearplanet.com/zeiss-optics-head-worn-clip-on-magnifying-loupe-lc-d4-d6.html

For heavy duty all day long work up close, I prefer the "hood" with headband, though:

http://www.opticsplanet.net/zeiss-optics-head-worn-magnifying-loupe-l-d4-d6.html

For years I used a cheaper import hoodie, worked okay but never knew what I was missing, the good Zeiss opticals do indeed make a difference.  

Also keep your eyes open (no pun intended) for good quality used jeweler's loupe single eyepieces designed to clip or screw onto glasses, extremely compact and can be carried in the pocket for those times when you need to see something up close and personal.  Those little jobbies with the single lens on the short stalk work great.  

Checking for voltage output is one thing, but ideally you would want to see what the supply can do under load.  Keeping voltage regulation under load, check for AC ripple to be in spec under load, etc.  

Without the RF deck, the only way to test under load would be to use a resistance pile of some sort, which may be a bit hard to find or not, depending upon who you are and where you are kind of thing.  

If not tested under load, consider selling at a lower price and state such in any advertising, or at least arrange with the buyer to make good if the thing doesn't perform as it should.  

All that said, if it makes the regulated voltage under any reasonable load at all, it should be okay.