Favorite 'anchors

[N8YX]

Post pix if you have 'em.

http://www.universal-radio.com/CATALOG/hamhf/ts820s.jpg

http://hamgear.files.wordpress.com/2007/09/ft-901.jpg

As complete as these rigs are, they lack one magical little feature:

The 'wayback' button.

Press it and you go way back in time to when they were new...hearing the myriad broadcasters, utes and clandestines which positively used to fill the shortwave spectrum from one end to the other.

The voices of friends you have lost over the years - SKs, all - would come booming out of the station speaker just as if you've all gotten back from a post-'fest breakfast with new gear in tow - or come home from an antenna-raising party and were eager to check out the resultant signal of the amateur you helped.

Were my vintage gear to be equipped with that feature, I'd even find a way to like (or at least tolerate) the Woodpecker.

[kf0rt]

Here's a pic:
http://www.westton.com/misc/hnerd.jpg

Yeah, that's me in 1974 (I was 18), operating the ARRL DX CW test from WØLJF. We took 2nd in multi-single for CO, which was pretty competitive at the time. I think everyone in the top 5 knew each other. Ed ('LJF) was one of my "Elmers."

Here's what was next to the bench:
http://www.westton.com/misc/ljfamps.jpg

The taller box housed a single 4-1000. Smaller box was a single 4-400 and served as my station amp for a number of years. Both were "from scratch" homebrew amps.

Ed passed away in 1994 at the ripe young age of 51. Hard to believe that was 16 years ago. He was instrumental in getting my wife and I together back in 1976.

[w2amr]

Here are the two nicest pieces of vintage gear I currently own.

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4034/4435004714_ec77d85474_o.jpg

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4011/4435035902_2fd871e5c8_o.jpg

[N9FE]

The ts 820 is as oldest i've got. But as george knows these are the crazy's i hang out with.. www.vintagessb.net (http://www.vintagessb.net)

[N4VGB]

Favorite 'anchors

How can you have a favorite? They're all just so lovable. :lol:

[KG4CGC]

I had an NC-33 given to me when I was 10. It stopped me from taking apart televisions.
I used to listen to WLAC and various other stations. The Woodpecker and the Motorboat used to be everywhere. Oh wait, I think it was more like an airplane engine.

[N2NH]

I was with WA2EXH back in college. He claimed he could get WWV with a very short wire and this. Personally I would've tried for W1AW and studied code with it...

http://i42.tinypic.com/24dof82.jpg

I had a Hallicrafters SX-96 but it had the sensitivity of road kill and was even worse with selectivity. Shorted out on a Shakespeare Big Stick with the ground detached and fed me with 4 years of nearby lightning strikes. It was an interesting doorstop...
http://i44.tinypic.com/10f5q53.jpg

Best I've got now is the Heathkiit SB-104A... I don't think that really qualifies...

[kb2crk]

it is one of my favorite for nostalgia only. the hw-101 was my first hf rig.
here is a pic of my current one on the air with the over the hill gang on 20 meters.

http://i338.photobucket.com/albums/n404/kb2crk/DSCF1874.jpg

[N4VGB]

The pic is of my old friend and many years hamfest partner W4KKO/I.D. Byars, now a silent key, of McMinnville, TN. Everything in this pic is now my property. Yes, including the Collins 20V-2 and barely visible in the background left hand corner 20V-3 AM BC xmitters, one setup for 160m and the other for 75m. The 20V-2 was converted to use 833As modulated by 833As. In the far right hand corner on top of the bench top is a HB exciter/speech amp built in a junker Collins 32V-3 case and below it under the bench top is a HB parallel 813 rig, modulated by triode connected 813s. It uses the old B&W 850 tank coil and B&W plate choke for that classic look inside. All classic UTC iron with a CVM-4 mod xformer and 40H mod reactor, no DC in the mod xformer secondary please. ;)

Funny story on that HB exciter. I was at the Tricities, TN hamfest and spotted this old sad looking 32V-3 under a table. I bent over and tried to pull it out for a better inspection and the darned thing kept springing back like it was tied to a bungy cord!? So I bent over furhter and there was W4KKO trying to pull it out for inspection on the other side of the table! :rofl: I looked at him and said, "we're giving new meaning to the term push-pull". :rofl:

Soooo, I was only interested in it for the possible spare parts supply and W4KKO only wanted the case. :chin: This was the good old days of boat anchor junk at hamfests and since it was a sponsoring club table of junk for sale, we bought it for $20. Him taking the cabinet home and me taking the good stuff inside, for $10 each on the deal, we were both very happy campers. :D

[N8YX]

Best I've got now is the Heathkiit SB-104A... I don't think that really qualifies...
Imagine a WARC-modded '104... :think

[N4VGB]

Best I've got now is the Heathkiit SB-104A... I don't think that really qualifies...
Imagine a WARC-modded '104... :think

WARC modded??? Anyone who owns one that actually still works should be thrilled! :dance:

I've seen them for sale at 'fests but never really paid much attention to them, dunno nuttin' 'bout 'em.

'77-'82 production range, so at least it's components that I could see and work on the boards! :rofl:

Old men with poor eyesight and shaky hands do not go well with the more modern stuff. :cry:

[KG4CGC]

Current favorite BA would be the SP600. You could actually anchor the QE2 with it.
Other than that, I like the 70's gear that was considered not top of the line at the time and available at common retailers. The DX-302 from Rat Shack seems to be a pretty popular item for the last few months on Ebay. You need 2 or 3 of them because there is a good chance that the brain in it may be shot and you can only do a transplant since it is no longer manufactured. I can't think of the name of the main chip in it but once it's gone, it's gone.

[N2NH]

Best I've got now is the Heathkiit SB-104A... I don't think that really qualifies...
Imagine a WARC-modded '104... :think

The thought did cross my mind once or twice. The SB-104(A) didn't have 160 either, not that I'll miss it here. Still, the first Heathkit Digital HF radio that's anatomically correct!
:drool

[N9FE]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z0oH2oXJ3Bg One of my fav videos :rock: :rock:

[N4VGB]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z0oH2oXJ3Bg One of my fav videos :rock: :rock:

And now there's even a "Heavy Metal Rally" once a year, minimum weight 300 pounds as I recall. :lol:

[kb2vxa]

Tipping the scales at 1100lbs I would call those Collins transmitters battleship anchors! :rock:

[w2amr]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z0oH2oXJ3Bg One of my fav videos :rock: :rock:

And now there's even a "Heavy Metal Rally" once a year, minimum weight 300 pounds as I recall. :lol:
For the operators right? :snicker:

[N4VGB]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z0oH2oXJ3Bg One of my fav videos :rock: :rock:

And now there's even a "Heavy Metal Rally" once a year, minimum weight 300 pounds as I recall. :lol:
For the operators right? :snicker:

Now George, be nice. :rofl:

That's minimum weight for your xmitter, but admittedly there are several who quyalify on personal weight also! :rofl:

[w2amr]

"Heavy Metal Rally" A fancy name for an electronic dick waving contest. :P

[N4VGB]

"Heavy Metal Rally" A fancy name for an electronic dick waving contest. :P

Ahhhh now George, some people just like the big HB and old AM BC xmitters.

One thing most people don't understand about it is that the big rigs are much easier to service than standard ham AM gear. Your Johnson 500 is much more difficult to work on than most big rigs. It's pretty easy to open doors and have most components in sight! You can spot the source of that smoke leak easier! :lol:

Now the guys who are into that "mine is bigger than yours" thing are easy to spot. They are the ones with 3 phase power to their homes and heat exhaust chimneys poking out of their houses! :shock: :rofl:

[WØTKX]

http://www.dashtoons.com/Summer750.jpg

[N4VGB]

Tipping the scales at 1100lbs I would call those Collins transmitters battleship anchors! :rock:

The strange thing about the old AM BC xmitters is that for many years the rule seemed to be, the bigger the better!? If you think those Collins 1KW boxes are big and heavy, you should see a Raytheon RA-1000! :shock:

There's an old story about a meeting at Collins Radio many moons ago. Some of the employees were trying to get Art Collins to go along with downsizing the cabinet size and weight of their BC xmitter line. Art was not so agreeable to the idea, stating that purchases of his gear expected something big and impressive to look at for the money he was charging them! :rofl: I have no idea if that story is true, but it sounds dead on for the marketing strategy of the day.

Only the Raytheon line was more expensive in those days and they were larger and heavier than the Collins gear. ;)

[N8YX]

I used to have a nice HQ-180AC and S-200 like the one George owns. It was paired with one of these:

[N4VGB]

I used to have a nice HQ-180AC and S-200 like the one George owns. It was paired with one of these:

I like my GSB-100, had it for about 25-30 years now.

I had a chance at a matching GSB-101 amp for the GSB-100, passed on it. Wish I'd bought it now, just to have the matching pair.

[kb2vxa]

And now there's even a "Heavy Metal Rally" once a year, minimum weight 300 pounds as I recall. :lol:
For the operators right? :snicker:
Now George, be nice. :rofl:

He WAS being nice, 300lbs or more you eat at the Heart Attack Grill for free.

"One thing most people don't understand about it is that the big rigs are much easier to service than standard ham AM gear."
I wouldn't say that about Collins, personal experience says the 20V line is about as tech friendly as their Amateur/military gear. You have to take half of the beast apart to get at anything and disconnecting the wiring to do it is half a nightmare, reconnecting and reassembling is the other half. Meanwhile as you wriggle around inside the cabinet getting poked by this and that you wish you were a midget and have a bottle of Vicodin handy for your back pains when you finally extricate yourself... if you can without the Jaws Of Life.

"Now the guys who are into that "mine is bigger than yours" thing are easy to spot. They are the ones with 3 phase power to their homes and heat exhaust chimneys poking out of their houses!"
Funny you should say that, after repairing (his) 20V, installing a 20V-2 and lolly columns in the basement to save a sagging floor (he) installed a Gates BC1-T (crack snap crunch) and if that wasn't enough he added a Collins 21E (10KW) and built "The Cottage Of Wattage" to house it! When you see what amounts to a broadcast remote transmitter site where there really shouldn't be one you know... you just know.

Oh and just in case you're wondering why I was chosen to repair the 20V go back and reread my comment about The Heart Attack Grill. :rofl:

[N4VGB]

and if that wasn't enough he added a Collins 21E (10KW) and built "The Cottage Of Wattage" to house it!



Collins 21Es and Ms are great looking boxes and if someone would give me one free, maybe for removing it, and I had the room to install it, I might just take one of them. But it would strictly be for display purposes. ;)

[kb2vxa]

Display purposes only eh? Ah what the hell, the bag was left open and the cat escaped long ago so I might as well.

http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl= ... s%3Disch:1 (http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.k2pg.com/21E.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.k2pg.com/21Eproject.htm&usg=__wLslWndYpWlN9I8I6Iux87wcxSU=&h=305&w=406&sz=17&hl=en&start=1&um=1&itbs=1&tbnid=LfWOKMLfFIZ0hM:&tbnh=93&tbnw=124&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dcollins%2B21e%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26cl ient%3Dfirefox-a%26sa%3DN%26rls%3Dorg.mozilla:en-US:official%26tbs%3Disch:1)

I told you about antenna fields,
You know the place where nothing is real
Well here's another place you can go
Where high current flows.
Looking through the bent back towers
To see how the half wave lives
Looking through a 4-1000.

I told you about the walrus and me-man
You know that we're not as close as the wee-man.
Well here's another clue make you ill,
The walrus was Phil.
Standing on the cast iron shore-yeah,
Lady Madonna trying to make ends meet-yeah.
Looking through a 4-1000.
Oh yeah, oh yeah, oh yeah.
Looking through a 4-1000.

I told you about the fool on the hill,
I tell you man he living there still.
Well here's another place you can be,
Listen to me.

Fixing a hole in the ocean
Trying to make a hard solder joint-yeah
Looking through a 4-1000.

[N4VGB]

Display purposes only eh? Ah what the hell, the bag was left open and the cat escaped long ago so I might as well.



Nice pics. :yes:

Yeah, I know several guys actually operate the 5 & 10KW gear but for the small gain in db signal received on the other end, it isn't worth the expense or effort.

I don't have any personal problem with someone operating a 50KW AM BC box for ham radio use. They'd better live in the real boonies though or it's gonna be big trouble for them! :rofl:

[kf0rt]

Display purposes only eh? Ah what the hell, the bag was left open and the cat escaped long ago so I might as well.



Nice pics. :yes:

Yeah, I know several guys actually operate the 5 & 10KW gear but for the small gain in db signal received on the other end, it isn't worth the expense or effort.

I don't have any personal problem with someone operating a 50KW AM BC box for ham radio use. They'd better live in the real boonies though or it's gonna be big trouble for them! :rofl:

Yeah - with all the power they consume, they'd likely get a visit from the DEA.

[N4VGB]

Display purposes only eh? Ah what the hell, the bag was left open and the cat escaped long ago so I might as well.



Nice pics. :yes:

Yeah, I know several guys actually operate the 5 & 10KW gear but for the small gain in db signal received on the other end, it isn't worth the expense or effort.

I don't have any personal problem with someone operating a 50KW AM BC box for ham radio use. They'd better live in the real boonies though or it's gonna be big trouble for them! :rofl:

Yeah - with all the power they consume, they'd likely get a visit from the DEA.

You'd have to yack a lot, even on a Collins 21M at 10KW carrier, to equal the power consumption of a decent sized grow operation. Most of the successful ones that run a long time before being caught around here, since they all get caught eventually, use commercial AC gensets and haul their own diesel to feed it.

All the growers like to talk all that high tech detection crap and blame that for being caught. The truth is that the growers are just like the old moonshiners and they turn each others operation in to cut down on competition and increase the price of their own product.

A local business was broken into while unoccupied recently. Someone else in the business complex reported the broken door to the business, the business turned out to be a front for a grow operation and the burglary was a trim party! The burglars harvested the crop and left the plants there! :rofl:

[KB3LAZ]

75A-4, KWS-1, SC-101, and 312A-1. With all of the little goodies to go with it ofc. I recently found this exact setup in excellent condition for 4500$. It has since sold. I would pay that for it. I have wanted this setup for a very long time. Sadly I dont foresee me ever having this setup. However I have found quite a few home restored 75A-4's for around 500$ and they are in rather nice shape. If you want a pro job they seem to go for about 1000-1500$ though. I will likely end up with a 75A-4 and 32V-(1,2,3) whatever flavor I can find for a good price in decent shape. I can live with that.

Okay, outside of the realm of Collins I will offer up some of my faves. We will start with receivers. HQ-140, 145, 170, and 180. SX-28, 85, 96, 99, and 100. NC-270, 300, and 303.

Transmitters. Ranger, valiant, viking, and 500. DX-100, 60, 40. Eico 720.

And with the Collins line I like all of the A model receivers.

Who wants to buy me all of these as a birthday gift next month? :rofl:

I like many more but these are my faves.

[kc7jty]

http://www.radiomuseum.org/images/radio/siltronix_oceanside/the_extender_super_deluxe_vfo_90_531700.jpg

[w2amr]

75A-4, KWS-1, SC-101, and 312A-1. With all of the little goodies to go with it ofc. I recently found this exact setup in excellent condition for 4500$. It has since sold. I would pay that for it. I have wanted this setup for a very long time. Sadly I dont foresee me ever having this setup. However I have found quite a few home restored 75A-4's for around 500$ and they are in rather nice shape. If you want a pro job they seem to go for about 1000-1500$ though. I will likely end up with a 75A-4 and 32V-(1,2,3) whatever flavor I can find for a good price in decent shape. I can live with that.

Okay, outside of the realm of Collins I will offer up some of my faves. We will start with receivers. HQ-140, 145, 170, and 180. SX-28, 85, 96, 99, and 100. NC-270, 300, and 303.

Transmitters. Ranger, valiant, viking, and 500. DX-100, 60, 40. Eico 720.

And with the Collins line I like all of the A model receivers.

Who wants to buy me all of these as a birthday gift next month? :rofl:

I like many more but these are my faves.
Better put the B&W 5100B on that list. A very fine transmitter. :agree:

[w2amr]

http://www.radiomuseum.org/images/radio/siltronix_oceanside/the_extender_super_deluxe_vfo_90_531700.jpg
That will get you above channel 23. :lol:
Haven't see one of those in years.

[N4VGB]

Better put the B&W 5100B on that list. A very fine transmitter. :agree:



I may have scored the best deal ever on a B&W 5100B. W4UOC/Tom had a 3 for 1 sale going on at the Dalton GA Hamfest many moons ago. One that he used regularly and I'd heard many times on the air, one that was working and complete but he'd only tested a few times and never really cleaned it up and went through it well and a third one that was complete but never tested, very dirty old piece with a few tubes missing. :D

You know what they say about boat anchors, "they're not making this stuff anymore and you can never have too many spares"! :yes: :rofl:

[W1GUH]

Favorite 'anchors

How can you have a favorite? They're all just so lovable. :lol:

:agree: :yes: :cheers:

In no particular order....

Good ol' scratchy -- the Apache that got me back on AM in '90. Early vintage -- dull...um...knobs, no...um...blower, but needed no fixin' when I got it $75 in So. Jersey. Was solid. Well, except for the coupling cap between the buffer & driver -- fun to fix. One thing I wished I'd done is take out the clipper -- that's easy & is a huge improvement.

Eico 720/730, Hallicrafters HA-5. That was my hi-fi AM rig. The 730 was very easy to mod to take out the clipper. I did that and changed one bypass cap for bass. At that point I got "too much bass" reports (but that coulda been my voice), so I stopped the mods & put in the eq to take care of that. The audio chain was a McMaster universal amp for a preamp - used the bridge output to drive the EQ and from there into a CBS Audimax automatic level control followed by a CBS Volumax FM peak limiter. That wasn't on the air very long before I moved into the city, but the sound was pretty outstanding. That lashup drove a 4-1000a in linear AM service.

Receivers? My fave for all time amongst hollow state radios is the (and most of you already know this) 75S-3A I lucked into at a hamfest. Lotsa people hate S-Line...but most of those never used and got to know one. In nutshell -- all the performance of an 'A4 (at least), in a much more convenient (smaller and lighter) and, more importantly reliable (far fewer parts) package. The differences are in convenience rather than performance. AND....AND...AND it's got a "Detector Output" on the back panel for driving a good audio amp & speaker. It's cleverly disguised as "Sidetone Input!" BTW...on AM, it's conventional 455 kc IF can selectivity and a diode detector....just like a Heathkit AR-3!!!!

The big receiver I had that I most liked was an HQ-180. LOVED that receiver...and it paired up well with ol' scratchy.

In the "distant runners up" category....

GPR-90. Much as that was my "dream receiver for decades, when I finally got one I wasn't all that enamored with it. It performed well, I guess, but it just didn't "scratch the itch." But it was built like a tank and never needed any service at all and it was pretty! BUT, with the GSB-1 sideband adapter it's one of the smoothest sounding slopbucket receivers around. TMC put lots of resources into designing the filter for the 17 kc ! IF.

Viking Valiant. After ol' scratchy & it's sweet design, the Valiant was a disappointment. Sure, it had the extra bottle in the final and had those 3B28's (or 866's) in the PS like the "big guys", and it covered 160, but I just wasn't impressed with its operation. And, to firm up this opinion, I got more power output with ol' scratchy. This was confirmed on the air on 10m (luckily, I hit a sunspot high when I got back on AM). Never have gotten online comments about that, tho'. :chin:

Heathkit Mohawk. As "everybody knows", sweet looker, lousy sound. The "important" specs were good, sensitivity, selectivity, stability, etc. But the sound was horrible!!!!! And with a 'scope on the IF you could see the really bad distortion.

But that's history....now, when I can once again spend time at home the projects are to get the TR-3 and AF-67/Super-12 in the car. Which ever gets set-up first.
:mrgreen: :mrgreen: :mrgreen: :dance: :rock:

Which brings me to some wonderment viz a viz AF-67 vs. a Ranger. Guess Multi-Elmac doesn't have the cachet of E.F. Johnson. While the Rangers go for gawd-awful $$$$, the going price for a good condition AF-67 is about $100 -- what I paid last fall. WTF? :chin: Sure, you need a PS for the '67, but that doesn't nearly explain the price difference. And they're both plate modulated 6146's on 160-10. PLUS!!! The '67 has FM. Go figure.

Long winded, OF transmission!!!

[W1GUH]

Follow up...I forgot a couple, but that was so long-winded the plate of the 4x1 was cherry red - well, orange, actually. That's what happens when you drive one to 500w carrier in linear service! That, and the loading cap starts shorting from warpage! :rofl: )

SX-100 Only had one for a short time, but that's sweet performer, and looks very pretty!

R-100 My first "real" ham rx after an AR-3. Knight's sensitivity specs were right on - that was a HOT receiver, especially for a single conversion 455 kc IF receiver. It had a Q-multiplier for selectivity, which is all you really need for razor-sharp bandwidth plus it had a null. Stability wasn't all that bad, either. I used mine on slopbucket with an HX-20 and I didn't need to retune all that often.
(Well...OK...image rejection wasn't all that good -- but that never really posed a problem.)

[N4VGB]

I forgot a couple, but that was so long-winded the plate of the 4x1 was cherry red - well, orange, actually.



You burned out my detector or aduio with those posts! :rofl: