Recycling wrecked radio gear..

[VK3ZL]

G'day all, I put out the sniffers last week on VKham looking for a power transformer from a Yaesu 2100Z amplifier...I need one for an amplifier project I am just completing...Pretty hard to find in VK...Would you believe, I had just posted the ad and the telephone rang....Guy has a Yaesu 2100Z half wrecked but still many of the components left....We settled on $100 posted....I received the unit this morning...Boy, it was sure not going to work again in the state it was in....I spent 3 hours dismantling the amplifier, power supply was still complete....I ended up with all the front panel switches, Plate choke and tube sockets and the two fans....I cleaned all the stuff up and tested it all and put it all on ebay in 3 lots buy now and the fans at a bid price....The buy now stuff went off within the hour getting me back 50% of my outlay and I am sure the fans will sell....I only needed the power transformer....After desoldering all the old wiring on the transformer and testing it for continuity etc I dismantled the retaining frames, cleaned it up and resprayed the laminations...After assembly I tested it out on a load through a voltage doubler and all is as it should be.....I have decided to leave it run on the workbench for a few hours without a load using a 500ma fuse in the primary in case there is a winding fault....Just a precaution ...Also I want to warm up the laminations and drive out any moisture which may have accumulated over the years it has been unused....

I will post results tomorrow...

Bob..VK3ZL..

[VK3ZL]

In reference to yesterdays post re rerecycling I can happily say that the power transformer ex Yaesu 2100z is 100%....Another project nearly completed...

Bob..VK3ZL..

[KG4CGC]

That's great news!

[ki4itv]

Oh noooo's.
I still can't find the socks blown off my feet while checking out your water cooled amp.

Can you covet ability? Or does that just apply to stuff?
I'm thinking I should probably drag my list down to the confessional, this loads gett'n a little heavy.:lol::lol:

[VK3ZL]

Luke will be posting more of my amplifiers shortly...I always have a project or two on the go....I will have pics of a 2 meter water cooled amplifier in a month or so....I said I was quitting building 4 years ago and have constructed 9 new units since then...It's like cocaine.....Amplifiers and 160 meter CW dxing is my addiction even into my old age....

Bob..VK3ZL..

[N8YX]

Anyone who dismantles a -2100Z simply ain't right.

Far better to scrap out a -2100B...

[WØTKX]

Things are different down under. I like the way he uses those cheap Russian tubes.

[KG4CGC]

Things are different down under. I like the way he uses those cheap Russian tubes.
Well you know, the toilets spin different and all.

[VK3ZL]

Anyone who dismantles a -2100Z simply ain't right.

Far better to scrap out a -2100B...

The poor old 2100 series of amplifiers were pretty shoddy and messy in construction however in their heyday were probably all that a lot of hams could afford....Down here in VK a good 2100Z or B still bring $600-$800....However there should be a caveat on those old amplifiers as after 25-30 years of abuse the components are usually pretty near their last breath...I try to pick them up as cheaply as possible, "wreckers", because there are few useful components that can be salvaged....The power transformer is surprisingly robust though and I find that they are an excellent match for the small Russian GI-7B triodes and that makes for a good 6-800 watt pep output amplifier....Getting good RF components is difficult in VK....I have to import most of my parts from Europe and USA...However postage is the real bummer....I recently had a Peter Dahl Hypersil transformer custom built to my specifications by Harbach in the US....The transformer was only US $450...The unit weighs 48 pounds and packed 52 pounds....Priority airmail to VK was US275 even with customer discount....Ouch....However the quality of the Dahl transformers is excellent...

Most of the transmitting tubes I buy these days are new, ex Russian military surplus from the cold war days....I only work with the triodes....Prices from my source in Ukraine are $15 for the GI-&BT tubes and $100 for the big GS-35B tubes....These tubes are old and must be conditioned before one puts them to work....I built a special simple power supply using a microwave transformer and variac so that I can increase HT on these tubes gradually while burning the filaments over a 48 hour period....To date I have had no failures....Russian military components are excellent quality..I use their HV doorknob capacitors and vacuum variable caps extensively as well as the triode tubes...

Rambling again....Put that down to senility....:lol::lol:

Bob..VK3ZL....

[KA5PIU]

Hello.

Here in Texas I come across a lot of CB modded "hamster" rigs, or Super CB as they call them.
The FT-101 is quite common but even Collins comes around.
And, yes, this stuff has been beaten, as in I frequently use a ball peen hammer to correct dents.
Repainting is the norm, with Blue as the pretty much standard color choice for me.
And, why blue? it is a very non threatening color.
I make little effort to restore such a radio, making it work correctly is far more important.