The worst piece of gear you've ever owned or operated?

[N8YX]

This is a "must-have" thread, with a twist:

Must NOT have.

What should the amateur/CB/SWL/scanner community at large stay away from, unless the equipment in question is acquired for novelty's sake? A mis-adjusted example of an otherwise good model doesn't count...I'm talking about serious FUBAR right out of the gate.

On my short list are Trac iambic keyer paddles, later-model RCI29xx transceivers and most Galaxy/Connex equipment. In my experience, they're a bit prone to drift and the receivers leave a lot to be desired in the selectivity department.

Yours?

[NQ6U]

Swan 350, commonly known as the Swan Three-drifty. Any of the old Icom radios that used grommets rather than plated-through holes to connect both sides of a double-sided PCB.

[WØTKX]

Eico 753. Had it for a week (on loan to purchase), tweaked and tuned it.

While it was better after that, I said no thanks. :hand:

[kf0rt]

The Knight-Kit Star Roamer deserves an honorable mention.

[Jeff K1NSS]

Heathkit VF-1, when plugged into DX-40 power socket, resulted in crazy chirpy CW output, pulling on key down. Forced me to built a separate supply to work around that, but I thought it would work as a system, dammit!. Like, what was the point of an entry level VFO that didn't work where it was most likely to be used? Oh yeah, I fogot. Once I you got your General you didn't care about CW, because your DX40 rocked so hard on Carrier Controlled AM. Green lighted dial, 11 meter coverage and minimalist cubical presentation aside, that box really bugged me.

[KC9ECI]

Autek RF1

Here's a picture of the inside of the POS:

http://galesvillefiredepartment.org/kc9eci/autek_RF_1.JPG

[WØTKX]

I heard that. Friends had that damn VFO, and went back to using rocks. :snicker:

Daaaooow dee daaaooow deet daaaooow daaaooow dee daaaooow

[KG4CGC]

Autek RF1

Here's a picture of the inside of the POS:

http://galesvillefiredepartment.org/kc9eci/autek_RF_1.JPG
Solder? Who needs solder?

[Jeff K1NSS]

fluxy yuxy when there is solder. SHIP IT! Or to quote Mr. Iddy Biddy BMW RV, a manager of my unfortunate acquaintance when I catalogued significant mfg process problems, "On this we want to foster a philosophy of acceptance."

[XE1/N5AL]

So far, I have generally been lucky with my ham radio purchases. However, three pieces of equipment standout as not being all that great:

1. A MFJ-1224 RTTY/CW Computer Interface that I purchased around 1984. It didn't really work all that well in decoding RTTY signals - the simple PLL circuit inside didn't reliably lock to the received FSK signal if it wasn't strong and interference-free. The unit may have had a defect, but I never found the interest to repair it. I remember opening it up to discover massive amounts of solder flux all over the PCB.

2. A JPS NIR-10 Noise/Interference Reduction Unit that I purchased in the early 1990's. The unit basically worked, but introduced a lot of digital artifacts into the audio stream. I hardly ever used it. About ten years later, I purchased a Timewave DSP-599zx and it works great!

3. A Radio Shack DX-300 Shortwave Receiver that I purchased around 1979. The front end was easily overloaded and it really didn't have much in the way of IF filtering. The "selectivity switch" was just a simple selection of RC filtering in the audio path (the later DX-302 actually has a ceramic IF filter). The Wadley Loop implementation was a bit unusual, as you had to tweak the MHz selector dial just right, or you would receive other image frequencies along with the frequency you wanted.

[Jeff K1NSS]

I heard that. Friends had that damn VFO, and went back to using rocks. :snicker:

Daaaooow dee daaaooow deet daaaooow daaaooow dee daaaooow

Instant VU (name your dodgey mains,raggedty rig prefix) effects box. Separate VFO supply also meant a extra switch to throw, instead of just backing off the RF gain to monitor myself, not hobbling, but a giimp I got used to.

BTW, hearing those yoopy CQs sure quickened the pulse!

[W1GUH]

Autek RF1

Here's a picture of the inside of the POS:

http://galesvillefiredepartment.org/kc9eci/autek_RF_1.JPG

Is this (http://www.autekresearch.com/rf1.htm)what you're talking about - the RFI RF ANALYST? Doesn't sound like it - you're speaking of a VFO and NOT an analyzer?

This analyzer from Autek looks good - unless it's what you're talking about.

[kf0rt]

Anyone ever have a Genave VHF rig? They were semi-popular in the mid-70's because they were cheap.

Where I lived, you could work .52 simplex and the input of the local police repeater at the same time.

[Jeff K1NSS]

I brought up my old Heathkit VF-1 vfo. This photo is something completely different.

[WØTKX]

Instant VU (name your dodgey mains,raggedty rig prefix) effects box. Separate VFO supply also meant a extra switch to throw, instead of just backing off the RF gain to monitor myself, not hobbling, but a giimp I got used to.

BTW, hearing those yoopy CQs sure quickened the pulse!

I used to hand grind xtals (thinner) as a novice to move them a bit.

They'd "yoop" pretty good too if you screwed up. :yes:

Did someone say "yoop"? :lol:

http://youtu.be/dUduPt69UW4


http://youtu.be/dUduPt69UW4

[W1GUH]

Heathkit VF-1, when plugged into DX-40 power socket, resulted in crazy chirpy CW output, pulling on key down. Forced me to built a separate supply to work around that, but I thought it would work as a system, dammit!. Like, what was the point of an entry level VFO that didn't work where it was most likely to be used? Oh yeah, I fogot. Once I you got your General you didn't care about CW, because your DX40 rocked so hard on Carrier Controlled AM. Green lighted dial, 11 meter coverage and minimalist cubical presentation aside, that box really bugged me.

Oh my, yes, the VF-1. I guess the nostalgia for tha green dial, which WAS sexy, has overriden the badness of that box. Those are hot items for the vintage circuit -- but all I remember is heartburn from them. Had to be really careful about calibrating it - there were spurs all over & it wasn't obvious which was the right one. Plus, the output was very anemic -- couldn't get enough drive on 10m on my Globe Chief.

[W3WN]

Swan 350, commonly known as the Swan Three-drifty. Any of the old Icom radios that used grommets rather than plated-through holes to connect both sides of a double-sided PCB.
Now you tell me. I have one sitting on the shelf in the garage, waiting for bench time. (Well, at least it was given to me)

[K7SGJ]

Now you tell me. I have one sitting on the shelf in the garage, waiting for bench time. (Well, at least it was given to me)


Give it another 6 months or so. By then it should have drifted close to the shack.

[WØTKX]

^^^ There are mods for that, as my friends who love their Swan rigs will attest to.

[W3WN]

Give it another 6 months or so. By then it should have drifted close to the shack.

+ 10!! :clap:

[Jeff K1NSS]

Give it another 6 months or so. By then it should have drifted close to the shack.
heh heh

[W1GUH]

How about the Gotham "3 Element Tri-band beam?". What it was was 3 dipoles on the same boom, and 3 feedlines. Cheesh!


But the vertical? Looking at it what I see is a vertical with a base loading coil - the same thing that all mobile antennas are. Those mobile antennas get out decently, so why didn't the Gotham vertical? Operating it without a ground, radials, counterpoise? Seem they would have done a good job if installed properly.

[W5IEI]

Alinco DX 70

[W3WN]

How about the Gotham "3 Element Tri-band beam?". What it was was 3 dipoles on the same boom, and 3 feedlines. Cheesh!


But the vertical? Looking at it what I see is a vertical with a base loading coil - the same thing that all mobile antennas are. Those mobile antennas get out decently, so why didn't the Gotham vertical? Operating it without a ground, radials, counterpoise? Seem they would have done a good job if installed properly.That's exactly what the vertical was. I bought one of those when I got my Tech ticket and was living in a townhouse. Cheap aluminum, it kept snapping on me. But when it was up, it worked OK.

[N8GAV]

Have an KWM-380 that Glenn Baxter had his fingers in..........Yeah it's junk now.......

[VE7DCW]

Have an KWM-380 that Glenn Baxter had his fingers in..........Yeah it's junk now.......

Hank ...... did that radio sound as good as that "thing" he's using on 275 to transmit with..... after he "had his fingers in" it??

Wow!! .... you're a celebrity with a piece of equipment that had been worked on by someone as infamous as Baxter! :snicker:

[XE1/N5AL]

Have an KWM-380 that Glenn Baxter had his fingers in..........Yeah it's junk now.......
There were more things wrong with the radio than were covered in the initial repair estimate. If you would kindly send an additional check, or money order, for $10,000, that KWM-380 will be repaired right away!

[VE7DCW]

There were more things wrong with the radio than were covered in the initial repair estimate. If you would kindly send an additional check, or money order, for $10,000, that KWM-380 will be repaired right away!

I'm certain that a lot of people regret that Baxter had any capability of getting his hands on a Collins radio ! ....... oh the humanity! :doh:

[KB3LAZ]

Hated both my FT-100 and 100D.

[W9WLS]

Anyone ever have a Genave VHF rig? They were semi-popular in the mid-70's because they were cheap.

Where I lived, you could work .52 simplex and the input of the local police repeater at the same time.

I have one of the old Genave 8 or 10 channel rock gardens on a shelf in the shop somewhere, had the synthesized (GTX-800, I think) it may still be around also.
We live in the boonies and it was never a problem here except for keeping the switch contact's clean.

[kb2vxa]

Not exactly ham gear but before scanners I had a Hallicrafters S-95 VHF receiver, the worst POS I've ever seen. Deaf as a post, drifting like a leaf in the wind and not knowing which way to go it had me pondering how to rewind the coil in my crystal set.

Then there's the Collins enigma, why was the Cadillac of radio so tech unfriendly? My first experience was resurrecting a dead 32-V2 that had me jumping through hoops just to replace an open screen resistor in one of the IPA stages. Then there was the 20-V transmitter I had in pieces to get the HV meter working and de-crackle the audio, another freakin' nightmare.

Maybe that's the answer to the Glen Backscratcher mystery after all. For the longest while I couldn't figure out why someone with more knowledge than God and has the degrees to prove it had such a crappy signal. Then it dawned on me, the Collins crap-out came after the AM Gangsta il capo di tutti capi, the infamous Timtron jumped ship and left the ARRL wannabe to put the KW-1 back together... a bit sideways.

[N7YA]

For me, it has to be the early 80's, GE World Monitor II SWL rcvr. When i first started playing with radios, i bought one of these. I was facinated with backlit dials, digital readouts, the little map on the top with the time zones. Ill admit, i logged a LOT of stuff with that rig, as well as learned CW. But, as a noob, i didnt notice it was a real turd! I found one online and bought it for my son so he can enjoy the same thing i did...i never realized just how bad that POS really was until i tried to use it myself. Drift isnt a good description, it left the frequency like it was angry with it.....Beeeeeeeyyyoooooooooooo.....gone.

As for xcvrs, I'd have to say the Ten Tec Century21. Its a hulking, 50w, 5 band CW rig....imagine a Prius going up a steep grade, but with the size of a dump truck. The main VFO was operated with a little white string, no joke, this was a production thing. The face plate for the frequency indicator (which itself was a plastic disc, and totally inacurate), was cheap plastic and disconnected from the front of the rig with regularity. It has a zero-beat button on the front, and when the key jack failed, as it did, i used IT to send CW!!

For keys, its those old Soviet military training keys you see all over eBay for $10-$20...not worth the postage, really. I got two of them, but they were thrown in the box as freebies with my order when i had a custom key built for me by a Ukrainian ham a number of years ago. I fear i am stuck with them. Maybe i can turn them into something more interesting and useful.

[WN9HJW]

Deleted

[ad4mg]

Yeasu FT-470 dual band handy. Doubled as a pager-repeater receiver. Anywhere within 20 miles of a city and the receiver's front end just surrendered.

[KB3LAZ]

Yeasu FT-470 dual band handy. Doubled as a pager-repeater receiver. Anywhere within 20 miles of a city and the receiver's front end just surrendered.

Oh, good choice for a POS. + 1

[KG4CGC]

It would have to be a radio made by Windsor in the late 70s. It was shaped like a large HT, AM/FM SW and "CB" marked out in channel numbers on the rule.
Drifty receive and really didn't want to pull in a station as well as it seemed that it could have. Had a Sony stereo that was the same way until I tweaked a trimmer cap on the tuning section.

[wa6mhz]

Probably would be the Heathkit Twoer. Now, it is also my Favorite piece of gear as well. Tunes the whole 4 Mhz of the 2 meter band in 1/2 turn of a variable cap. A whopping 1W out if it is a good day. But as miserable as it was, it was also responsible for getting me ACTIVE in Ham Radio and meeting lots of good Hams in the Chicagoland area. Once I got up to speed, in 1968, I replaced it with a Separates system: An Ameco 2M Converter ahead of a Hallicrafters S-40 and a homebrew 2M AM transmitter using a 6146 and an Ameco VFO to drive it. But the Heathkit Twoer lives on and on and I just love them; miserable and hard to use as they were.

[NQ6U]

Probably would be the Heathkit Twoer. Now, it is also my Favorite piece of gear as well. Tunes the whole 4 Mhz of the 2 meter band in 1/2 turn of a variable cap. A whopping 1W out if it is a good day. But as miserable as it was, it was also responsible for getting me ACTIVE in Ham Radio and meeting lots of good Hams in the Chicagoland area. Once I got up to speed, in 1968, I replaced it with a Separates system: An Ameco 2M Converter ahead of a Hallicrafters S-40 and a homebrew 2M AM transmitter using a 6146 and an Ameco VFO to drive it. But the Heathkit Twoer lives on and on and I just love them; miserable and hard to use as they were.

Hey, Pat! Nice to see you here on the Island!

[WØTKX]

Gratings and Saladtations! :cool2:

Long ago and far away (when I was WB0CYU) I used my "Sixer" almost every night for local ragchews. I liked the big "flapper" toggle switch on the Sixer, it reminded me of a Nutone intercom. :lol:

Later I "upgraded" to a Lafayette HA-750. Worked a lot of AM DX with that 'lil rig.

Alas, I gave them both away to friends when I left for college. Oh well.

[N8YX]

Twoer, Sixer and Tenner...did I include all in the model line? And did Heathkit offer anything else in that form factor?

[NQ6U]

Twoer, Sixer and Tenner...did I include all in the model line? And did Heathkit offer anything else in that form factor?

They had that CB thing, as I recall.

[XE1/N5AL]

Hey, Pat! Nice to see you here on the Island!
Glad you made it, Pat.

[wa6mhz]

The TENNER is the rarest of the Lunchbox line, and they routinely go for over $100 on Ebay when they show up. Meanwhile, Twoers, Sixers and CBers go for maybe $30 if in great condtion. I have seen some Twoers go for $5 at the swapmeets. They are subject to considerable modifications. Mostly routing the crystal socket to the front panel and adding an RF Output meter. Finding any of the series in unmodified condx is very rare. An almost mandatory mod was to take the stupid RCA Phono jack Heathkit used for the RF out connector out and replacing it with a BNC or SO-239.

I am desperately searching for a Tenner with a good front panel (Not swiss cheesed!)

[N8YX]

I am desperately searching for a Tenner with a good front panel (Not swiss cheesed!)

I will keep this in mind in my travels. Occasionally I'll see the various models at our area hamfests.

[W1GUH]

I'll keep a lookout for you too, Pat. And, also, good to see you on the Island. Pull up a beach chair, take off you shoes, dig your feet in the warm sand and enjoy a libation from our great bartender, Charles!

Can't be too encouraging about the Tenner, tho'. Lunch boxes have been few and far between in all the festers I've been to -- but there's always "the next time!"

Welcome!

[KG4CGC]

Heeeellooooo, Pat!


http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c79/bebop5/drinks/6f9d01f0.jpg

[KB3LAZ]

The TENNER is the rarest of the Lunchbox line, and they routinely go for over $100 on Ebay when they show up. Meanwhile, Twoers, Sixers and CBers go for maybe $30 if in great condtion. I have seen some Twoers go for $5 at the swapmeets. They are subject to considerable modifications. Mostly routing the crystal socket to the front panel and adding an RF Output meter. Finding any of the series in unmodified condx is very rare. An almost mandatory mod was to take the stupid RCA Phono jack Heathkit used for the RF out connector out and replacing it with a BNC or SO-239.

I am desperately searching for a Tenner with a good front panel (Not swiss cheesed!)

Hola mi amigo, como estas? Me alegro de verte!

Anyway, one my various travels in Europe I will keep my eye out for said unit. However, I have a feeling that the rarity factor will be greater there than stateside.

[KC9ECI]

The TENNER is the rarest of the Lunchbox line, and they routinely go for over $100 on Ebay when they show up. Meanwhile, Twoers, Sixers and CBers go for maybe $30 if in great condtion. I have seen some Twoers go for $5 at the swapmeets. They are subject to considerable modifications. Mostly routing the crystal socket to the front panel and adding an RF Output meter. Finding any of the series in unmodified condx is very rare. An almost mandatory mod was to take the stupid RCA Phono jack Heathkit used for the RF out connector out and replacing it with a BNC or SO-239.

I am desperately searching for a Tenner with a good front panel (Not swiss cheesed!)

I spotted a Twoer in what appeared to be fair condition on ebay a few days ago in the $25 range. I thought about pulling the trigger on it just to mess around with it, but my shack already has enough clutter that I need not be adding more at the moment. I'm still thinking I need a HW-101 or a set of Drake's though.

[w2amr]

The TENNER is the rarest of the Lunchbox line, and they routinely go for over $100 on Ebay when they show up. Meanwhile, Twoers, Sixers and CBers go for maybe $30 if in great condtion. I have seen some Twoers go for $5 at the swapmeets. They are subject to considerable modifications. Mostly routing the crystal socket to the front panel and adding an RF Output meter. Finding any of the series in unmodified condx is very rare. An almost mandatory mod was to take the stupid RCA Phono jack Heathkit used for the RF out connector out and replacing it with a BNC or SO-239.

I am desperately searching for a Tenner with a good front panel (Not swiss cheesed!)
Here is a shot of my Tener. No, it's not for sale.:mrgreen:
5656

[w2amr]

They had that CB thing, as I recall.
It's called the CB-1
5657

[ka4dpo]

Probably would be the Heathkit Twoer.

Bout time you showed up. I had a 2er as a novice and at the time I thought it was great. The worst piece of gear I ever operated was my homebrew 6L6 transmitter, I just didn't know how bad it was at the time..:-D

[WØTKX]

Here is a shot of my Tener. No, it's not for sale.:mrgreen:




https://netfiles.uiuc.edu/jpowell1/www/funny/tease.jpg



Kid looks like Ralphie... ;)

[wa6mhz]

Here is a shot of my Tener. No, it's not for sale.:mrgreen:
5656

Yep, that is EXACTLY what I am looking for. I do already have ONE Tenner, which I paid very dearly for. But the clown who had it, for some unknown reason, sanded off the words "TEN METER",and "THE TENNER" . Why someone would do that I can't imagine why, other than he was STUPID! I buffed out the paint but can't figure out how to relabel the words back on.
So I need to atleast find a new front panel for it, or another Tenner to harvest the front panel from. I want to have a complete set of all the Lunchboxes. OH, another rare one is the earlier version of the SIXER which uses 18 Mhz crystals (I believe). Heathkit redesigned that quickly to use the standard FT-243 8 Mhz rocks in the HW-29A. I am not sure if I have the early model or not, but I do have several Sixers.

[W3WN]

Twoer, Sixer and Tenner...did I include all in the model line? And did Heathkit offer anything else in that form factor?The CB-er, which IIRC wasn't that much different than the Ten-er. And strictly speaking, I believe there were two versions of the Sixer (the original and an "A" version with some mods).

A couple of years ago, there was a gentleman who had all four for sale at the Butler Co ARA Swap 'n' Shop -- I don't know which flavor of the Sixer he had, though. They looked brand new, unmodified, very pristine. And he wanted over three bills for the set. Might have been worth it to a collector, or someone putting together a Heath museum, but otherwise...

[W3WN]

Eico 753. Had it for a week (on loan to purchase), tweaked and tuned it.

While it was better after that, I said no thanks. :hand:That was the first transmitter I ever used. That with a Hammarlund receiver, although I don't recall the model number. They belonged to my friend Joel WN2FEO/WN2AQZ.

I'd pick one up for the sake of nostalgia... but actually use it on the air? Ah, no.

[W1GUH]

'TKX:


Eico 753. Had it for a week (on loan to purchase), tweaked and tuned it.

While it was better after that, I said no thanks.

It was better than its rep. Yep the VFO had bad thermal drift (that was better with the SS VFO) that precluded ever using it mobile, but in a shack with a benign temp. environment with no drafts, it was OK. The transmitted audio was OK, too. Never got a bad report with it, and did have lots and lots of fun with it. But I WAS overlooking:

1) Rx "sound" was lousy.
2) AGC was lousy - didn't seem to have a slow action. S-meter was OK, though.
3) "Seemed" to lack some sensitivity when compared with an HW-32. But still plenty to work DX.

But the one failing was pretty much a show-stopper. There was no way to turn off the RIT & it was impossible to know when it was set to zero offset. Had to enlist the help of a friendly station to zero-beat me so I could adjust it. Tried a few ways to mod this -- nothing really worked.

I used it a lot in the summer of '66. Was working afternoon shift and before work I'd play on 20, after work on 40. Back then, there was LOTS of good activity on those bands & made a lot of radio friends with it. Even had a PY call me on 40 one night. Was using it with an SB-200 & a Hy-Gain vertical.

Was glad to trade it for a very beat-up physically, but good electrically HW-32.

[W1GUH]

That was the first transmitter I ever used. That with a Hammarlund receiver, although I don't recall the model number. They belonged to my friend Joel WN2FEO/WN2AQZ.

I'd pick one up for the sake of nostalgia... but actually use it on the air? Ah, no.

Used a transceiver with a separate RX?

[N8YX]

Used a transceiver with a separate RX?
TR7/R7.
TS-820S/R-820.
IC-751A/R71A.

I can give you many more examples from my shack alone.

[W1GUH]

Yea, those are reasonable combos. But a 753 with a Hammarlund? Cheesh! OTOH...with the lousy sound in the 753, makes sense.

[W3WN]

Used a transceiver with a separate RX?Whoops! Sorry, I misread that.

I meant the Eico 720. He had a 753, but couldn't use it at the time (legally) because we Novices were crystal controlled at the time...

[WØTKX]

The 720 was a decent transmitter. It was my Novice rig. Loved that copper chassis.

[kf0rt]

The 720 was a decent transmitter. It was my Novice rig. Loved that copper chassis.

Me too. Built like a brick outhouse. Used it with an HR-10B.

[W1GUH]

One of the best. Add the 730 & it's also one of the best AM rigs.

Only trouble is....it had a strange PS switching arrangement. Wanted to make it PTT, but when I looked at the schematic it wouldn't have been a simple mod. Forget the details.

Maybe the only real "problem" was the function switch went off-standby-tune-transmit. You had to switch it through tune to transmit & that sucked. But a small price for a nicely done transmitter.

[AB5S]

The worst I've ever operated?
Easy.... an ex-girlfriend....

[N8YX]

The worst I've ever operated?
Easy.... an ex-girlfriend....
Don't place it on a pedestal. ;)

[N7YA]

....just needed to replace the tubes. :shifty:

[TESLA]

....just needed to replace the tubes. :shifty:

Fallopian?

[WØTKX]

http://poptimal.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/futurama2.jpg