Oh, long list.
I bought a Scout here in VK, from ebay "it was working fine the last time I used it" that took me a good couple of months to fix, from finals to a bent PTO shaft, from broken speaker to jammed s-meter... even the lamp was blown!. It is fixed now, and I added an RF-gain control (instead of mic gain) and I'm trying to figure out how to add control over the AGC time constant without having to drill holes.
I also have two Corsair II radios, I'm installing a panadapter. I'm struggling with the nearby AM broadcast stations as they get into the IF chain and there is no way to make them disappear form the waterfall. No good. They are great radios to play with, quiet receivers and plenty of space inside. Easy to fix.
Argonaut VI: this one had some digital noise you could hear on your headphones during quiet band conditions or when the RF gain was set a bit on the low side. Looking at the schematics, I found that there are two audio outputs out of the DSP board, one for the audio amplifier/speaker/headphones and another one for the DIN connector on the back. The audio at the DIN connector was absolutely free from digital artifacts, so I discarded the noisy DSP output and hooked the audio amplifier to the quiet one. Nicest radio ever. I started using it together with a 2m transverter for SSB, a Ten-Tec 1210 IIRC.
Argonaut V: this one needs new finals, they should arrive this week. In the meantime. I have been playing with an arduino that reads on which frequency the radio is in order to select an external low pass filter. I have been given an old CB amplifier (2 x 2SC2879, good bias circuit and an attenuator pad at the input) but I need to add switchable filters.
Hercules II: I just "segregated" the DC cable into three (two high current inputs for each RF pallet plus a low current input for control) so I can use two independent 40A power supplies. I haven't tried that yet, but it should work.
The list goes on, but those are the things that keep me busy at the moment. I love the brand.
I have 2x of those, plus 2x external VFOs. Around here some place is a thread I started which gets into some modifications. I have DDS PTO replacements to evaluate and was looking at fitting Omni V/VI/Paragon IF Units, taking advantage of some additional filtering. May get around to it...may sell them before and tinker with something else.
Some time I need to look into plumbing the shack for 220v so I can run my Herc-IIs. I currently have three - two operational; one in need of repair - along with two 9420 supplies. An idea for the future is to run my two Paragon IIs, the Herc-IIs and matching 253 tuners from a solar/wind/battery storage setup. Also have an Omni V, Omni VI and one more 253 (in need of repair) that I could set up as a 3rd station.Hercules II: I just "segregated" the DC cable into three (two high current inputs for each RF pallet plus a low current input for control) so I can use two independent 40A power supplies. I haven't tried that yet, but it should work.
One of my "Mods and Repairs" threads showcased the Omni VI with a blue (instead of the stock green) display. I'd love to find 7-segment cyan LEDs to make it match the appearance of the Omni V, but may end up going with white plus some blue filter material instead.
"Everyone wants to be an AM Gangsta until it's time to start doing AM Gangsta shit."
Hi Fred,
I want to do the operational amplifier mod described here:
http://corsair.wikidot.com/corsair-opamp
I also want to bypass the second IF board. I like running the PBT into the low side of the spectrum (say, from 100 Hz to 2300 Hz) but I understand that it can be achieved playing with the BFO/PTO without noise added by the second IF. I have to look into that.
The DDS PTO is an attractive idea, provided that it does not have an impact due to its higher phase noise and spurious. I rather go for a "PTO stabilizer"
I let the smoke out of the Hercules II yesterday. One of the CMOS chips located in the control board made a short and got so hot that it melted the socket where it was mounted. Will try to have it ready by the weekend... which is becoming increasily difficult as my job keeps on distracting me from my hobbies...Some time I need to look into plumbing the shack for 220v so I can run my Herc-IIs. I currently have three - two operational; one in need of repair - along with two 9420 supplies. An idea for the future is to run my two Paragon IIs, the Herc-IIs and matching 253 tuners from a solar/wind/battery storage setup. Also have an Omni V, Omni VI and one more 253 (in need of repair) that I could set up as a 3rd station.
73,
Carlos
Hello i am KN4JQU my name is Tom i live in Mt Airy NC also called Mayberry USA. I have been into two way radio sense 1969. tryed to get my ticket back in the 70s but all ways just missed on the CW. finely got my ticket about a all most 2 years ago. Just finished putting my shack together and now studying to upgrade.Attachment 16630