Your "Vintage" Station...

[K9CCH]

If you were to set up, or if you currently operate a "Vintage" station, what would be, or what is your favorite equipment?

Transceivers that are pre-1980's, doesn't matter the band, or the mode... I'm just interested in those classic boat anchors.




(not that I'm going to buy one right now, but I thought it would be interesting to hear/see what you all are using.)

[K7SGJ]

Ask Pat. He has at least one of just about everything. In most cases 2x, 3x, 4x, etc.

[W4GPL]

Ask Pat. He has at least one of just about everything. In most cases 2x, 3x, 4x, etc.

[K9CCH]

I would love to have this, just to sit on the shelf and monitor 146.52 all day long.

Its on the 'bay with 2 hrs left....

Attachment 10232

[W3WN]

I would love to have this, just to sit on the shelf and monitor 146.52 all day long.

Its on the 'bay with 2 hrs left....

Attachment 10232

The thought has occurred to me, though I'd use my HW-2036A that's currently sitting on a shelf.

If I could, I'd recreate the vintage station I had a few years ago, until I had to sell everything off due to a job layoff:

Hallicrafters HT-37 Transmitter
Hallicrafters SX-111 Receiver
Hallicrafters HT-41 Linear (noticing a theme here?)
...and the HA-9 TO Keyer, R-46 speaker, and so forth.

However, the odds aren't great. Most HT-37's these days need a transformer rewind or replacement, and as they've become more collectible, the prices have gone sky-high. The linear is very rare, and replacement finals are in the realm of Unobtanium (mine had been modified for 572B's by a previous owner).

So I'll settle on restoring the Swan 3Drifty, er, 350 currently sitting in the garage.

[N8YX]

Pre-80s non-synthesized transceiver/receiver?

Drake TR7/R7, FT-301, TS-820S/R-820. Maybe an HW-104/HR-1680 pair. A second set of these modded to cover the WARC bands would be really cool. A T-599/R-599, FR/FLDX400 or FR-101/FL-101 lineup.

I included the FT-301 in the 'twins' category owing to this neat little conversion project I'm working on...

Cubic's Astro 10x series or an FT-90x makes for a good transceiver-only setup especially when coupled with the matching accessories.

[kb2vxa]

Ah dunno, considering all the boat anchors I've owned or operated each having a place in my heart it's really hard to say. I have some favorites, these among them and it would be interesting to see how they operate paired.

[wa6mhz]

I use my best Vintage station on Field Day



Every year, I bring out my Hallicrafters SR-400/PS and it just kicks ass on 20 meters!
It vastly outperformed the Kenwood TS-930S that I brought as a backup rig. The Hallicrafters developed an Intermittent in the Mic circuit this year, and it was traced back to a cracked solder joint in the mic jack. That has been fixed and the rig is ready to go for next year.

I am still trying to fix my new Hallicrafters SR-2000, but no luck on Transmit. It receives great! Sensitivity down to -117dBM! But the problem on the TX side has buffaloed me!
Have spent many weekends all day (including yesterday) trying and trying to fix it to no avail. It is really BROKE!



At home, I use a FTdx5000 cuz I need maximum PERFORMANCE when DXing!

[KG4NEL]

Collins 20V-3 and a Hammarlund SP-600, bypassing the audio stage for a SET monoblock feeding a single-driver corner horn.

Oh, wait, in this lifetime you mean...

:D

[w2amr]

Johnson 500 transmitter / Hammarlund super pro 400 receiver