The AM Forum

I saw a picture of one of these and it gave me a yen to get one. I have a Viking II now, so I think I am getting a tad screwy in my old age.

Any thoughts on major issues with the 350A, am I nuts wanting one instead of the Viking II ?
I expect they are kind of scarce.

73, Dick, W1KSZ

About the only major difference in the 300 and 350 Globe Champions is the way they do the bias string for SSB.  So I suggest you take which you can find if you plan to operate AM.  The weak point that can really cause problems is the bandswitch wafer and the low voltage transformer.

Amperex AX9909 tubes are used in the finals. They are nearly impossible to find, and if you do find one it will cost you dearly.

Ron

Modifying to readily available 5894 tubes is not difficult and will work fine.   I have a Globe Champ modified this way by the late K9RJ.

The only thing that would make AX9909 tubes more expensive would be if they said Western Electric on the side.

I have two Champion 300's.  Probably my favorite AM rig.  Tons of audio out of the 809s.  AX9909s last for a life time if not abused.  You can get tubes on ebay and you can also use the PE/100 and the os51's that are not to expensive although you get a bit less power.

My 300 with AX9909s does 225 watts AM carrier with 120 to 130 + mod. About double a valiant in the audio dept.  I ran one for a year straight on 75. I need to put it back in line. THe other one, I just got and I have not even tested.

C

Given what I have read, mainly the weight of this radio, my ardor has been cooled
and I will be happy with my Viking II.

Thanks for all the replies,

73, Dick, W1KSZ

What, ~10 lbs more than the Valiant and about the same as the DX 100.  Change the finals to either 5894s or 8643s and you have a bullet proof transmitter that is double the power of the Johnson.  Takes about the same space at the DX 100

The conversion of the final tubes is easy and it removes the needless stress all hams have about having 3 or 4 spare tubes for everything.

Also..  The audio section is open and easy to get to so if you feel like opening the sound up a bit, Its easy. The oil caps are likely good still so you would only need to replace a few Electrolyics in the bias section and keying.

C

Got my second Champ 300 running today on the bench.  200 watts out on this one.  No test of audio as I have no mic for it.  Tuned up real nice and smooth.  Only real issue so far is the meter switch was dirty so the Plate current would not read. Once cleaned, That started to work perfect. 

Keyed for 4 or 5 minutes.  Plate, Grid and power rock solid. I dont see more then 20 mills of idle on the modulators so I will have to figure out why. Might be the meter again..

Here is a video of it keyed up.

www.qik.com/ke7trp

Looks good! I've got a couple of the smaller ones; a Scout and a Chief. Thought about doing a Globe collection someday. They are really cool looking and all the 500's I've ever heard on the air sounded really nice. Hope to get the Scout set up soon to check in the DX-60 net.

Phil

A pair of 4X150 tubes with their sockets will take over the AX9909 duties handily at that !

There are lots of options for tubes but the originals are very stout. Both mine have originals and still put out full power with ease. 

C

 Sounds good. Mine are still full output as well.  If they were all like that no one would be looking for alternatives.  In the case of the 4x150 , the folks I have talked with that tried it report the 4x150 worked better in all ways than the rare, costly AX-9909.
  No doubt if the 4x150 had cost less in the 1950s there would be little present discussion about the AX-9909  .