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Title: Vintage AM Station Back on the Air Post by: W1TAV on December 11, 2011, 06:42:30 PM Well I finally got a Round Tu-it and put my 32V-1 and 74A-1 on the air as a pair this afternoon. The receiver has been sitting off to the side for at least 3 1/2 years and I have know idea as to how long the transmitter has been off the air, likely decades. The Turner 22X was my Dad's and I am borrowing it from the "Roll Top Desk Ranger station" that I put together last year.
My 1st QSO with the new addition to the shack was with none other than Tim, WA1HLR and Al, W1VTP. Title: Re: Vintage AM Station Back on the Air Post by: W1AEX on December 11, 2011, 07:12:45 PM I'll bet the Collins stuff sounds as good as it looks Steve. Very nice!
Rob W1AEX Title: Re: Vintage AM Station Back on the Air Post by: KA2DZT on December 11, 2011, 07:13:12 PM My 1st QSO with the new addition to the shack was with none other than Tim, WA1HLR and Al, W1VTP. Nice looking station. Probably it would have been a much better first contact if it was with a 51watt station. ;D Fred Title: Re: Vintage AM Station Back on the Air Post by: W1TAV on December 11, 2011, 09:30:18 PM My 1st QSO with the new addition to the shack was with none other than Tim, WA1HLR and Al, W1VTP. Nice looking station. Probably it would have been a much better first contact if it was with a 51watt station. ;D Fred Well Tim was running Ranger power... Title: Re: Vintage AM Station Back on the Air Post by: Todd, KA1KAQ on December 12, 2011, 12:58:31 AM Nice station, Steve - same thing I run for 40m except the transmitter is a V-2. I'd be curious to hear a sample of how the 22X sounds with it.
The A-1 is (to my ears) the best sounding of the A-Line receivers. The connections for the band-in-use dial lights get dirty and need cleaning from time to time or the lights get flaky, and there are a few problem caps and tuning issues that, once dealt with, are fine. Mine loses sensitivity at times, so a good going through is in order soon. It's a little numb on 10m, but there are some articles out there in ER and elsewhere to improve that as well. Hope to work you with it sometime. Title: Re: Vintage AM Station Back on the Air Post by: W1TAV on December 13, 2011, 10:41:21 PM Well after getting a few sound reports and a recording from Al W1VTP, I dove in and found the modulator bias had apparently not been set or some how had come way out of adjustment.
Just getting off a round table with W1JDR, KB1PJM, W1BBC and N2QEI on 75. I have apparently cured the little bit of distortion that had been reported on Sunday. I also got a couple of old buzzard transmissions in, what a wonderful smell those transformers made after really warming up for the 1st time in decades! ;D Title: Re: Vintage AM Station Back on the Air Post by: w1vtp on December 13, 2011, 11:02:36 PM Well after getting a few sound reports and a recording from Al W1VTP, I dove in and found the modulator bias had apparently not been set or some how had come way out of adjustment. <snip> Told ya ;D It did sound like a bias prob Glad you found it Title: Re: Vintage AM Station Back on the Air Post by: W1TAV on December 14, 2011, 10:21:13 AM Al. TNX.. Yes it's all about "KISS" ;D .. Thinking back to when I picked this up, the person I got it from had cleaned up the chassis and done a certain amount of "grunt" work recapping, checking values and tube replacements. What I also recall was he had never put in on the air (hit the plate switch) so the 807's not being set up should not have been a surprise.. AMfone - Dedicated to Amplitude Modulation on the Amateur Radio Bands
Hopefully you can do another recording for comparison. In keeping with the sprite of AM Phone and the QSO Board, this is a classic case of enjoying the "rush" of boyhood enthusiasm to get something running, without taking all the cautionary steps that age and supposed wisdom brings us.. ;) Steve .. |