The AM Forum

I got a tabletop cabinet at a flea market this weekend with the intention of using it for a Frankenstein receiver project that uses a 19 inch rack panel.  In the process of examining it, I found it was originally painted wrinkle dark maroon, i.e. the Johnson color.

I then realized this seems to be the cabinet for a Viking 1, based on photos.  But it's rather thin aluminum, and the only Vikings I have had were the II model, which has a totally different cabinet of copper plated steel.

Can some member here who has a Viking 1 tell me if their cabinet is light weight aluminum?  If this is indeed a Viking 1 cabinet I will leave it alone and pass it on to some Viking 1 that is missing same.

Geoff
WB6NVH

Geoff,

I have two Viking 1 transmitters, the first I have owned for over 10 years and the second is one I repaired for a guy getting into AM and then he lost interest so I bought it from him.  Here is the weird part, my original has a steel cabinet according to my trusty magnet but the second one does not.  When I repaired the second one the then owner brought just the transmitter without the cabinet and I haven't been inside it again since I bought it so I hadn't paid attention to the cabinet until your posting.

At a glance the cabinets look identical but both transmitters are on shelves with other gear and given the weight I am not going to pull them out for a full 360 examination :)  But I think it is safe to say you do have a Viking 1 cabinet and someone would probably like to acquire it since it is an unusual cabinet.  I wonder now if the original design intent was for an aluminum case and the Korean conflict buildup caused a change in plans or if there was another reason for the change.

Thanks, Rodger.  I received several PM's from members who all said that the majority of these cabinets were indeed aluminum.  One of the members local to me had a need of it and we have arranged a satisfactory trade, so it looks like it already found a new home.

Too bad I didn't have more of these as it seems there are a bunch of people in need of Viking 1 cabinets.

I can see why they changed the cabinet design, as far as TVI.  This one looks like it would leak RF like a sieve.  Thank goodness for digital TV now.

Geoff,

Glad that a Viking 1 found its proper "shell".  For some reason there are a lot of them without cabinets, I guess some of them were rack mounted and the original thrown away.  My first one didn't come with a cabinet and I bought a fired damaged cabinet from the "Tucker Test equipment" museum and repainted it, that is the steel one.  My second Viking 1 came with the aluminum case.

My first Viking 1 is mated with a SX-28A, another piece of vintage gear that is often missing its case.

As I recall our resident cartoonist K1NSS needs a cabinet for his Viking 1. Here is his web site http://www.dashtoons.com/

John N8QPC