Four 100th's aglow...

[N2DTS]

A big yea low...

[w8khk]

Beautiful sight!  Would make a really kewl avatar!

[AB2EZ]

Brett

Beautiful!

Any more details?

Stu

[N2DTS]

The new shack layout...

[N2DTS]

Stu,
Its four 100Th tubes in push pull, it modulates the 813 rig, I built it just to have something to do one winter.

As the (little) chart on the front shows, it can run 1000 to 3000 volts.
In the picture below, the power supply, the 4cx250b mod deck, the 4x100th control deck, the 4x100th modulators.

There is not much to it, bias supply, variac on the filiments, meters, 8 ohm to grid trans.

Brett

[W2PFY]

Looks great Brett! I wonder if you are planing putting on heat radiating caps on the plates & grids? I think Eimac suggests they be used.

They were not used on the BC-610's but of the two that I have had, I put them on as well as the 250TH. Way back then I don't  think too many manufactures used heat radiating caps.

[N2DTS]

I need to get the real grid caps as well!
I have been waiting for the alligator clips to not make contact!

Brett

[W2PFY]

I see the grid caps on eBay very often. The plate caps may come from junker DX-100 & Apaches. That's where I found mine.

[Mike/W8BAC]

Outstanding Shack Brett

[KE6DF]

Do you use the same mod transformer for both of your modulator decks?

How do you switch back and forth?

Just turn on the filaments for the one you want to use?

[W2PFY]

Brett, Your shack is right up there in the top five

Just curious, do you have any issues using a PC in the shack

I know you didn't ask me, but you must have a non FCC type approved PS in that computer. I purchased a gray line replacement PS and it wiped out everything. Hooked a FCC type approved, no problems thereafter.

[WA3VJB]

Schweet !!!

I made it a screen saver on my handheld. 

Will tell people it's the new vacuum-tube BlackBerry.

[K1JJ]

Love that quad set of modulator tubes, Brett!   Great picture.

The shack is like a B-52 cockpit...  Nice workmanship, OM.

T

[w1vtp]

The new shack layout...

Looks good!

Just curious, do you have any issues using a PC in the shack? I love the PC driven spectrum analyzer in the middle of everything. Whenever I tried to use a PC in the shack it interfered with all my receivers and I would just about blow the PC during transmit.

I have absolutely no problems running my Lenovo Think pad notebook in the shack which runs my Flex 5000.  I believe that's where Brett gets his panadapter display from

Al

[N2DTS]

I have both mod decks hooked up to the same mod trans (see picture). Turn one mod deck on and use it, or the other one, no switches.

At 2500 volts, the mod tubes work better, I used to run them at 2000 volts and they took too much drive and sounded not as good as they do at 2500 volts.

The computer is under the flex 5000 on the right (in the shack picture). Its from Niel, the guy who builds the flex ready computers, and seems to cause no problems at all.
I used to use my sony laptop without any problems, even at full 2x813 power levels, and the antenna is over the house.

Brett

[W1AEX]

Brett,

Are you sure you're gonna be warm enough in there? Your station is put together beautifully and you have very nice toys!

Rob W1AEX

[N2DTS]

Its quite warm and cozy, there is a heat vent right over the operating position.
I know a lot of people have heat problems in the shack, I heard one guy saying he could not feel his feet anymore..

Its been a great ham radio winter so far.

Its great to have an interesting INDOOR hobby for winter and rainy days, and other outdoor hobbies for nice days.

Brett

[w1vtp]

Brett

It's my desktop background.  thanks

Al

[N2DTS]

Well, for myself, I never get tired of looking at pictures, of shacks, of homebrew equipment, etc, I dont know why more guys dont post some pix.
Every shack is totaly different from any other!

Since the homebrew RX #1 is out of a home, I will post pix of it later, it was the first experimental rx I built with a lot of stupid idea's, like leaving plenty of space between things, octal sockets for the IF cans (easy round hole, plug in different types to try), octal tubes, many re-do and circuit changes, etc.

But the end result worked very well, it just has a bit more startup drift because of the big octal LO tube and the tunable core coil forms.

Brett
 

[W3SLK]

Brett said:

I dont know why more guys dont post some pix.

Because my shack looks like hell!  I got stuff strewn all over the place. But I guess that should be the impetus behind straightening it out some what.

[N2DTS]

Shacks seem to tend in two directions, the ones set up for easy operating, and the ones set up for experiments.
I have seen some where things are balanced on each other in stacks, lots of cables all over the place, and an operator would have to worm their way into it, and have no place for a scratch pad or even to rest the mic.

Others are very neat, but getting at something to fix it takes a lot of work as its all built in consoles, etc...

It was a bear rearanging things on the desk to fit the EQ in, there are loads of cables behind the desk, all the stuff had to come off the desk, loads of connections to everything, which fall behind the desk and get mixed up, etc....just to add the eq.....

Racks help a lot, as you can get at a lot of stuff without moving things, and/or you can pull one thing out of the rack without too much effort...

Brett

[W2PFY]

How did you get that big honking transformer up there? I guess a lot of people and manufactures put them on the bottom for good reason. I have seen some broadcast  with the mod transformers mounted on the front inside of the transmitter making for a very difficult replacement.

Second question, where did you find that mounting plate?


Nice job indeed

[WBear2GCR]

How do you get behind the racks??

And what is that under the big flat panel w/SDR display on it??

                     _-_-bear

[N2DTS]

The mod trans is on a steel rack mount shelf (I get them from work).
I have a thick piece of plastic under the trans to isolate it from ground.

I cant put it in the bottom of the rack because that is where the power trans is, which is just as big.

Its easy to get up on the shelf, its a lot harder to get big iron into the bottom of the racks, which are up on pedestals.

Brett

[N2DTS]

There is lots of space behind the racks, 6 feet on the right side (behind the big rig) amd 20 feet on the other side.
The racks have locking doors on the back.

Under the flex 5000 display/lcd monitor is homebrew RX #2 (HBSR2).
HBSR1 looks the same, but has no home....

Brett

How do you get behind the racks??

And what is that under the big flat panel w/SDR display on it??

                     _-_-bear