AHHH The memories Hallicrafters HT4 etc

[w1vtp]

I think this will give you all the warm and fuzzys.  Features some nice pics of the orig HT-4.  Period music overall nice flick

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e4gfCmAPlEc&feature=fwv

Have a nice day

Al VTP (Violet Toilet Paper)

[K5UJ]

I really enjoyed that video which must have taken some time and effort.  I was thinking the HT-4 looked like a broadcast rig inside then I remembered that I found one once at a 250 watter way back around 1970 (they were on a thin budget). 

Only thing I would have done differently is I would have gotten that Palstar tuner out of the way.  It kind of wrecked the effect of having the HT4 and SX28 there together.  Tnx Al


There's another one from the same guy here:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zE1ZPvkLh1Q&NR=1

Rob

[ke7trp]

really cool. I talked to that guy on the air recently.  I was on my T3 and he on the HT4.  Really pretty neat. 

I agree about the palstar.. I have one also.  I use it on the 160 antenna.  none of my period correct tuners have 160


C

[w1vtp]

Couldn't resist putting this link on.  I was disappointed on that last UTube - it cut off just before going to xmit.

Here's the portported BC610 that was used during Pearl Harbor attack and later during the battle of Midway.  This one goes to xmit

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AMk-GjzdP64&feature=related

Al

[K5UJ]

 none of my period correct tuners have 160

I think for AM on 160 we pretty much have to drill and blast a store bought tuner or homebrew.  The problem with the ham junk for sale is they always use those h.v. disk ceramic caps which are okay for ssb and cw maybe but they heat up on AM because they don't handle the high current well.  I took the coil and air variable cap in a Unique Wire Tuner and added a bunch of 20 or 30 KV doorknobs and use that now.  Even they get a tad warm if I tx for 20 minutes running 250 w.  That v. rating is for a much higher frequency probably.   To do it really right we need those 1 MHz mica h.v. transmitting caps like what you find in broadcast rigs.  Those with a big coil, and 5 kv air variable or vacuum variable would give a bullet proof 160 m. tuner.

R. 

[ke7trp]

True, Very true.. In all honesty.. I dont need the 160 tuner. My L is 1.4 to 1 at 1885. I dont think any of my Transmitters care about that!  Out at 1945 it gets up to about 1.9. Even then, Its probably ok.  Really the only reason I have the palstart still is for the Icom and amp.  My brother runs SSB over here on low bands from time to time and he uses it.  I really should just sell the damn thing off and make a nice HB tuner!

C

[K5UJ]

My L on 160 is around 14 ohms and some wild reactance and then it gets wildly transformed by the feedline and is all over the place from 1840 up to 2000 so I need a tuner.  If I had your swr I wouldn't use one either.

R.

True, Very true.. In all honesty.. I dont need the 160 tuner. My L is 1.4 to 1 at 1885. I dont think any of my Transmitters care about that!  Out at 1945 it gets up to about 1.9. Even then, Its probably ok.  Really the only reason I have the palstart still is for the Icom and amp.  My brother runs SSB over here on low bands from time to time and he uses it.  I really should just sell the damn thing off and make a nice HB tuner!

C

[ke7trp]

Hmm. I wonder why yours is that way. Mine is a simple 75 ft run of RG8 Grounded to the tower with the running up the tower and then over. Its about 10 inches from the tower insulated. It was narrow.. But when I added the elevated radials. It came right down.

C

[WD8BIL]

True, Very true.. In all honesty.. I dont need the 160 tuner. My L is 1.4 to 1 at 1885

How hi is the vertical section of your L? Overall length?
Sounds like a winner!

[ke7trp]

Maybe 50 ft.  THen kinks over and runs to a rope leader... that is tied to the fence. 

C

[N3DRB The Derb]

this is what I'm going to try first with the raytheon on 160. I always wanted to try one of these because they just look so damn cool. it will also fit on the property with room to spare. There's better antennas but I always wanted to run a T or a cage circa 1927.

[ke7trp]

Boy that better have a huge signal on the air.. That thing is very complex to build and install with all those wires. Plus, you require a matching network at the antenna.


c

[W3RSW]

Derb, I think that thing is really a vertical with an emongus capacity hat on 160. I'm not sure.

So your looking at a 42 ft. vertical.

 And 50 ft. radials might be better to be extended to 1/4 wave on 160, say 160/4 * 3.28ft/meter = 131 ft. more or less.

But it sure is purty 

[K5UJ]

Clark,

I'm a little surprised you have such a good match to ur antenna but I wouldn't be unhappy about it hi hi.  Means ur feedpoint R is around 25 ohms probably and that's not too shabby on 160.

Mine is as low as it is because I have a 50 foot aluminum mast (it holds up one end of a dipole and has a 15 foot stinger on it to work as a 75 m. vertical) and at the top of the mast I have a 3 foot PVC arm sticking out holding the 160 m. inverted L wire.  So the L wire drops 50 feet to the middle of the radial plate.  The coax terminates with a UHF jack and the outside is bolted to the radial plate ground rod.  the L wire has a banana plug on it and it plugs into the center of the UHF jack.  It goes up and at 50 feet it goes off horizontal to a push up mast about 20 feet away that's 40 feet tall and holds the L wire and one end of a 20 m. dipole.  The L wire goes on from there to a chimney mount on the roof of my house (another 30 feet or so, and then there's around 30 feet that droops down to another pvc pipe and insulator mounted on the eave of the house.   This is all no. 14 stranded house wire from home despot.  radials are no. 14 solid.  there are 101 of them, anywhere from 10 to 120 feet, mostly around 30 to 60 feet.  That's about the best I can come up with on 160 but I want to tune it at the feedpoint, and replace the no. 14 that's got a lot of splices in it with a continuous run of no. 12.  

the thing that stinks is the garage and house have aluminum siding on them and that probably screws up the pattern and causes the reactance part of the feedpoint impedance.  

Derb, that thing you want to put up should work real well but like Clark or Budley said, will be some work to string up.  
If you have some really solid supports though it should not be too bad but it looks to me like big trees or a couple of guyed 50 foot R25 towers will be needed, or phone poles in the ground because the hammock will have a lot of tension if you don't want it to sag too much.  You need to use wire that won't stretch much too.

For the feedpoint matching I'd use a 3 to 5 KV air variable(s) and these 1 MHz 6 KV mica caps Fair Radio has for $8.75 each
and are better and cheaper than doorknobs.  You can motorize an air variable.  You probably won't need much inductor-- you could wind a few turns with copper tubing and tap it.

Rob

[ke7trp]

I have a decent to strong signal on 160.  An old timer came over to the house, walked in back and said, "you have loaded your entire tower".   

I guess I coupled the line to the tower out of my ignorance.. However, Sometimes Ignorance is bliss

C

[K6SRO]

> Only thing I would have done differently is I would have gotten that Palstar
> tuner out of the way.  It kind of wrecked the effect of having the HT4 and SX28 > there together.

I just came across this forum and registered to be able to post. I'm the guy who has the HT-4 and boy! I couldn't agree more with the above comment by Rob!

The problem I had was with the original open wire antenna tuner, which was a home-brew look-a-like of the AT-2 by Hallicrafters that are scarce as "hens teeth".

Originally had all kinds of RF in the shack issues, spurious when I first powered-up and went on the air. My chief elmer suggested changing to coax. I did it carefully and non-destructively, removed the porcelin insulators, boxed them and put them away, and added no holes to the cabinet, simply a copper plate with a center hole and an SO-239 installed positioned right over anchored with existing screws to the cabinet. I decided also to get a decent tuner that would handle the power and obtain a good match, and look decent with the HT-4, hence the Palstar. I toyed with the idea of hiding it in behind the original tuner but because of the operational needs (I use it with other transceivers in the shack) decided to position it on top at least temporarily until I could decide on a better location for it. It is a bit of a pain on top because every time I want to switch from phone to CW or back, or switch crystal, I have to slide it one way or the other for the access doors on top.

The good news is I am in the beginnnings of building up a new shack inside the garage, and it will be designed around the positioning of the HT-4, the HT-5 speech amp, and related receivers, e.g. SX-28 or SX-16/17/18 or R-20. The HT-4 will sit on the left side of 1938 period desk, and the rest on top of the desk. The Palstar will be positioned most likely off to the left side of the HT-4, but not on top! 

When I get it all moved, and some time, I'd like to make a video of it in operation with other hams in QSO.

TNX for all the comments.  You guys are great.

VY 73,

Greg

[KX5JT]

Welcome home Greg!

[w1vtp]

Greg

That is such a great pic.  Got a higher res?  I'm going to use it as a wallpaper for my hamshack 'puter for a while

Welcome to AM fone

73, Al

[K6SRO]

Thanks John for the welcome home!  I was familiar with this website, but just hadn't had much time to really explore it. A guy could spend a lifetime here there is so much information available. Nice resource.

Al, just emailed you some higher res pics. If folks are interested, I can put up some more on Photobucket.

VY 73,

Greg

[K5UJ]

Hi Greg, well that's a real pretty tuner you have there in the photo.   I'm looking forward to the next video after you get everything set up in the Garage.  Good thing the HT-4 is on wheels hi hi.  One thing you could try is what N3DRB did, which was to get an old KW Johnson matchbox that's a real discount beater, one that works okay but is in a dinged up cabinet, and paint the whole thing black.  Then you'd have a decent balanced feedline tuner that would look more in keeping with the period of the HT-4 and SX28.  If you go that route, be sure to get one without the swr meter.  Just an idea, but it looks like you are doing real good with that tuner in the photo.

73

Rob
K5UJ