Viking 11

[KE7KPB]

I read an article about the Johnson Vic11 and some were kits. I guess I have one of the kit models but It was build by someone who new what they were doing. The 6146 sockets are bolted in  not riveted.
Question #1. Were could I get a copy of the build instructions.
Question #2  What is the best mike to use on the Vic2
Question #3  Now that the transmitter transmits, no modulation yet, would it be better to do a mod on that section with the 12ax7s or leave it all original.

[w5gw]

I have owned 4 Vikings - my opinion the stock modulation works quite well - I'd start off with it and refurbish in accordance with below.

Go thru the transmitter and replace all filter caps except the oil filled HV capacitor (usually good unless visible signs of leaking).  The .05 caps are typically ok, but there are a lot of them.  I only replace micas when they go bad.  Replace all capacitors except mica in the modulator section. Pay attention to resistors here as well.

Check and replace carbon resistors - typically they are out of range

You need a hi-Z microphone - I get excellent reports with a stock (refurbished per above) Viking II and an Astatic D-104.  Do NOT use an amplified D-104, if that is what you have, rewire to bypass the amplifier in the base. 

You can get the assembly and ops manual here: http://bama.edebris.com/manuals/johnson/viking2(2)/

[w5gw]

Some things that I've found out in operating my Vikings that is not in the ops manual:

Your Viking II may have a red line on the meter - I use that to set grid drive in tune position (plate off, CW, key down) - that way, in ops position (plate On, AM or CW) grid current should be about 5 ma.  Life of 6146s will be near infinity if you set drive to 5 ma of grid current and keep plate current to 210 or 220 ma.  That should easily get you 90-95 Watts of carrier on AM on 40 meters, about the same on 75 and decreasing on 20, 15 and 10 if your Viking is up to snuff.  I get 70 to 75 Watts of AM carrier on 10 meters under these conditions.

The modulation peaks of 125 ma are a good approximation for 100% modulation, but I use a scope and find peaks may exceed this a bit when set up for 100% on the scope.  Johnson used different meter movements in their production and some seem to be more damped than others. 

If you don't have a scope I'd suggest getting one

[KC2ZFA]

Does anyone know the details of L₄, L_5A, and L_5B ?

It would be great to have this info in case anyone wants to build one from scratch !

Thanks, Peter

[KE7KPB]

ok this is something I overlooked and now I feel stupid. I had a friend of mine come over to look at the setup and he wanted to twist knobs lol. I said everything looks great but no modulation on the transmitter.
After he looked at the setup he said, is the mike wired up correctly? Yep I replied. Did you swap out the mike heads? No I replied. Well guess what, Bad D104 mike element. Swapped it out for one that I know it works and wow it works just fine. In about 40 years on radio I have never ran across a bad D104 mike element. First for me and one that I will never forget.

[w5gw]

Not only do D-104 elements go bad, this is going to be more common as they age.  Temperature and humidity extremes seem to aggrivate their demise as do excessive shock.

Also - all of my D-104s sound a bit different and some are more active than others.

Welcome to the world of vintage AM.

[WQ9E]

Does anyone know the details of L₄, L_5A, and L_5B ?

It would be great to have this info in case anyone wants to build one from scratch !

Thanks, Peter

Peter,

Are you trying to build these coils to replace a missing set?  If so I can get you some close up photos and measurements from a Viking I that will soon go on the bench.  

Or if you are trying to build a transmitter similar to a Viking then the attached scan from Radio and Television News might prove interesting. I apologize but the copy I have was damaged so the scan is missing the last page (or two) but the schematic, parts list, and chassis photos are there.  It would be easier to duplicate than some of the parts manufactured by Johnson for the Viking transmitters.  The same author published a control unit (T/R switch, calibrator, CW and AM monitor, etc.) for the transmitter in a later issue.

[kb3rdt]

what if you want use dsp use a mpf102 amp what I did and remember all D104's sound diffrent so if you have more then 1 element try all of them! and the thing about 12ax7 if you want more gain and got to change socket mine has been changed both 6au6 to a 12ax7 in the speach amp and 12by7 audio driver into 807's but here is the link

http://bama.edebris.com/manuals/johnson/viking2(2)/

[The Slab Bacon]

Rodger,
           Sure looks like the designer of that rig used a Viking for inspiration.
Hmmmmmm.....................

[WQ9E]

Rodger,
           Sure looks like the designer of that rig used a Viking for inspiration.
Hmmmmmm.....................

When I first saw the article I expected a duplicate and it is certainly Viking inspired.  He mentioned the Viking metering method was used in his transmitter and it certainly looks inspired by more than metering.

Maurice W3TRR was a pretty prolific writer and the control unit he constructed is described in the attached article from April 1956.

[WD8BIL]

You'll find the assembly instructions here.

Viking info on BAMA

The OP manual and other info is on the site as well.

You'll need to install the DjView viewer. The link is at the bottom of the page.

[w5gw]

You'll find the assembly instructions here.

Viking info on BAMA

The OP manual and other info is on the site as well.

You'll need to install the DjView viewer. The link is at the bottom of the page.

There is a PDF version so there is no reason to install a DjView viewer...