DX 60B tune up procedure and crystal trouble

[VE3LYX]

I recently bought a DX60B and have been using it on air. I have n manual so I guessed. Set the grid drive midrange after peaking and dipped the plate  but it is not real senstive to load adjustments. I maybe should read the tune procedure except  dont have it anywhere.
I also have had trouble getting Crystals to oscillate. Ones that work fine in my crystal spotter (TTL chip circuit 7400) can be stubbborn in thre rig not wanting to kick off right away. tonite I reground one for 7120 and although it works fine in my spotter it will not oscillate in the rig. (I have ground crystals before)
Don VE3LYX

[ve6pg]

..don..have you checked the tubes?..grid should be about 2.5mils, plate about 125-130...tune up in cw..you sounded ok yesterday...i have tha manual. i can email it to you...likely from my yahoo..send along your email address to me..

..tim..

..sk..

[VE3LYX]

Thanks Tim. I will email from my regular in a moment.
I enjoyed the morning QSO. Thanks.  I am going to check plate current when loaded up on my dummy load (just in case) before I do anything rash. I read the mail today till about ten. Al was very strong here. S9. The rest would come and go. As the moring progressed I couldnt hear you or HNH anymore. Just tell you were in there. Band conditions, but then it is an hour later in the day now.
In the sunlight I took the offending a crystal apart.again. No wonder.  It is a defective piece. In the sunlight I could see a large chip in the one corner. I wouldnt have bothered with it had I seen that before. Eyesight isnt what it once was. It had been moved by someone before from 6860 to 7050. I guess it was just luck it would work in the test osc. I have my homebrew Am set up downstairs . I have a lot more suds now with a Hmbrw parrallel tube linear. On a good day I may give it a shot as it is set up for 40M and is a VFO. Thanks for the tune tips this morning.  I heard the short talk on crystal grinding. All very good except the rock I was talking on this morning I also ground.  Like most things in life I dont believe it is as difficult as it is made out to be. If someone else can do I firmly believe there simply is no good reason why I cant learn to do it too. Still a gamble though for sure but worth every minute of work to me. I like making things.
Don VE3LYX

[ve6pg]

,,don..condx have not up to par, the last few weeks...flare?...maybe...anyway...i sent the dx60 manual on to you..hope it helps out..

..tim..

..sk..

[VE3LYX]

Thank you. It cant hurt. I am flying blind now  so any info is good.
Yes. Conditions have been off. Still it is a very enjoyable morning sitting with a cup of coffeee listening to the conversations. When condtions are decent I will jump in. If they are iffy i will just read the mail.
I am hoping my matching recvr comes tomrrow. is ee ithas completed its stop in customs now.
I moved a DX150B realistic recvr downstairs  for back up with the hmbrew trasciever. I clipped it to the supports for the suspended ceiling and was amazed to find it is real happy with that for an antenna. It is a better recvr than  gave it credit for being.  I may try listening down there tomorrow to see if it will pick you fellows up. I am curious to see.
Thanks again for the tips and the loan of the manual.
Don VE3LYX

[AL7FS]

Don, did you ever receive the two files I emailed you yesterday?  They did not bounce.
I sent the to the @sympatico.ca address.

Jim, AL7FS
Anchorage, Alaska

[VE3LYX]

Not yet but I will check right now. thanks
Don VE3LYX

[ve6pg]

...don i emailed the dx60 manual to you...

..tim..

[VE3LYX]

Hasnt shown up yet but that is normal for sympatico. Might take a couple of days. Depends.
Anyway I am not going to worry too much . You could hear me 57 58. I am chalking any difficulties up to band conditions. I am past the point where just a bit more power or a bit more this or that temps me. BTW I went downstairs and tried to copy on the other Antennas and rxs (Three different rxs two antennas. ). Noise was horrendus compared to my upstairs antennas. S9 would not be exaggerating.
I hope you dont mind me checking in for a couple each morning. I certainly enjoy it. Starts my day off well. Hopefully things bandwise will improve although usually winter is best.
Don VE3LYX

[ve6pg]

..ok don..is there another email i can send to?..yahoo, gmail, etc.?

..tim..

[VE3LYX]

Biggest problem is I am on dial up. if it doesnt show up by friday i will get a friend to take it on hi-speed . I have the schematic already and the design is not a whole lot different from my black homebrew transceiver although the 6146B is a large step from my 50L6. however both are beam power tubes and both rigs use a form of controlled carrier (and screen grid) modulation. What I really desire is the step by step tune  up proceedure . I use the one I use one for my Kenwood TS830 now which is about 6 lines in total. You gave me a heads up on going past Am to CW. I found if I did that  then reset the grid drive I am now almost at 130mils  say 120 to 127. So I am doing better. The Load seems less responsive then I am used to and that is what concerns me. I have now rigged press to talk. (Externally) I do not wish to modify the rig inside out of respect for its place in HAM radio history and such. Other than that I am enjoying it a lot  despite the IFFY band conditions.
Don VE3LYX

[ve6pg]

..ok don..i'm on dial-up as well...i sent it from another location, so you get it...do have another email account?...thinking you could go to a library, or whichever to download it...maybe open a gmail account, let me know and i will resend it...dont try dial-up...will take forever, if at all..

..tim..

[WU2D]

I am not a fan of the modified Pierce ECO type of crystal oscillator that Heath used in the DX-60 and HW-16's. It was done to allow an easier switch over to VFO operation. Play with L1 and the feedback cap value ( 100 pf) on the screen.

Mike WU2D

[VE3LYX]

It had crossed my mind that the circuit may have been shy a few pfs. You just confirmed my thoughts. I have some rocks that work fine in my tester but are stuborn in the DX60B . I bought this as a back up rig and it is serving me well there. I am a homebrewer at heart but cant mention specifically what here apparently. Today I received a matching rcvr for the DX60B. Darn thing works too. Aways wanted Drake Twins but had to settle for Daystrom Twins. Still they look kinda nice nestled up to each other. Thanks for the input.
DON VE3LYX