Replacement D104 Elements

[ka4koe]

My D104 head had one of those "replacement" elements when acquired (slightly larger diameter than a quarter coin). I was given a gen-you-wine D104 crystal element by Liz K4GHT a few months back and frankly had forgotten about it. I remembered the element today and finally got around to wiring it up. All the gang on 3885 agreed that the gen-you-wine element was far superior when connected to my Viking Valiant.

Philip KA4KOE

[W2VW]

This is only true in real life. On the internet the replacement element is great.

[ka4koe]

Gosh, I never even thought of that!

[W2VW]

Neither do many of the hapless folks who read incorrect info about the maligned D-104 on ham sites.

Some never get it right.

[ka4koe]

http://rbmicro.com/

Here is the web site selling the faux elements.

PAN

[W9BHI]

I have rebuilt over a dozen D-104 's with the RB micro kits.
They work as good or better than the original Astatic elements.

Don W9BHI

[W2VW]

I have rebuilt over a dozen D-104 's with the RB micro kits.
They work as good or better than the original Astatic elements.

Don W9BHI

What kind of frequency response do you get?

[KL7OF]

Mouser used to sell a xtal element that worked...I'm not sure if it is still in the catalog...I have used the mouser element and reports were good....However, I never did sweep the element for freq response and never did a direct comparison to the astatic element

[ka4koe]

In A/B comparisons on the Valiant, there was no comparison. The Astatic original won hands down.

[W9BHI]

I have never swept one so I can't answer that.
I use one on my FT-950 and one on my T-368.
Both have FET follower boards in them.
I have had hundreds of reports that ask "what kind of microphone are you using, your audio sounds great."
That many people can't be wrong and that's good enough for me.

Don W9BHI

[k7iou]

My 500 came with a D104 & reports of audio are fantantastic but to add to the mix the previous owner is well known for audio mods and I was told by a Collins restorer he uses his mods on his restorations. I had a D104 on the shelf for years so I tried them both on the 500. I was sent the audio files another ham recorded during our QSO.
The MC -320 came with the 500 & has the best AM quality audio. The MC-321 has sharper audio and it was suggested it would be best for DX. At a recent hamfest I bought a silver eagle for $30. It has a replacement xtal and I again received audio files from a QSO. Other than a lower volume level the quality of audio was on par with the MC-320. See the pictures of the elements. If anyone knows the mfg of the no name one that is in the silver eagle please let me know.
73
de k7iou