Globe King 500C: Never enough radios

[WD5JKO]

One aspect I enjoy about having a SSB receiver for AM use is to be able to make the moronic "Southern Moss" in Texas disappear from my passband. These are SSB mental midgets who refuse to co-operate with us AM er's on 3870. Fine by me. They no longer bother me during the summer months anyway but when propagation is in their favor, I slice them up like Beets. I like that  

   I live in Texas, and have heard the 3870 issues play out. I am friends to both sides, and I am not laying blame. What I here is that the west coast AM group has big carriers, and low levels of modulation. The LSB or USB from you guys causes little to no interference here in 5 land. What causes a problem is the carrier. The carrier is either low in frequency (like 3869.5), or drifting down below 3870 following a key up. Either way, a beat note is heard. If the west coast AM'ers stayed on 3870 (real close to it), then there would be a much reduced interference issue from two modes coexisting on the same frequency that are in different geographical locations.  The 3870 Texas sSB guys guys do run a lot of power, and some have antennas that are intended to have big signals 1000+ miles out. This messes with the west coast AM'ers. If the beat notes go away, perhaps the Texas SSB guys will drop their power, or switch to a cloud burner antenna. My suggestion is to stay on 3870 exactly (no keyed VFO's), or move up a bit, perhaps to 3875. The frequency of 3875 is used a lot by east coast AM'ers, then being so far away, little QRM from those two areas should occur except late night in the winter time.

Jim
Wd5JKO

[N6YW]

I think that's what he means, Billy. I'm a little confused as I thought the plug ins just open the filament circuit anyhow, but it would still be good to remove or otherwise isolate the leads. Not familiar with the circuit so I'm probably missing something [obvious].

Glad to hear you're not going to perform major surgery on the old girl. A lot of us AMers get wrapped up in sounding good and lose sight at times of the fact that we're using amateur, not professional gear designed for HiFi. I'm always willing to make some 'soft mods' as Joe calls them that don't require drilling, blasting, or major surgery. Beyond that, it's easier (and a good excuse) to get something else more purposely designed for the job. 

Those old wooden sets are near and dear to my heart. It's always interesting to see what turns up. And it was a great way to divert my GK-envy. I've wanted a Globe King for years (even have a once-NOS cabinet in the garage)since seeing Brian/W1LYD's highly-modified 'Glob Queen' 400 back in the 90s. Manage to talk myself out of it each time due to downsizing, too many projects, and all that. Sure, Leo's crew cut some corners and used surplus parts or whatever else, but to my eye they are the perfect table-top transmitter and very well laid out visually. Even the Collins KW-1 cut some corners, especially in the audio dept.

Maybe some day I'll find a set of grubby chassis that need a home.

For my needs, the GK is a perfect fit on the money. I have a friend who owns a KW-1 that suffered a major problem that is likely going to take a miracle to find the part as it's likely unobtainium. A $20,000 dollar boat anchor with lot's of class and personality is looking to me like a gigantic doorstop. I would love to own one and perhaps someday that will happen. For the time being, The BC-610E and GK-500C make me one of the happiest campers in radio land. Another item I like about both of these transmitters, is they are quiet (ART-13 too) and the GK-500C is very quiet even with the little blower.
My next stops will involve the 30K-1 & a James Millen 500 watt station. That should do it for my AM needs. To me, the thrill is never gone with AM. I wish I could say the same for SSB.

[Jim, W5JO]

What I am suggesting on the rectifiers is you remove the connections, both primary and secondary and covering them with heat shrink.  Leave the transformer there and run the output of the SS rectifiers to where it should go.   That will take the inductance of the filament transformer out of the loop and maybe keep it from shorting to ground and ruining it.

You don't need that inductance running around in the HV supply anyway.  If you do that then post what your modulated power is.  You stated it is right at 1000 watts with them connected.  I wonder what it will be without those transformers connected.

[N6YW]

One aspect I enjoy about having a SSB receiver for AM use is to be able to make the moronic "Southern Moss" in Texas disappear from my passband. These are SSB mental midgets who refuse to co-operate with us AM er's on 3870. Fine by me. They no longer bother me during the summer months anyway but when propagation is in their favor, I slice them up like Beets. I like that  

   I live in Texas, and have heard the 3870 issues play out. I am friends to both sides, and I am not laying blame. What I here is that the west coast AM group has big carriers, and low levels of modulation. The LSB or USB from you guys causes little to no interference here in 5 land. What causes a problem is the carrier. The carrier is either low in frequency (like 3869.5), or drifting down below 3870 following a key up. Either way, a beat note is heard. If the west coast AM'ers stayed on 3870 (real close to it), then there would be a much reduced interference issue from two modes coexisting on the same frequency that are in different geographical locations.  The 3870 guys do run a lot of power, and some have antennas that are intended to have big signals 1000+ miles out. This messes with the west coast AM'ers. If the beat notes go away, perhaps the Texas SSB guys will drop their power, or switch to a cloud burner antenna. My suggestion is to stay on 3870 exactly (no keyed VFO's), or move up a bit, perhaps to 3875. The frequency of 3875 is used a lot by east coast AM'ers, then being so far away, little QRM from those two areas should occur except late night in the winter time.

Jim
Wd5JKO

Jim
I couldn't agree with you more. My station is CONSTANTLY monitored and adjusted accordingly to stay exactly on frequency. Many operators who are rock bound seem to be a little low in frequency. Several of those stations are running high level 1KW BC rigs too. There is a bit of vanity and pride involved with getting a large group like AMI West to move to 3875. Many have tried. The other argument and where I come from is this: We AM-er's have a rather small slice of sub band generously allowed by convention. The 75 meter phone band has a gigantic amount of unused space, yet some individuals cling to a certain frequency as if it belongs to them regardless of interference or gentleman agreements. Not that the AMI folks have any more right than others, but within the sub band albeit the lowest portion, I think a little allowance should be considered. This battle goes back a long way, way before my time here. I go along with the flow, and use my Flex 5K to remove interference. The bummer, is that my beautiful AR-88 & R-390 sometimes go unused because of this unwillingness by the Southern Moss. Both sides are to blame to an extent, but I am an AM convert who spent years as a SSB net manager for several nets. The growth of bigotry, lack of operator skills and manners on 75 meter SSB has reinforced my resolve to tell all of them to pound sand. I have 2 sidebands and a carrier and intend to use it at all costs. While I could increase my carrier level like some do, I prefer to stay under 350 watts and normally run around 275 to 300 anyway. I do just fine.
I appreciate you making a very valid point Jim. The beating of carriers and sideband mixing can otherwise ruin the hobby for some, but not for me. I slice and dice and make everything nice.
73 de Billy N6YW

[WD8KDG]

   I live in Texas, and have heard the 3870 issues play out. I am friends to both sides, and I am not laying blame. What I here is that the west coast AM group has big carriers, and low levels of modulation. The LSB or USB from you guys causes little to no interference here in 5 land. What causes a problem is the carrier. The carrier is either low in frequency (like 3869.5), or drifting down below 3870 following a key up. Either way, a beat note is heard. If the west coast AM'ers stayed on 3870 (real close to it), then there would be a much reduced interference issue from two modes coexisting on the same frequency that are in different geographical locations.  The 3870 Texas sSB guys guys do run a lot of power, and some have antennas that are intended to have big signals 1000+ miles out. This messes with the west coast AM'ers. If the beat notes go away, perhaps the Texas SSB guys will drop their power, or switch to a cloud burner antenna. My suggestion is to stay on 3870 exactly (no keyed VFO's), or move up a bit, perhaps to 3875. The frequency of 3875 is used a lot by east coast AM'ers, then being so far away, little QRM from those two areas should occur except late night in the winter time.

Jim
Wd5JKO
[/quote]

I'd like to raise a friendly horse pucky flag on this one. Caw mawn Jim; there are lots of "golden age of radios" amateur type with VFO's that drift. You want them to stay on a specific frequency, BS. Every xtal in my shack is a couple hundred cycles low, tuff titty. The excuse which you give is just like going to a boxing match and not wanting to see punches traded in the ring. Those that don't want to "hear AM", please skip the frequencies where AM is in use, such as 3.870-3.885 on 75 meters.

Even within the "window"; as the band stretches out AM'er hear each other's heterodynes and either sign off with the close in QSO's or join in with the distant stations. Lots of room on the bands. Some of us have learned to play well with others.

Craig,

[N6YW]

I'll sidestep the SSB/AM dysfunction for now and introduce a sidebar of sorts... The GK-500C SSB input.
I haven't done much reading on this yet but there is a switch on the back that allows selection of SSB input, and a corresponding RCA jack.
Now, this site is all about AM, and I am completely down with this but it beckons the question: What SSB adapter should be used? Was this a work around by Leo to let his flagship gear be able bodied enough to support the newer mode of communication to attract the SSB crowd? Is there a specific contraption that is ideal for transforming this little beast into a snotty nosed upstart lacking a carrier?
I am a member of, and a scheduled host for the Vintage SSB Roundtable gang on 3895 KHZ here on the West Coast, so it gives me pause for having a little fun at everyone else's expense... especially my neighbors. Perhaps this is foolhardy and should be avoided. Any takers?
Billy N6YW

[nq5t]

I'd think a CE 20A would be ideal.

[Todd, KA1KAQ]

Well, we're not completely monolithic here, Billy. Plenty of SSB DXers and brass pounders mixed in. And besides - SSB is really just AM Lite, right? An AM signal with the carrier and one sideband filtered, masked, whatever. 

So long as you're working other classic tube stations no one will likely complain. A lot of the newer plastic radio crowd have a really rough time handling any drift on SSB, though. It just drives them nuts, have heard it numerous times (kinda funny to listen in).

For appearance sake, the B&W 51S(?) comes to mind as a good visual mate to the GK. No idea if it would lash up to it easily; keeping the AM stuff working is hard enough on my feeble brain.

I'm guessing your buddy must've lost the vacuum variable in his KW-1? There isn't much else in there that can't be replaced, rewound, or substituted. The vac variable was a custom job as I recall, not many around. Probably a workaround for it, too. Just don't tell the Collins Radio Authenticity Patrol.

[WD5JKO]

I'd think a CE 20A would be ideal.

  I agree. The GK500 Linear input level should be about right for a 20A that is running about 1/2 to 2/3 power. Of course the 20A power varies a lot band to band (mostly the VFO issue), but 80/20m are the best two bands since they occur without having to multiply the VFO frequency.

  I sometimes get into the "Boat Anchor" net here in Texas where most check in with a vintage SSB rig. This is every Wednesday night at 7:30PM Central time on 3870. I use a modified 20A driving a 8877 based amplifier for ~ 1000w PEP output. I strive to be on frequency, and have went to great lengths to be ON, no matter what mode I run. I attach a system schematic of my Lakeshore Band Hopper VFO effort. More info is in the files section of the Yahoo Group, "SSB Round Table".

Jim
Wd5JKO

[W3GMS]

Billy,

As mentioned the 20A would be a great driver for the GK-500.  With a grid driven PA in linear mode the CE-10A would probably be enough as well. 

I host an Antique Wireless Net on 160M and a lot of the guys are using either CE-10's or 20's into a linear with good success.  A simple but not vintage solution is to use the N3ZI DDS VFO since that gives great stability.  Those that are using the converted Command sets on 160 as VFO's in general drift quite a bit and for SSB that becomes a problem! 

Being a phasing unit the audio quality is excellent. 

Joe, GMS 

[N6YW]

Billy,

As mentioned the 20A would be a great driver for the GK-500.  With a grid driven PA in linear mode the CE-10A would probably be enough as well.  

I host an Antique Wireless Net on 160M and a lot of the guys are using either CE-10's or 20's into a linear with good success.  A simple but not vintage solution is to use the N3ZI DDS VFO since that gives great stability.  Those that are using the converted Command sets on 160 as VFO's in general drift quite a bit and for SSB that becomes a problem!  

Being a phasing unit the audio quality is excellent.  

Joe, GMS 

My HT-37 is also a phasing type rig. Perhaps I could use that with a load pad. The CE-20A's are plentiful enough that I could use one with a crystal for 3895 operation. The 458 VFO can be a bit drifty. It's funny, I owned 3 complete sets of 20-A's with all of the accessories and not once did I get them on the air for a QSO. The CE-20A is a very good transmitter and I have several that sounded excellent after a thorough restoration. One guy uses one just about every week for the roundtable and stays on frequency very well. So, about 10-15 watts of RF drive into the GK-500 should do it? I need to do my homework on this subject.
Anyway, I was at the TRW swap meet today and it was great to see a bunch of my buds. Word has gotten around about the GK-500. Seems like people are dumping a lot of BA's. I saw three Valiants sold today, and even a couple of Rangers. One guy was selling an R-388 for $800.00 bucks. I laughed and kept walking. I have to give a big shout out to Bob AK6R, who is Palomar Electronics now. He hooked me up with some ferrite products to help tame my neighbor's angst regarding my AM signal and his sub woofer. Silly wabbit. I'm being nice though and will terminate the issue. The swap meet really has turned into Computers and cheap Chinese tools galore. A few hams selling stuff, much over priced but still some bargains. Juan, KB6KMU bought a Clegg Zephyr receiver in beautiful condition for cheap. He beat me to it by 5 minutes. We are going to put together a 6 meter AM group for the heck of it.
Back on topic:
So far, the audio reports have been quite flattering. The D-104 seems to work just fine. Looking at the schematic of the speech amp, there is a 47K into the grid and a 2.2 meg to ground in the first audio stage. Should I consider adding more resistance or is this okay? Looking at the scope, the bandwidth looks pretty darned good and considering this, it appears that someone may have added some capacitance in parallel to at least one of the couplates.
I sure hope to work some of you guys on the East Coast when conditions permit and I usually monitor 29.010 during the day and perhaps load this rascal up!
73 de Billy N6YW

[Jim, W5JO]

Billy, a bit off topic but is Palomar back in business under a new owner?  I hope so they had quality products and were a joy to do business with.  The previous owner would send the products and put a bill in the box when I ordered.  How nice that was. 

[Pete, WA2CWA]

Juan, KB6KMU bought a Clegg Zephyr receiver in beautiful condition for cheap. He beat me to it by 5 minutes. We are going to put together a 6 meter AM group for the heck of it.

73 de Billy N6YW

What's a Clegg Zephyr receiver? Never heard of it. The only two 6 and 2 meter Clegg receivers I know of are the Clegg Interceptor and Clegg Interceptor B.

[N6YW]

Billy, a bit off topic but is Palomar back in business under a new owner?  I hope so they had quality products and were a joy to do business with.  The previous owner would send the products and put a bill in the box when I ordered.  How nice that was. 

Bob, AK6R is about as nice a guy as you would ever want to do business with. I believe he carries on the same tradition.

[W3RSW]

Funny after all the other automatic gizmos on modern receivers, that automatic receiving frequency control in SSB hasn't been added.  Auto RIT.  Of course FM has AFC.

So for those pesky vintage SSB roundtables, "Forward to the Past !"
But then the sweet caché of off frequency dissonance would be heard no more.

Oops, just caught myself. If all in a roundtable are using modern rigs, they're all on pretty much the same freq. anyway, but you know what I mean. Looks like the AUto RIT would be useful to clean up the few unwashed incoming and great for those vintage tube meets.

I guess Auto RIT would be an expensive add-on, if even possible without major surgery for ancient rig receivers, but you wouldn't have to depend on the other guy to have digital VFO's.

So you could have "let's turn off our Auto RIT" days.
Keep drivin' 'em crazy.
Yeah everyone purposely being a few cycles off on even modern rigs in a roundtable would be fun too. Flip on your auto wobulators.

[N6YW]

Juan, KB6KMU bought a Clegg Zephyr receiver in beautiful condition for cheap. He beat me to it by 5 minutes. We are going to put together a 6 meter AM group for the heck of it.

73 de Billy N6YW

What's a Clegg Zephyr receiver? Never heard of it. The only two 6 and 2 meter Clegg receivers I know of are the Clegg Interceptor and Clegg Interceptor B.

My bad. It's the interceptor. 6&2 meter receiver. What a fine piece too.

[Pete, WA2CWA]

Juan, KB6KMU bought a Clegg Zephyr receiver in beautiful condition for cheap. He beat me to it by 5 minutes. We are going to put together a 6 meter AM group for the heck of it.

73 de Billy N6YW

What's a Clegg Zephyr receiver? Never heard of it. The only two 6 and 2 meter Clegg receivers I know of are the Clegg Interceptor and Clegg Interceptor B.

My bad. It's the interceptor. 6&2 meter receiver. What a fine piece too.

It's a nice receiver. I have the original and the "B" models. The 7360 and nuvistor tubes can break the bank if they need to be replaced. The original manual never included the alignment instructions but I got them from Ed Clegg back in the 90's from his personal files.

[N6YW]

And now...
The antenna. Yes, a folded dipole with ladder line is reaching into the sky as of this week.
I will now have something other than the vertical (75 meters only) and it will put me on the other bands (except 160).
The property lot is only 90' long so I had to use a compromise but being that it's a Cobra Ultra-Lite Jr
it will at least put out a signal. It will be interesting to see how it works. The tuner is a Johnson KW MB.
So far, the reports on the GK-500 have been excellent again. The D-104 audio processor is doing it's thing  

[Ralph W3GL]

And now...
The antenna. Yes, a folded dipole with ladder line is reaching into the sky as of this week.
.
The property lot is only 90' long so I had to use a compromise but being that it's a Cobra Ultra-Lite Jr
it will at least put out a signal. It will be interesting to see how it works.

FYI, the Cobra Ultra-Lite is not a true "folded dipole"
antenna...

Yes, its two sides consist of "folded back on theirselves" wires, however the folded dipole is in fact a continuous narrow spaced loop of wire (origionally made with TV twin line) fed with the same TV line or open wire...   

The Cobra is actually nothing more than a center feed Zeep configuration...

[N6YW]

Perhaps, but for my needs it's "folded" enough. The first mast was installed yesterday, 43' total height.
It clears the canopy of the tree by 4' ft. A major pain but worth it. Pulling the antenna across the top of the tree will require constant tension with a person at each end. It's going to be a lot of work but once it's installed it will last a long time. I am using the surplus military fiberglass masts that come in 4' ft. sections. Each section has 3 screws to insure as much rigidity as possible. It worked perfectly.
I made two guy rings out of Micarta & installed at the 2/3'rds mark. The bottom 1/3 is supported by a stand off mounts attached to the roof fascia boards on the garage and the house
The antenna will extend from almost one end of the property to the other, which means I might have to dog leg one end downward by a few feet. I don't see much problem with that. At least the antenna will be up in the air as far as I can get it while being practical. I want to put an end to interference issues with my neighbors. It seems that Gary K6GLH maxim on vertical antennas has been true:
Vertical Antennas: "A great way to meet your neighbors"
I am living proof that this is true. Wish me luck. AM is going to rule the roost here at N6YW no matter what I have to do.

[N6YW]

Another 3 shots...
As you can see, the Elm tree is not antenna friendly.

[W3GMS]

Billy,

Looks good and with the amount of guying you have it should stay up for quite some time. 

Verticals have there place and when done correctly can work quite well for low angle work, but It hard to beat a dipole up in the air for general usage. 

Is that a tree laying on the roof shingles in your first picture? 

Joe, GMS

[Jim, W5JO]

Using that antenna may mean I can hear you this coming winter in the middle of the country.  Good work.

[KB2WIG]

hmmmm 

90' + 40' = 130'

  Run some 1/4 inch Dacron rope through some pulleys and drag some 18 AWG homely despot wire.Sounds like you'd have an inverted eL on 160m. You could pull it back down and leave the other antenna up there.


klc

[N6YW]

Billy,

Looks good and with the amount of guying you have it should stay up for quite some time. 

Verticals have there place and when done correctly can work quite well for low angle work, but It hard to beat a dipole up in the air for general usage. 

Is that a tree laying on the roof shingles in your first picture? 

Joe, GMS

Joe, yes it's one of the limbs. We are going to cut it off entirely this summer. My wife has been
opposed to it until I showed her that I had to use a piece of plywood to prevent it damaging the new
roof on the garage! Away it goes!