T-368

[flintstone mop]

Hey Guys,
I have been doing some reading of back issues of old ER mags and I am wondering whatever happened to the T-368 rage from the middle 90's? And yes, yours truly really regrets selling my highly TRON modifed T-3. It was so close to b'cast audio. And using the original mod iron!! Another bad move. Love to get it back some how.

The rage now seems to be Class E Tx. and Flex radios, plastic radios and big linears.
Yup I gotta Class E for 75M and I gotta nicely modified TS440 and a Titan 425 for 160M
Going to play with an Elmac AF-67 for the higher bands after some clean-up and the usual mods.
Fred MOP radio

[Ed - N3LHB]

Fred,
   Sold my T-3 back in Pa. just before I moved to Ohio. Always regretted selling it, picked another one up at auction out here about 2 years ago, and it's a lot nicer than my old one. Funny thing is, I use my homebrew 4-250 rig more often, no blower noise. That's the only downside of the T-3 is that blower noise. I am going to replace the blower in the back with muffin fans... Hopefully that'll quiet things down.
   Class E rigs might be neat, but tubes are still hard to beat!

[Vortex Joe - N3IBX]

Fred,
      About 6-7 years ago it seemed that T-368's were abundant. There were plenty on the air and you always heard once in a while of one for sale. It was almost like the "Honda" of AM transmitters. A lot of people seemed to own one or where trying to get one. Fair radio seemd to have plenty of them available at a reasonable cost. I believe they were selling them untested for about $750.00.

There are still quite a few in active, if not daily service; but it seems to me that the numbers of them are diminishing. I also wonder why! Are some T3 owners replacing them with smaller setups like the proverbial "ricebox and leenyar" or class E stuff? I dunno. Interesting topic to say the least.

I have both a T-368 and a BC-610-I/HT4-H. The "Beastly 610" is nasty, arcs over relays, contacts on it's mod transformer, and does all sorts of credulous "stuff". Also, you need to swap coils if you want to change bands. The T-368 is refined, makes great power output, doesn't arc over, has a pi-net outpoot, easy to tune, etc etc.

I love both transmitters since each one has it's own special charm, but am a little partial to the "Beastly", just because it's a little nasty and cantankerous old cuss and very oldbuzzardly. I get about 325W out of the Beasly and more from the T-368. Like I said before, each has it's own personal charm.

I've always considered a T-368/R-390 combo to be the "Harley-Davidson" of AM stations. Solid as a rock and will last a lifetime, if not longer.

Best Regards,
                 Joe Cro N3IBX

[Ed - N3LHB]

Joe,
   Thanks for the info, it's nice to know someone is enjoying the old T-3. Hopefully someone is also using my old homebrew rig that I sold about the same time.... A pair of 811A's modulating a pair of 813's. Sold it to WA1SSJ, and he turned it around to another ham....

[Vortex Joe - N3IBX]

Joe,
   Thanks for the info, it's nice to know someone is enjoying the old T-3. Hopefully someone is also using my old homebrew rig that I sold about the same time.... A pair of 811A's modulating a pair of 813's. Sold it to WA1SSJ, and he turned it around to another ham....

Ed,
   Great hearing from you! How have you been and what have you been up to? I spoke to "Conowingo Chuck", W3FJJ the other evening on 160M; and was good catching up with him. It's been a long time since we spoke.

Your old T-368 is alive and very well. I mated a R-390A on top of it and use it on 160 and 75M most of the time. It still keeps plugging along without any fuss since I straightened out a few "kinks" it had. I simply love it.

Hope to talk to you on the aether, and if you're up this way, please stop over.

Do you still have your old FT-401B on AM? It sounded pretty good!

Very Best Regards,
                         Joe Cro N3IBX

[flintstone mop]

Ok guys
Nice hearing from you Ed, I remember when you split town and had a big sale of those nice looking Tx's and other Ham goodies.
And Joe are you the recipient of that three piece broadcast TX that was being given away for free from somewhere here in PA. Maybe it was Joe 'GMS...........hmmm
G'day

[WA3VJB]

OK Fine ! Fred

People got very quiet when the price of these transmitters routinely hit $1000. Look at the old ebay archives and you'll see some hefty sales. Hyelloweee Huey in Delaware still has a handful of them lined up in his chicken coops, and can probably entertain an interesting trade of some kind. He won't sell them outright.

I last had my 1957 Crosley T-368C on the air about a year ago -- up on 15 meters when 10m was in its list ebb flow toward low tide.



Just don't have much interest in running it.

I don't mind the noise, and it's got its own comfortable "scent" from dust on hot tubes and anti-fungal coating on a warm chassis. 

I'd probably put it on 160 if the antenna were still up, but that's another neglected project. Meantime, I see rising prices even on the exciter deck -- that schweet little 6L6 type RF module with multipliers and the Collins-designed PTO. I use one of them on the Collins 300G. (you can see it amidships in the lowest glass observation window)

I can't help but think the donor carcasses that Fair Radio once had have been parted out, and the supply from the DRMO houses has long dried up.

[Vortex Joe - N3IBX]

Joe are you the recipient of that three piece broadcast TX that was being given away for free from somewhere here in PA. Maybe it was Joe 'GMS...........hmmm
G'day

Fred - It was a behemoth RCA BTA1-L in Scranton. I wanted it but just missed it. Maybe next time.
Best Regards,
                  Joe Cro N3IBX

[W2VW]

Nice picture Paul. The mic cord on the floor is an OSHA violation though. Duct tape it down or make visitors sign a waiver.

[The Slab Bacon]

Dave, I like the nice little addition in the back window!

About 15 or 16 years ago I drove all the way down to Prince Frederick Md to pick up a transmitter. (keep in mind that I had no interest in AM at that time) It was, of all horrors a Johnson Invader 200. for $75. The fellow that was selling it asked me if I knew anyone that was interested in this "old military transmitter" that was sitting in the corner of his basement. He said that it has lots of good parts for someone to recycle! At the time I didnt know what it was, but I do remember what it looked like, it was a complete, unmolested T-3. He said that the first one that would give him $50 could haul it out of there. Oh well hindsight is ALWAYS 20-20. Go figure!
                 
                                                             The Slab Bacon

[Roy K8VWX]

 I have two T-368 left now and both have the bottom blower running aprox. 1/2 speed through a 2 to 1 step down transformer. All blowers have new bearing and the RF (4-400) blowers run full speed but one is much more quiet than the other. One you cannot hear unless you get a couple of feet from it the other for some reason is a little bit louder. I sold one that I could never get anyway near as quiet as these two . Both of the ones I am using now are quieter than my Johnson 500.
       W8TPH ran an internal check on the inside temperature with the above blower speeds and noticed only a small rise in temperature. 73

[WA1GFZ]

Roy,
That is a beautiful TX you have in your avatar! gfz

[Vortex Joe - N3IBX]

Roy,
That is a beautiful TX you have in your avatar! gfz

Frank,
        I've heard Roy use it on the air and it sounds as good as it looks!
Regards,
            Joe N3IBX

[The Slab Bacon]

Roy,
That is a beautiful TX you have in your avatar! gfz

Frank,
 I've heard Roy use it on the air and it sounds as good as it looks!
Regards,
 Joe N3IBX

Yea, as long as you are not trying to operate anywhere within 15kc on either side of him!

[WA1GFZ]

some guys operate in the am window while others are the am window...