Garey Barrell <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> made an utterance to the drakelist gang ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Eddy -
Welcome! Always glad to have another one awaken to the great Drake equipment! :-) Here is a little overview of the 2 & 4 Series that might help you. The 2-B is an outstanding CW receiver, the dial calibration is a little coarse by today's standards, but for just getting on the air and enjoying a CW QSO it works as well as any. It has three (L-C) filter bandwidths, (500, 2100 and 3600 Hz,) built in along with passband tuning. The 100 kHz crystal calibrator was optional. The companion 2-BQ Q Multiplier adds a very sharp peaking filter and a nice tunable null, both at the IF. There is no matching transmitter for the 2-B. The 2-C is similar, except the tubes end at the 2nd IF with all the rest being solid state. Decent receiver but I don't think as good as the 2-B. On the plus side, the 2-NT matching transmitter is available, but is a "Novice" class, crystal controlled, CW only transmitter. No provision for transceive and no VFO included. The R-4 is almost a 2-B, just with a linear PTO and 1 kHz dial calibration. All tubes. Very similar in operation, and will transceive with the matching T-4X for an excellent CW station. Passband Tuner with four filter bandwidths, (400, 1200, 2400 and 4800 Hz,) passband tuning, noise blanker, LC notch and 100 kHz crystal calibrator built in. The R-4A (early 13 tube model) is an improved R-4, almost identical specifications. PTO and Band Oscillators converted to solid state. The R-4A (late 11 tube model) almost identical specifications. Product detector, BFO, AGC and low level audio stages converted to solid state. The R-4B (early) is very similar to the late R-4A, minor modifications and crystal calibrator multivibrator for 25 kHz markers. The R-4B (late) almost identical except PTO changed from bipolar to FET. The R-4C (early) very similar, except IF filters changed to crystal filters. Only the 2.3 kHz filter is standard, 250, 500, 1800, 4000 and 6000 Hz BW are available as options. The 4000 & 6000 Hz filters are normally installed in a special socket under the chassis and are effective on AM only. Four position filter switch. The noise blanker was optional. Entire audio chain solid state, tubes used only from RF to IF, all other stages and oscillators solid state. The R-4C (late) same. Five position filter switch. The 2-B through the R-4B used L-C filters in the IF. This type of filter has much gentler slopes, which means that nearby signals are still heard, just at reduced levels. The crystal filters are steep sided, more like the crystal filters in today's receivers. Personally, I prefer the L-C filters for all except heavy duty contest use. I like to hear what is going on around my frequency, instead of "listening with blinders on"... The T-4 series transmitters are all pretty much the same, the T-4X had 4 pole crystal filters while the T-4XB and C had 8 pole filters. The later ones therefore had slightly better carrier and unwanted sideband suppression, neither of which has ANY effect on CW operation. ANY 4 series receiver will transceive with ANY 4 series transmitter, mix and match. There are minor things like the B line had a neon indicator light under the dial to show which PTO was controlling in transceive while the C line just turned the dial lamps on or off. The R-4 and R-4A had neither, so you had to look at the switch! My opinion..... The R-4B is probably the best receiver overall. It has great audio, smooth AGC, all the filters and noise blanker are built in. The L-C filters are not quite as "drop off the table" selective, but I prefer that for casual QSOs. The R-4C has poorer audio, a little harsher, the "better" (?) crystal filters are extra, and the noise blanker is extra. The R-4 and R-4A are just earlier iterations of the R-4B, and are not quite as refined, although some say they prefer the early R-4A to the R-4B because the tube type product detector in the R-4A is "cleaner". The 2-B isn't very far behind, except it will NOT transceive with anything, and the dial calibration is not precisely linear. 73, Garey - K4OAH Glen Allen, VA Drake 2-B, 4-B & C-Line Service Supplement CDs <www.k4oah.com> EP Swynar wrote:
Good Day All, Just welcoming myself(!) aboard this Reflector... I've been giving some serious thought of late here to do what I probably should have done some 24 years ago, specifically, buy a good set of Drake Twins. Back in '83, I elected to retire my venerable old Heathkit SB-400 / Hallicrafters S-77A combo, in favour of the latest & greatest from the Far East... I've rued that day every time something major goes out with this flashy digital winking & blinking contraption. Maybe I'll learn enough here to know which version of the "R4" series of receiver I should have, & the subtleties between all of the different variants thereof...I hope so, anyway, & look forward to the day that I might have some Twins of my own here to use, enjoy, and actually REPAIR myself, as the need may arise... ~73!~ Eddy VE3CUI - VE3XZ ------------------------- No virus found in this incoming message. Checked by AVG Free Edition. Version: 7.5.503 / Virus Database: 269.15.12/1095 - Release Date: 10/26/2007 7:54 PM
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