Re: [Drakelist] Drake 2B Crystal Confusion
Joe, Where is your preselector positioned? The 2B was designed to mix xtals in a lot of ways, and the preselector really did a "make or break" where you were listening. The A socket is kind of "tuned wide" around 8 Mhz. First guess is the xtal is outputting on second harmonic and your hearing ~5 Mhz-5.6Mhz with rather unusual math on the dial. 73, Ron WD8SBB --- On Sat, 6/11/11, Joe Connor wrote: From: Joe Connor Subject: [Drakelist] Drake 2B Crystal Confusion To: "drakelist@zerobeat.net" Date: Saturday, June 11, 2011, 8:18 PM Well, the work on this set is proceeding well. I installed a replacement filter-cap can and the radio sounds good. It's sensitive and has surprisingly good audio. I am, however, confused about crystals. When I bought this radio, there was one extra crystal: a crystal marked 4605.000 kc in the A socket. When I turn to A, I hear a fair number of amateur SSB broadcasts. However, I am not sure what frequency range I'm on. Am I correct that 4605.000 kc is 4.605 mhz? WIth a crystal in the A socket, the manual seems to indicate that I should subtract 4.1 mhz from the crystal frequency to determine the frequency that I'm hearing. That would bring me to 505 khz, which makes no sense. Can someone please tell me what's going? As always, thank you for your help. Joe Connor -Inline Attachment Follows- ___ Drakelist mailing list Drakelist@zerobeat.net http://mailman.zerobeat.net/mailman/listinfo/drakelist ___ Drakelist mailing list Drakelist@zerobeat.net http://mailman.zerobeat.net/mailman/listinfo/drakelist
Re: [Drakelist] Drake
top...@att.net writes: Lookin for any info on Drake Equipment,Im a newbe to the world of Ham Suggest you refer to _www.wb4hfn.com_ (http://www.wb4hfn.com) and be ready for a lot of info. Carl wd8nhk___ Drakelist mailing list Drakelist@zerobeat.net http://mailman.zerobeat.net/mailman/listinfo/drakelist
[Drakelist] strange noise in tuning.
Was playing with my R-4 today and noticed a" birdie" very strong on 20 and 17 meters. Almost as strong as the cal tone.Showed up on 14150,210 ,275 and 335. On 17 showed up at 18120,135, and 145. Pulled the ant connection and gone,the R4 is silent except for a little white noise. If I pull the 2' jumper coax off the ant switch,but still connected to the R-4 , the birdie still there and as loud as when the switch is connected to the antenna. the rig seems to hear fine on both bands,just the birdie is always there. If I pull the jumper coax from the switch,short the coax, still there. On the same antennas and antenna switch, my S-line does not have the birdies, nor does my Flex 1500. I also noticed on the R-4,This seems to come and go, that it is harder to tune to a CLEAN sounding audio on ssb,always seems a bit rough and not right on. any ideas where to look. thanks dale wt4t ___ Drakelist mailing list Drakelist@zerobeat.net http://mailman.zerobeat.net/mailman/listinfo/drakelist
Re: [Drakelist] value of early drake gear
Dale - The only significant difference between the R-4 and the Early R-4A is that the 'A' has a solid state (Bipolar) PTO and BAND oscillator. So the 'A' is more stable and quicker to stabilize from turn-on. The R-4 is very like the 2-B, functionally, just with a linear PTO and 1 kHz calibration. The Late R-4A has a few more stages converted from tube to SS, NONE of which are in the direct RF/IF signal path. Some claim the tube type Product Detector used in the 2-B - Early R-4A has lower distortion than the two-diode PD used in the rest of the R-4A/B/C receivers. The "B" added the 25 kHz calibrator, and changed the PTO to an FET after the first 1000 receivers, and but that's about the only functional differences. There were several cosmetic changes, the most important of which, at least to me, was changing from 'natural' lettering 'above the belt' to black printing. The tilted MAIN TUNING knob skirt was much less susceptible to glare, and the 'PTO in Use' fiducial was a nice change. There were small circuit changes, mostly values in the AVC, NB and a couple other places, but nothing drastic. I still think the "B" is the best of the bunch, if for no other reason than that the design is the same as the R-4, just refined after building about 7000 of the earlier versions.! Personally, I think the Sherwood R-4C is 'better', ONLY if you need the close in IM protection. Let's face it, about the only place you find that to be a problem is either on low band contest weekends or low band DX pileups. For day to day hamming in our relatively wide open bands, I prefer the Passband tuner to the crystal filters. I find the steep sided crystal filters to have a 'harsher' sound, and I like to know what's going on around 'MY' frequency, just at reduced levels. I have at least two each of the R-4(any) receivers, and the B-Line is the pair on the main desk. The 7 Line is nice on the other desk, but if you can't 'dip the plate'. The S-Line and the rest are shelved or in a closet, or the garage. As my baby sister used to say, 'Tweechies own'! :-) 73, Garey - K4OAH Glen Allen, VA Drake 2-B, 2-C/2-NT, 4-A, 4-B, C-Line and TR-4/C Service Supplement CDs y...@aol.com wrote: Have a very nice Drake R4/T4X/ AC-4/ MS-4 all the gear is real clean and operates just fine. My question is why is the early 4 line gear worth next to nothing, when compared to the rest of the 4 line. I have owned a B-line,a C-line in the past ,both good performers,B being my choice between the two. I find the early 4 line performance ,from my ear and operation just as good as my B-line. Of course I never had the chance to run them side by side,and the mind can play tricks, they perform so close in real life operation,they seem almost the same to me. Watching QTH and Ebay I see the 4A and 4B gear go for twice the price all most all the time ,over the 4 gear. I realize that Drake made some mechanical and operational changes thru the years,but basic radio performance is not that different. I had a full Drake/Sherwood C line , and it was the BEST of the lot,but they will go for BIG $$$ used. I was just curious, so I thought I would as a few others opinions . thanks for reading. dale wt4t ___ Drakelist mailing list Drakelist@zerobeat.net http://mailman.zerobeat.net/mailman/listinfo/drakelist
Re: [Drakelist] value of early drake gear
"...worth next to nothing, when compared to the rest of the 4 line. I have owned a B-line,a C-line in the past ,both good performers,B being my choice between the two. I find the early 4 line performance ,from my ear and operation just as good as my B-line. Of course I never had the chance to run them side by side..." For the past month, I've been running my R-4B and Sherwood R-4C side-by-side. The R-4B has been a more enjoyable receiver to use, although the "modded" R-4C is incredibly good in tight band spaces among strong signals. High S/N R-4Cs seem to command the highest prices in the 4 line, but if one wants to later change the R-4C with all the Sherwood mods, I'm not sure why a high S/N matters. The only real consideration in my selection among S/Ns had to do with getting one with metal/Nylon mesh gears only because to me, that combination produces the most solid tuning feel among the dozen or so R-4Cs I've owned in the last twenty years. My R-4C is around S/N 26,950. When I received my R-4B earlier this year, it was my first. I absolutely hated it. But the root cause for that hate was in the power supply filtering. Enough ripple had caused CW and SSB transmissions to sound "fuzzy," resulting in a high amount of audio IMD. The fuzz went away when the main supply cap was changed and that lead to my OCD taking over and making many other changes to the R-4B that are documented in the list archives. The R-4B is capable of truly Hi-Fi audio. Unfortunately, the R-4C's greatest strength is also one of its greatest weaknesses. For example, low-frequency (below ~ 300 Hz) and upper SSB frequency audio response is forever compromised owing to the use of cascaded crystal filters. In recent years with DSP transmit IF schemes, enough SSB stations have now expanded the TX SSB audio passband to 100Hz - 3000 Hz where the difference in perceived audio balance can be remarkable in instances when the received signal strength is strong. This distinction can be easily heard with the B, but not the C. In a nutshell, my R-4C will be used for tough band conditions and the R-4B used for ragchews on both SSB and CW. Paul, W9AC ___ Drakelist mailing list Drakelist@zerobeat.net http://mailman.zerobeat.net/mailman/listinfo/drakelist
Re: [Drakelist] AC-4 Issue
On Sun, 12 Jun 2011 23:37:44 +, Windows Live Team wrote: >AC4 keeps blowing fuses when the power to the T4XB is turned on. Anybody have >ideas? Something is shorted somewhere in the power supply or radio. 73 -Jim -- Ham Radio NU0C Lincoln, Nebraska, U.S.S.A. TR7/RV7/R7A/L7, TR6/RV6, T4XC/R4C/L4B, NCL2000, SB104A, R390A, GT550A/RV550A, HyGain 3750, IBM PS/2 - all vintage, all the time! "Give a man a URL, and he will learn for an hour; teach him to Google, and he will learn for a lifetime." HyGain 3750 User's Group - http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HyGain_3750/ http://incolor.inetnebr.com/jshorney http://www.nebraskaghosts.org ___ Drakelist mailing list Drakelist@zerobeat.net http://mailman.zerobeat.net/mailman/listinfo/drakelist
Re: [Drakelist] AC-4 Issue
First check out the AC-4. Start with http://www.wb4hfn.com/DRAKE/DrakeArticles/TechTips/PowerSupplyTroubleshooting.htm 73,Bob WW3QB --- On Sun, 6/12/11, Windows Live Team wrote: From: Windows Live Team Subject: [Drakelist] AC-4 Issue To: drakelist@zerobeat.net Date: Sunday, June 12, 2011, 7:37 PM AC4 keeps blowing fuses when the power to the T4XB is turned on. Anybody have ideas? Thanks & 73, Jude WD9FUM -Inline Attachment Follows- ___ Drakelist mailing list Drakelist@zerobeat.net http://mailman.zerobeat.net/mailman/listinfo/drakelist ___ Drakelist mailing list Drakelist@zerobeat.net http://mailman.zerobeat.net/mailman/listinfo/drakelist
Re: [Drakelist] AC-4 Issue
-Original Message- From: y...@aol.com JUDE Separate the supply from the radio , put in a new fuse, jumper position 1 and 2 on the end of the power cable, a heavy short piece of wire, and plug in the supply. If the fuse does NOT blow, looks like you have a problem in the rig. Get the schematic of the supply and if the supply looks good,check the supply voltages. BE CAREFUL, VOLTAGES ON THE SUPPLY CAN KILL YOU. good luck dale wt4t -Original Message- From: Windows Live Team To: drakelist@zerobeat.net Sent: Sun, Jun 12, 2011 7:37 pm Subject: [Drakelist] AC-4 Issue AC4 keeps blowing fuses when the power to the T4XB is turned on. Anybody have ideas? Thanks & 73, Jude WD9FUM = ___ Drakelist mailing list Drakelist@zerobeat.net http://mailman.zerobeat.net/mailman/listinfo/drakelist ___ Drakelist mailing list Drakelist@zerobeat.net http://mailman.zerobeat.net/mailman/listinfo/drakelist
Re: [Drakelist] R-4 birdies
-Original Message- From: y...@aol.com To: k4...@mindspring.com Sent: Sun, Jun 12, 2011 7:50 pm Subject: R-4 birdies Hi Garey ,and all the others who had thoughts, on my problem The problem is solved. Put the R-4 on the bench, tightened ALL the screws on the chassis ,re soldered all the connections between the the ant input to the 12bz6 and hit a few others,especially grounds, and deoxited the switch's. she's rearing to go,audio also improved. Will change all the big caps and check the resisters in the power supply soon. Now if I only had a better sig gen,would go for a alignment. So no more birdies ,better audio ...life is good ,at least for now. thanks for all the info and help from everybody. 73's dale wt4t ___ Drakelist mailing list Drakelist@zerobeat.net http://mailman.zerobeat.net/mailman/listinfo/drakelist
Re: [Drakelist] R-4 birdies
Dale - OK. So what you had was a bad ground connection, probably the shield connection for the ANT jack, that was allowing the shield of the short coax to 'float', and the center conductor to essentially be a short antenna. As Richard said, there may have been signals coming from the R-4 that were being picked up by the nearby 'antenna'. Or you may have improved the grounding of the receiver on other circuits and bypasses. Going through a piece of equipment and tightening all the hardware is never a bad idea. Just don't go tightening all those loose screws in the little metal cans on top of the chassis! :-0 73, Garey - K4OAH Glen Allen, VA Drake 2-B, 2-C/2-NT, 4-A, 4-B, C-Line and TR-4/C Service Supplement CDs y...@aol.com wrote: -Original Message- From: y...@aol.com To: k4...@mindspring.com Sent: Sun, Jun 12, 2011 7:50 pm Subject: R-4 birdies Hi Garey ,and all the others who had thoughts, on my problem The problem is solved. Put the R-4 on the bench, tightened ALL the screws on the chassis ,re soldered all the connections between the the ant input to the 12bz6 and hit a few others,especially grounds, and deoxited the switch's. she's rearing to go,audio also improved. Will change all the big caps and check the resisters in the power supply soon. Now if I only had a better sig gen,would go for a alignment. So no more birdies ,better audio ...life is good ,at least for now. thanks for all the info and help from everybody. 73's dale wt4t ___ Drakelist mailing list Drakelist@zerobeat.net http://mailman.zerobeat.net/mailman/listinfo/drakelist
