[drakelist] Crystal question
Rich Carter [EMAIL PROTECTED] made an utterance to the drakelist gang -- I received a set of four premixer crystals from International Crstal for my TR-3. The TR-3 premixer is the same design as that used in the TR-4. Two of the crystals work fine, but two don't work. I am unable to align the second pair. Each crystal has two frequencies marked on them, FC and FX. I seem to remember something about fundimental and overtone frequencies of a crystal, and suspect that these two measurements are related to that. The two crystals that work have a fundimental frequency (FC) that matches what I ordered, whereas the two that don't have an overtone (FX) that matches what I ordered. I assume that international crystal is aware of what the Drakes require, so I'm puzzled that they appear to have sent me the wrong parts. If someone could briefly explain what the difference between these two measurements is, or point me to a web-page, I'd appreciate it. Rich - KE1EV -- Submissions:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe:[EMAIL PROTECTED] - unsubscribe drakelist in body Hopelessly Lost:[EMAIL PROTECTED] - help in body of message Zerobeat Web Page: www.zerobeat.net - sponsored by www.tlchost.net --
RE: [drakelist] moving crystals
Rich Carter [EMAIL PROTECTED] made an utterance to the drakelist gang -- Gary I have four bad crystals in my TR-3. Although I've ordered replacements, it would be nice to have spares. Can the old crystals be repaired using the techniques discussed? Rich -Original Message- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Gary Poland Sent: Sunday, February 17, 2008 9:40 PM To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Re: [drakelist] moving crystals Gary Poland [EMAIL PROTECTED] made an utterance to the drakelist gang -- Back several years ago when I first got interested in operated AM I didnt have crystals for 3880, 3885, or 7290 for my DX-60. I was able to take FT-273 crystals I had on hand and with water and fine emery paper bring them up to the frequencies I needed. I was surprised that it worked! I still have them and they still are on frequency. 73, Gary W8PU http://home.cinci.rr.com/w8pu -- Submissions:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe:[EMAIL PROTECTED] - unsubscribe drakelist in body Hopelessly Lost:[EMAIL PROTECTED] - help in body of message Zerobeat Web Page: www.zerobeat.net - sponsored by www.tlchost.net -- -- Submissions:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe:[EMAIL PROTECTED] - unsubscribe drakelist in body Hopelessly Lost:[EMAIL PROTECTED] - help in body of message Zerobeat Web Page: www.zerobeat.net - sponsored by www.tlchost.net --
RE: [drakelist] TR-7 AF control
Ken I had the same problem with an old hollow-state receiver. My XYL said that either that damn radio had to go or she'd leve me. Gosh I miss her. Just kidding. There's something wrong with the AGC in the old receiver. I'll get to it one of these days. Rich - KE1EV _ From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of K Allen Sent: Monday, February 18, 2008 3:56 PM To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: [drakelist] TR-7 AF control I recently acquired TR-7 SN 3173, my first. Is it normal for the AF control to provide enough volume to still hear easily when full counter-clockwise or is the pot changing value with age? Only way I have of cutting audio volume down lower is by use of RF control. Doesn't bother me but I have a picky XYL who's not all that fond of my hobby. Thanks, Ken - N0VA
RE: [drakelist] TR-3 Getting close
Rich Carter [EMAIL PROTECTED] made an utterance to the drakelist gang -- Mark I had the same issue. Here's what Gary did. To adjust the crystal oscillator for most negative voltage is misleading. It varies with the crystals but you just need to adjust for the least amount of voltage, not necessarily below zero. Adjust T7,8,9, and 10 in transmit instead of receive as per the TR-4 manual. I do not have any spare crystals, you can get them from Jan or International Crystal. Just tell them they are for a Drake TR-3 or 4. I adjusted T-4 with a scope for the most even amount of RF across the entire tuning range. This adjustment alone did the most to bring the RF power back up to normal. The power output should normally be around 210 watts on 80 meters. The 12JB6's are a bit tired, thus the lower 10 meter power. For power on 15 meters I had to split the small 15 meter coil as explained in the TR-4 service directions. Rich - KE1EV -Original Message- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Mark Pilant Sent: Friday, February 08, 2008 7:01 PM To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: [drakelist] TR-3 Getting close Mark Pilant [EMAIL PROTECTED] made an utterance to the drakelist gang -- Well, I'm almost there. After replacing the 9 MHz crystal and aligning the receiver, I tackled the transmitter. There was only one minor issue, but I'll get to that in a moment. Transmitting into my dummy load, I get the following: 80m 125w 40m 150w 20m 150w 15m 140w 10(1)m 125w 10(2)m 120w 10(3)m 120w All in all, this doesn't look too bad. BTW, this was CW as I need to get a microphone. The only minor issue I ran into during the transmitter alignment was getting the carrier balance adjustment done. The carrier balance control, along with T14 and C127, didn't seem to have any effect. Can anyone shed some light on what might be going on? The only final adjustment I *might* is the VFO. With everything aligned and the crystals all working, the VFO seems to be a bit on the low side. Low enough that sliding the window all the way over to the left still doesn't line things up. Has anyone done a VFO alignment? The manual says to return the transceiver to the factory if it needs adjustment. 73 - Mark N1VQW -- Submissions:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe:[EMAIL PROTECTED] - unsubscribe drakelist in body Hopelessly Lost:[EMAIL PROTECTED] - help in body of message Zerobeat Web Page: www.zerobeat.net - sponsored by www.tlchost.net -- -- Submissions:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe:[EMAIL PROTECTED] - unsubscribe drakelist in body Hopelessly Lost:[EMAIL PROTECTED] - help in body of message Zerobeat Web Page: www.zerobeat.net - sponsored by www.tlchost.net --
RE: [drakelist] Microphone question
Rich Carter [EMAIL PROTECTED] made an utterance to the drakelist gang -- Mike I'll take your suggestion and replace the mic. Thanks Rich -Original Message- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Mike Williams Sent: Sunday, January 20, 2008 7:51 A To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Re: [drakelist] Microphone question Mike Williams [EMAIL PROTECTED] made an utterance to the drakelist gang -- Just a suggestion Rich; try a Shure 444 or D104 (without the preamp) on your TR-3. This radio and the 4 line have a High Z mic input. You will get good results with either of these 2 mic's although there are a myriad of others that will fill the bill as well. Good DX! Mike W4DL Ron Wagner wrote: Ron Wagner [EMAIL PROTECTED] made an utterance to the drakelist gang -- Rich, It has been a while since I had my TR3, but I do remember that a 600 ohm hand mic I had tried was not good match for the rig. I would guess 2K ohms would be in the ball park. They were made in the days of high impedence mics. As far as getting only a few watts out, how are you measuring that? Most watt meters I have seen (unless they are peak reading) only show a few watts of RF on the Drakes while measuring SSB. Drakes are not using compression, so they have a very large peak to average power ratio. What that means is that unless the meter is designed to read peak power, it will show a very low average power. Average power being what most meters read. My TR7 typically shows about 5 watts on my Drake MN4 watt meter. And I know that on a peak watt meter I have ~200 watts going out. One last thing, on AM it will also show low power. Drakes use controlled carrier AM. That is the carrier changed as you spoke. What that does is lower the heat on the finals. The TV sweep tubes were designed for high peak, low average power. If you ran them any other way, you wore them out very quickly. Ideal for uncompressed SSB service, not so good for other service. Hope this helps. 73, Ron WD8SBB On Sat, 19 Jan 2008, Rich Carter wrote: The mic came with the rig. I assume they should work together. The mic seems to work, but it doesn't have enough drive for the radio. I only get a couple of watts out for SSB if I yell into the mic. The problem could be in the rig, but I thought it best to check the mic first. I opened it up. There's a 4 ohm microphone element and a matching transformer that says BT3 001 on it. I can find no specs for the mic. What is more frustrating is there appears to be no information about what the drake transceiver wants for mic impedance. I don't have any matching transformers in my spare parts bin. Before I run out there and buy some parts, I thought it best to see if anyone knows what the heck the rig wants. Thanks for the reply Rich -- Submissions:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe:[EMAIL PROTECTED] - unsubscribe drakelist in body Hopelessly Lost:[EMAIL PROTECTED] - help in body of message Zerobeat Web Page: www.zerobeat.net - sponsored by www.tlchost.net -- -- Submissions:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe:[EMAIL PROTECTED] - unsubscribe drakelist in body Hopelessly Lost:[EMAIL PROTECTED] - help in body of message Zerobeat Web Page: www.zerobeat.net - sponsored by www.tlchost.net -- -- Submissions:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe:[EMAIL PROTECTED] - unsubscribe drakelist in body Hopelessly Lost:[EMAIL PROTECTED] - help in body of message Zerobeat Web Page: www.zerobeat.net - sponsored by www.tlchost.net --
RE: [drakelist] TR-3 9 MHz osc alignment questions
Rich Carter [EMAIL PROTECTED] made an utterance to the drakelist gang -- Gary I'm chasing a similar problem. If the SSB filter is bad, would you be able to tell by listening to an AM broadcast signal using both USB and LSB? If the premixer band crystals are slightly off frequency, would this cause similar behavior? Rich KE1EV -Original Message- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Gary Poland Sent: Sunday, January 20, 2008 8:13 AM To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Re: [drakelist] TR-3 9 MHz osc alignment questions Gary Poland [EMAIL PROTECTED] made an utterance to the drakelist gang -- Mark, I am getting into the tail end of this conversation but either 1/2 of the soup can filter is bad or your 9 mhz carrier oscillator is off frequency. 73, Gary -- Submissions:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe:[EMAIL PROTECTED] - unsubscribe drakelist in body Hopelessly Lost:[EMAIL PROTECTED] - help in body of message Zerobeat Web Page: www.zerobeat.net - sponsored by www.tlchost.net -- -- Submissions:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe:[EMAIL PROTECTED] - unsubscribe drakelist in body Hopelessly Lost:[EMAIL PROTECTED] - help in body of message Zerobeat Web Page: www.zerobeat.net - sponsored by www.tlchost.net --
RE: [drakelist] Microphone question
Rich Carter [EMAIL PROTECTED] made an utterance to the drakelist gang -- Ron I'm using a Daiwa HF wattmeter on the peak setting. While I realize the meter should show a low reading, I would expect that a I should need to reduce the RF gain from max to prevent overdriving the rig. Since the rig lacks speech compression, I don't know what I should measure, but I would expect a 300W rig to drive at least 10W or or more. What do others see on their meters? It seems to me that the collins mic I have is not matched properly. I have my hands full alignment issues. It may be best for me to replace the mic with something that is known to work with this rig. Rich - KE1EV -Original Message- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Ron Wagner Sent: Sunday, January 20, 2008 7:37 AM To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: RE: [drakelist] Microphone question Ron Wagner [EMAIL PROTECTED] made an utterance to the drakelist gang -- Rich, It has been a while since I had my TR3, but I do remember that a 600 ohm hand mic I had tried was not good match for the rig. I would guess 2K ohms would be in the ball park. They were made in the days of high impedence mics. As far as getting only a few watts out, how are you measuring that? Most watt meters I have seen (unless they are peak reading) only show a few watts of RF on the Drakes while measuring SSB. Drakes are not using compression, so they have a very large peak to average power ratio. What that means is that unless the meter is designed to read peak power, it will show a very low average power. Average power being what most meters read. My TR7 typically shows about 5 watts on my Drake MN4 watt meter. And I know that on a peak watt meter I have ~200 watts going out. One last thing, on AM it will also show low power. Drakes use controlled carrier AM. That is the carrier changed as you spoke. What that does is lower the heat on the finals. The TV sweep tubes were designed for high peak, low average power. If you ran them any other way, you wore them out very quickly. Ideal for uncompressed SSB service, not so good for other service. Hope this helps. 73, Ron WD8SBB On Sat, 19 Jan 2008, Rich Carter wrote: The mic came with the rig. I assume they should work together. The mic seems to work, but it doesn't have enough drive for the radio. I only get a couple of watts out for SSB if I yell into the mic. The problem could be in the rig, but I thought it best to check the mic first. I opened it up. There's a 4 ohm microphone element and a matching transformer that says BT3 001 on it. I can find no specs for the mic. What is more frustrating is there appears to be no information about what the drake transceiver wants for mic impedance. I don't have any matching transformers in my spare parts bin. Before I run out there and buy some parts, I thought it best to see if anyone knows what the heck the rig wants. Thanks for the reply Rich -- Submissions:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe:[EMAIL PROTECTED] - unsubscribe drakelist in body Hopelessly Lost:[EMAIL PROTECTED] - help in body of message Zerobeat Web Page: www.zerobeat.net - sponsored by www.tlchost.net -- -- Submissions:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe:[EMAIL PROTECTED] - unsubscribe drakelist in body Hopelessly Lost:[EMAIL PROTECTED] - help in body of message Zerobeat Web Page: www.zerobeat.net - sponsored by www.tlchost.net --
RE: [drakelist] Microphone question
The mic came with the rig. I assume they should work together. The mic seems to work, but it doesn't have enough drive for the radio. I only get a couple of watts out for SSB if I yell into the mic. The problem could be in the rig, but I thought it best to check the mic first. I opened it up. There's a 4 ohm microphone element and a matching transformer that says BT3 001 on it. I can find no specs for the mic. What is more frustrating is there appears to be no information about what the drake transceiver wants for mic impedance. I don't have any matching transformers in my spare parts bin. Before I run out there and buy some parts, I thought it best to see if anyone knows what the heck the rig wants. Thanks for the reply Rich _ From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Saturday, January 19, 2008 9:54 PM To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Re: [drakelist] Microphone question [EMAIL PROTECTED] made an utterance to the drakelist gang -- Possibly none depending on the transmitter it is intended for. Or, it might need a step up or step down transformer depending on the impedance of the mic element and the input impedance of the transmitter. ** Start the year off right. Easy ways to stay in shape. http://body.aol.com/fitness/winter-exercise?NCID=aolcmp0030002489 -- Submissions: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] - unsubscribe drakelist in body Hopelessly Lost: [EMAIL PROTECTED] - help in body of message Zerobeat Web Page: www.zerobeat.net - sponsored by www.tlchost.net --
RE: [drakelist] WTB: MN-4 or MN-2000
I've never had the pleasure of dealing with the business in question. I would advise refraining from personal attacks on this list. I also suggest that you avoid legal exposure that this kind of thing provides. If you feel compelled to inform us of a potential problem with sellers on ebay, you might make an indirect reference such as a certain celler who states that everything is Excellent. Just my 2cents. Regards Rich _ From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Ted Wright Sent: Saturday, January 05, 2008 7:52 AM To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Re: [drakelist] WTB: MN-4 or MN-2000 Hello Please tell me you did not buy from that crook Radio -Mart . who states every thing is Excellent [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: My luck for the past few weeks has been poor seeking a transmatch for the Drake 4B station. Either out bid in final moments or the units advertised as EXCELLENT CONDITION have dented corners from being dropped, internals disfigured from arcing or overheating. All this under the guise of being excellent. I would like to ask if anyone has either an MN-4 or preferably an MN-2000 in very good condition they would like to sell,. I can do Paypal if you prefer. Please contact me directly. Thanks Alan KB7MBI Woodinville, WA _ Start the year off right. Easy ways to stay in shape http://body.aol.com/fitness/winter-exercise?NCID=aolcmp0030002489 in the new year.
[drakelist] Testing tubes
Rich Carter [EMAIL PROTECTED] made an utterance to the drakelist gang -- I'll have to confess that my experience with tubes is limited. By the time I studied electronics, tubes were no longer covered. I've restored a few old receivers mostly by tube substitution. I appreciate some pointers from those more knowledgeable. I have a Precision 612 tube tester, and I've used it to test some tubes. Most of the TR-3 tubes used are not shown on the scroll list for the tester. In particular, the 12JB6 PA tubes are not listed. Thought I realize that the best place to test tubes is in the actual circuit, I think there are still uses for tube testing. I thought I might be able to use it to match the PA tubes. A search on the internet doesn't find settings for the missing tubes. Does anyone know how to determine tester settings for unlisted tubes? Does anyone have a tube substitution list for Drake tubes? I saw such a list for Swan rigs, but I've not found one for Drakes. If I could find substitutes numbers for missing tube settings, I might find settings listed for an equivalent tube. Also, some of the tubes used in the transceiver have almost the same number as listed tubes in the scroll list, but have an A on the end. As an example, no 12BY7A has settings listed, but a 12BY7 is listed. The same is true for the 6AU6A. Does anyone know what the A suffix means? Thanks in advance Rich KE1EV -- Submissions:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe:[EMAIL PROTECTED] - unsubscribe drakelist in body Hopelessly Lost:[EMAIL PROTECTED] - help in body of message Zerobeat Web Page: www.zerobeat.net - sponsored by www.tlchost.net --
RE: [drakelist] R4C function switch
Dick I have a sailboat with lots of electronics onboard. The salt air causes problems with switches, breakers, and pots on the equipment onboard. I've tried many different contact cleaners and lubricants, but PB Blaster works best. This is a penetrating spray lubricant sold in most hardware stores. I don't know if this is a good long-term fix, but I've had very good success restoring old switches and pots using it. It has something in there that removes oxidation and it lubricates the switches at the same time. One would think that leaving an oil film on the contacts would cause the switch to collect dirt and quickly need to be re-cleaned, but I haven't found that to be the case. If you are sure that the switch is gone anyway, there is nothing to lose by trying the stuff. I've used it on all the old radios I've restored. It also works like magic on a variable air-gap capacitor and associated hardware used for tuning. Of course, it there is a mechanical problem with your switch, no lubricant will help. If it just makes poor contact or is difficult to actuate, it might surprise you. If you do try it, I'd be interested to hear the result. Rich - KE1EV _ From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of DW Harms Sent: Thursday, December 27, 2007 11:28 AM To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: [drakelist] R4C function switch Drakelist de PA2DW, The function switch (off/stby//on/ext.mute/etc.) in my R4C is beginning to warn-out. Too much on/off switching I guess hi! I have fixed it temporarely, but it is obvious I need a new one. In fact I only need the shaft with the step-organiser or how would we call that part... Any info on a source? VY 73 and best wishes for the NewYear! Dick PA2DW * http://msgtag.com/?source=ffooter has notified the sender that this message has been received.
