Re: [Drakelist] First Rigs - If you could do it all over again, what would your first station be?
I got my Novice in '64 when I was starting the 10th grade. (Seems like a
lot of us started around that time). I had to share my station with my
brother, who got his license at the same time. That made it a little
easier to save up for equipment anyway.
Started with a DX-40 also, with just a few crystals, which seems to have
been pretty common at that time. The receiver was probably worse than
most guys had - a Knight Kit Star Roamer, which was pretty much deaf
above 20 meters, and left much to be desired as far as stability,
sensitivity, and selectivity. I did manage to work quite a few stations
though, mostly on 80 and 40 meters.
The receiver was later upgraded to a Hallicrafters S-85, which was much
better, then an HQ-129X for a short time, which wasn't much of an
improvement. I finally got my hands on a Drake 2B, and that was
infinitely better than any previous receiver. The transmitter was later
upgraded to a Lakeshore Phasemaster IIA (first SSB rig), and then an
HT-37.
Then after getting out of the service, I had an HT-32, then an HT-44,
(both with the 2B). and then a TR-4C. I'm not sure why I didn't hang on
to some of those old rigs. I guess I just got tired of stuff real fast
when I was young. After that, I built a Heath HX-1681, which was a nice
CW-only rig. Then I eventually got the Heath SB-401/301 twins, which I
kept for quite some time, even though it seems like I was always fixing
them. (The SB-401 in particular).
I now have a TS-830S, which is my main rig, along with all the matching
accessories. I also have a T-4X / 2B, which is my vintage SSB station,
and also a Ranger I / NC-300 station, that I mainly use for AM.
As far as doing it over again, I might go with the DX-40, but would
definitely save up to buy a better receiver to start out with. Something
with an RF stage and a little selectivity and stability.
Al, WA2S
-Original Message-
From: drakelist-boun...@zerobeat.net
[mailto:drakelist-boun...@zerobeat.net] On Behalf Of mikefur...@att.net
Sent: Saturday, June 18, 2011 6:01 PM
To: drakelist@zerobeat.net
Subject: Re: [Drakelist] First Rigs - If you could do it all over
again,what would your first station be?
When I got my novice ('64) I was 13 and a freshman in high school. I
started with a R55A (mowed lots of yards) and a DX40 (present from dad
for passing the novice). I have a copy of that station today. I have
since gone through the gold dust twins and currently have two S lines,
a supper nice Drake C line, and an R7, R388 along with other stuff
(two complete ARC stations, knight regens, Swan 140 and 240).
But alas, yesterday, my K3 kit arrived and it will replace the broken
FT1000 (probably gonna be a parts unit ... note ... the Drake and
Collins still work and can easily still be fixed ... if needed). If I
started over again in the 60's and I knew what I know today, I would
stay with the DX40 and opt for the 2B/2BQ (had one, mistakenly sold it).
After reading the original post that got this fascinating thread
started, I am going to get off of dead center (after FD) and listen to
the 75S3B and the R4C
(unmodified) to see for my self how they compare. I am primarily a low
band CW op here.
73, Mike WA5POK
___
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] First Rigs - If you could do it all over again, what would your first station be?
Lots of good stories - I couldn't resist adding mine. I grew up in a poor family, and got my novice license in 1961 - WV2VFV (hows that for a cw call). My first reciever was a Lafayette three tube regen. receiver ($15 was within my Christmas present limit). I saved up for a DX-20 and a couple crystals. I quickly found out that the regen receiver was NOT going to work very well, and managed to upgrade to a used S-20R. When I got my general I built a homebrew pair of 807's - cw only of course. After that I built a QST article transmitter - a pair of 6GJ5's plate modulated, got me on phone (SSB was just starting to take hold in the early sixties). I can still recall the excitement of my first phone contact with Europe (France). I later found a brand new Geloso G-212 (I think) which I bought from Arrow Electronics in Mineola, NY. They had imported the Geloso receiver-transmitter pair with the idea of selling them. These initial two units were as far as they went with the Italians. My next rig was an Heath SB-102 - and I thought I died and went to heaven smile. Always knowing that I was struggling to make the hobby work on a very restricted budget somehow added intrigue to the effort. I learned how to make due with what I had and squeeze every ounce of performance out of meager equipment. Still going strong in the hobby with a K3 with a very good 'ol L-4B at its side. 73, Wayne N1WR (ex WA2VFV, WA1RFI, N1WR/YV5, N1WR/KP4) ___ Drakelist mailing list Drakelist@zerobeat.net http://mailman.zerobeat.net/mailman/listinfo/drakelist
Re: [Drakelist] First Rigs - If you could do it all over again, what would your first station be?
Well, I guess I better chime in with some verbage on this too. I wanted to get my license about 1957, but couldn't find any of the crotchety old hams in the town I grew up that would help!!! I didn't manage to get the theory and code training until the Navy decided I needed it, so I got my Novice ticket in 1972 with the help of my elmer, K6OAC. Vince gave me a DX-35 and R-390 for my first rig. I managed to fry the tranny in the DX-35, replaced that with a TV transformer and used it until I upgraded to a DX-40. Had a few 40m crystals, and a LOT of 15m ones, so I mostly worked 15m. I worked all states except Mississippi on the 15m Novice band, and got my Rag Chewer's Certificate there as well, hi. That R-390 was EXCELLENT for weak signals, but imagine cruising the 15m novice band every time you called CQ with that monster!! I bought a small Mosley 3 element beam, put that up about 35' on a homemade breakover mast, and with it came a Swan 350. I used the DX-40 and the receiver from the Swan for the last few months of my Novice career. My wife has ALWAYS been supportive of my hobby, and as a reward for passing my General class license, she let me order the SB-401/303 pair with the SB-600 and the EV-638 mic that Heathkit sold. I got it together, and with only a couple of wiring errors, I used that set over 10 years. That's when I started buying Drake 4 line twins that had been CB'ed and usually tweaked with the golden screwdriver, and turned up for pennies at hamfests. I got them going again, fixing bad or missing solder joints, re-aligning for the ham bands, and sold them to buy more, hi. Since then I have had more rigs than I like to count, ending up with a shack full. So like most of you here, I have Drake-itus. I have a full TR7 line except the L7, 2 B Lines, 2 C Lines, one L4B, 2B/2BQ and the S line and KWM2A Collins with 30L1, Heaths like I built (that need rebuilding one day) and the SB-104A line designed by our late friend on here Mr. Elliot. So you see, with the modern gear I have, I am covered up and enjoying every minute of it. Great hobby, and you meet the nicest folks on here and the bands. My new thing is trying AM. I am driving this weekend to purchase a nice Viking II for a trasmitter and have several good receivers to choose from for the AM station. One is a 75A2 (needs refurbing) that belonged to Jack Guest, designer/owner of the Hornet antennas of our youth. I knew him here in his hometown, Duncan, OK and wanted one of his rigs. 73 all, Don, WB5HAK ___ Drakelist mailing list Drakelist@zerobeat.net http://mailman.zerobeat.net/mailman/listinfo/drakelist
Re: [Drakelist] First Rigs - If you could do it all over again, what would your first station be?
Garey, The IF BW was spec'd at 30 kHz. Now I know why you like the gentle slopes of the RC filtered Drakes. And the ability to hear what's around you. LOL It's all about where you grew up. :-) Being a bit younger, my window started at the end of the tube era. I had to thin the herd or I would still own a 2B. But I really do like my B twins and TR7, the movers and shakers of my Novice. 73, Ron WD8SBB --- On Sat, 6/18/11, Garey Barrell k4...@mindspring.com wrote: From: Garey Barrell k4...@mindspring.com Subject: Re: [Drakelist] First Rigs - If you could do it all over again, what would your first station be? To: drakelist@zerobeat.net Date: Saturday, June 18, 2011, 10:49 AM My first 'station' cost me all of $5.00. I received a Heath AR-3 kit for Christmas 1956, which was fun to build, and had a lot of fun listening to the SWBC and Ham signals. I had been experimenting with some old telephone equipment my Dad brought home from his company. They had completely renovated the phone system and had dozens of desk sets, patch boards, cables, etc. that all went into the dumpster.! After playing with that for a while, I managed to get a friend two houses away interested. The phone stuff wasn't much fun, since we already had phones (Gee, kinda like SSB today!) so we decided to put in a telegraph line between us. We knew just enough to be VERY dangerous, and ran a single wire from his room to mine, through a tree in the back yard of the house between us. A few hardware store items, and we had a 40W light bulb and key in each of our rooms, with the return the power ground.! Yes, the wire carried 120 VAC... Fortunately, the neighbor never trimmed his tree or we would have had a very messy situation! Anyway, that got us to learn the code, and I went on and studied the License Manual and Handbook to get my Novice license in 1957, KN4OAH. I had a lot of help from my Elmer, W4EEI, who provided much encouragement and had the neatest SX-28 / Viking II station. 'We' built a single 6L6 along the lines of the 'QSL 40' from a 1938 QST with parts from his junk box. It wasn't pretty, but sure would light up a light bulb with 600 VDC on the plates. Just don't hold the key down too long. After listening to a friend's ARC-5 receiver, and seeing how much more stable and easy to tune it was than my AR-3, I bought a brand new BC-454 for $4.95. The power transformer, rectifier tube and socket, and electrolytic cap were 'borrowed' from the AR-3 and mounted on the back deck of the BC-454. When my license finally arrived, (or perhaps 'shortly' before,) I was actually heard by a few stations on 80M. I made a LOT of contacts with that station, including one with the Grand Island Nebraska FCC monitoring station! Strangely enough, that was my best DX at the time from KY, and even stranger it was on 7440 kHz even though I was transmitting on 3720 kHz.! While the BC-454 was VERY stable and sensitive, the selectivity was great, for FM. The IF BW was spec'd at 30 kHz, meaning I could hear the entire 80M Novice band without moving the tuning knob. This was handy for spotting responses to CQ's, (most only had one or perhaps two crystals,) but made it difficult to hear just ONE, especially in the evening on 80 when the Novice band sounded like today's contest weekends. I determined that I needed an IF frequency lower than the 1415 kHz of the BC-454, and just happened to have a clock radio on hand. So I wove a piece of hookup wire into the loop antenna on the back of the clock radio, and stuck the other end down into the top of the last IF of the '454. Tuning the clock radio to 1415 kHz, I had a double conversion receiver, PLUS _Passband Tuning_ . This helped matters considerably, and then I saw a Heathkit Q-Multiplier in operation and HAD to have one. I managed to get it installed in the clock radio, with only a couple of house fuses blown before I got the grounds correct! I used this rig for a few months, and got my General license when the FCC came to town on one of its bi-annual trips. This let me stretch out to the lower part of 80M. My Dad took pity on me and 'helped' me purchase a WRL Globe Chief 90 kit and a Heathkit VF-1 kit. Looking back, I think he just wanted to prevent any further contact with the FCC, which was a pretty formidable organization in those days. About this time, a friend from school came over and decided he wanted to get a Ham license also. I showed him what I was doing, demonstrated the code, and loaned him my License Manual and Handbook. About a month later, he said that he was still studying, but was losing interest. Just can't learn the code. However, it seemed his Dad had bought him . A brand new 75A-4, AND a brand new factory wired Johnson Ranger! Yikes! My friend allowed as how his Dad wasn't too pleased that he had 'lost interest', and would I be interested in buying his gear to get
Re: [Drakelist] First Rigs - If you could do it all over again, what would your first station be?
I sure would like to have that HRO-60...I had a Knight R100A I built a T-60...then because of so many chirps...I ghot a used Heath DX-60 73, Lee -Original Message- From: John Hudson john.hud...@calema.ca.gov To: Darrell Bellerive drbellerive.va...@gmail.com; drakelist drakelist@zerobeat.net Sent: Fri, Jun 17, 2011 3:48 pm Subject: Re: [Drakelist] First Rigs - If you could do it all over again, what would your first station be? My first HAM rig was borrowed from a mentor (Tom Roberts WA6YKE/AC5RD)who was helping me get my HAM license it was a Knight T-60 transmitter and HRO-60 receiver. I was 13 at the time, then my dad and I found an HW-16 working, bought a HG-10B VFO which became the first station I owned. At 16 my Dad bought me a Yaesu FT-101B which I still have. As I said in an earlier post, in high school I was given the opportunity to purchase a HAM station for Helix High School here in La Mesa, CA. the station was a Drake TR-4C, RV-4C, MS-4, and W-4 watt meter (I'd sure like to know where that rig went). I'm not sure I'd change anything we did, perhaps instead of the Yaesu I would have asked for the Drake Twins but the old FT-101B has stood the test of time.. Then again Darrell wouldn't we all like to have known then what we know now; Dad lets buy stock in this new company called Microsoft ;-) De WA6HYQ -Original Message- From: drakelist-boun...@zerobeat.net [mailto:drakelist-boun...@zerobeat.net] On Behalf Of Darrell Bellerive Sent: Friday, June 17, 2011 12:08 PM To: drakelist@zerobeat.net Subject: [Drakelist] First Rigs - If you could do it all over again, what would your first station be? The threads about the comparisons of the Drake, Collins, etc. has got me thinking about my first receiver and station. Licenced at the age of 15 back in 1975, I bought used gear from the local club members, not giving any thought as to what was great, good, or bad in terms of design or performance. It was available and so that's what I got. If I knew then, what I know now, my first receiver and station would have been totally different. If I could have afforded it a new Drake R-4B or if money was not available, a used Drake 2B would have been my first receiver rather than the Hallicrafters SX-140. So if you knew then what you know now, what would have been your first station and what year would it have been? 73, Darrell Bellerive Amateur Radio Station VA7TO ___ 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 ___ Drakelist mailing list Drakelist@zerobeat.net http://mailman.zerobeat.net/mailman/listinfo/drakelist
Re: [Drakelist] First Rigs - If you could do it all over again, what would your first station be?
My first 'station' cost me all of $5.00. I received a Heath AR-3 kit for Christmas 1956, which was fun to build, and had a lot of fun listening to the SWBC and Ham signals. I had been experimenting with some old telephone equipment my Dad brought home from his company. They had completely renovated the phone system and had dozens of desk sets, patch boards, cables, etc. that all went into the dumpster.! After playing with that for a while, I managed to get a friend two houses away interested. The phone stuff wasn't much fun, since we already had phones (Gee, kinda like SSB today!) so we decided to put in a telegraph line between us. We knew just enough to be VERY dangerous, and ran a single wire from his room to mine, through a tree in the back yard of the house between us. A few hardware store items, and we had a 40W light bulb and key in each of our rooms, with the return the power ground.! Yes, the wire carried 120 VAC... Fortunately, the neighbor never trimmed his tree or we would have had a very messy situation! Anyway, that got us to learn the code, and I went on and studied the License Manual and Handbook to get my Novice license in 1957, KN4OAH. I had a lot of help from my Elmer, W4EEI, who provided much encouragement and had the neatest SX-28 / Viking II station. 'We' built a single 6L6 along the lines of the 'QSL 40' from a 1938 QST with parts from his junk box. It wasn't pretty, but sure would light up a light bulb with 600 VDC on the plates. Just don't hold the key down too long. After listening to a friend's ARC-5 receiver, and seeing how much more stable and easy to tune it was than my AR-3, I bought a brand new BC-454 for $4.95. The power transformer, rectifier tube and socket, and electrolytic cap were 'borrowed' from the AR-3 and mounted on the back deck of the BC-454. When my license finally arrived, (or perhaps 'shortly' before,) I was actually heard by a few stations on 80M. I made a LOT of contacts with that station, including one with the Grand Island Nebraska FCC monitoring station! Strangely enough, that was my best DX at the time from KY, and even stranger it was on 7440 kHz even though I was transmitting on 3720 kHz.! While the BC-454 was VERY stable and sensitive, the selectivity was great, for FM. The IF BW was spec'd at 30 kHz, meaning I could hear the entire 80M Novice band without moving the tuning knob. This was handy for spotting responses to CQ's, (most only had one or perhaps two crystals,) but made it difficult to hear just ONE, especially in the evening on 80 when the Novice band sounded like today's contest weekends. I determined that I needed an IF frequency lower than the 1415 kHz of the BC-454, and just happened to have a clock radio on hand. So I wove a piece of hookup wire into the loop antenna on the back of the clock radio, and stuck the other end down into the top of the last IF of the '454. Tuning the clock radio to 1415 kHz, I had a double conversion receiver, PLUS _Passband Tuning_ . This helped matters considerably, and then I saw a Heathkit Q-Multiplier in operation and HAD to have one. I managed to get it installed in the clock radio, with only a couple of house fuses blown before I got the grounds correct! I used this rig for a few months, and got my General license when the FCC came to town on one of its bi-annual trips. This let me stretch out to the lower part of 80M. My Dad took pity on me and 'helped' me purchase a WRL Globe Chief 90 kit and a Heathkit VF-1 kit. Looking back, I think he just wanted to prevent any further contact with the FCC, which was a pretty formidable organization in those days. About this time, a friend from school came over and decided he wanted to get a Ham license also. I showed him what I was doing, demonstrated the code, and loaned him my License Manual and Handbook. About a month later, he said that he was still studying, but was losing interest. Just can't learn the code. However, it seemed his Dad had bought him . A brand new 75A-4, AND a brand new factory wired Johnson Ranger! Yikes! My friend allowed as how his Dad wasn't too pleased that he had 'lost interest', and would I be interested in buying his gear to get him off the hook! Yeah, right, assuming I could talk MY Dad into selling the family car and my Mom to get a job. :-) So, the next question was could I help him sell it? About the same chance as me buying it, but I said I would try. The next unbelievable statement out of his mouth was, Why don't you set it up in your shack so you can show it, and, get it out of my Dad's sight! Of course, I was reluctant, but to help out a friend The next day he showed up with both units, in their boxes, to set it up. I scraped my 'station' off on the floor and set that A-4 and Ranger right up there. A little hook up work, and I was on ALL bands. Talk about culture shock. Unfortunately, after about six weeks,
Re: [Drakelist] First Rigs - If you could do it all over again, what would your first station be?
-Original Message- From: drakelist-boun...@zerobeat.net [mailto:drakelist-boun...@zerobeat.net] On Behalf Of kc9...@aol.com Sent: Saturday, June 18, 2011 8:36 AM To: john.hud...@calema.ca.gov; drbellerive.va...@gmail.com; drakelist@zerobeat.net Subject: Re: [Drakelist] First Rigs - If you could do it all over again, what would your first station be? I sure would like to have that HRO-60...I had a Knight R100A I built a T-60...then because of so many chirps...I ghot a used Heath DX-60 73, Lee -Original Message- From: John Hudson john.hud...@calema.ca.gov To: Darrell Bellerive drbellerive.va...@gmail.com; drakelist drakelist@zerobeat.net Sent: Fri, Jun 17, 2011 3:48 pm Subject: Re: [Drakelist] First Rigs - If you could do it all over again, what would your first station be? My first HAM rig was borrowed from a mentor (Tom Roberts WA6YKE/AC5RD)who was helping me get my HAM license it was a Knight T-60 transmitter and HRO-60 receiver. I was 13 at the time, then my dad and I found an HW-16 working, bought a HG-10B VFO which became the first station I owned. At 16 my Dad bought me a Yaesu FT-101B which I still have. As I said in an earlier post, in high school I was given the opportunity to purchase a HAM station for Helix High School here in La Mesa, CA. the station was a Drake TR-4C, RV-4C, MS-4, and W-4 watt meter (I'd sure like to know where that rig went). I'm not sure I'd change anything we did, perhaps instead of the Yaesu I would have asked for the Drake Twins but the old FT-101B has stood the test of time.. Then again Darrell wouldn't we all like to have known then what we know now; Dad lets buy stock in this new company called Microsoft ;-) De WA6HYQ -Original Message- From: drakelist-boun...@zerobeat.net [mailto:drakelist-boun...@zerobeat.net] On Behalf Of Darrell Bellerive Sent: Friday, June 17, 2011 12:08 PM To: drakelist@zerobeat.net Subject: [Drakelist] First Rigs - If you could do it all over again, what would your first station be? The threads about the comparisons of the Drake, Collins, etc. has got me thinking about my first receiver and station. Licenced at the age of 15 back in 1975, I bought used gear from the local club members, not giving any thought as to what was great, good, or bad in terms of design or performance. It was available and so that's what I got. If I knew then, what I know now, my first receiver and station would have been totally different. If I could have afforded it a new Drake R-4B or if money was not available, a used Drake 2B would have been my first receiver rather than the Hallicrafters SX-140. So if you knew then what you know now, what would have been your first station and what year would it have been? 73, Darrell Bellerive Amateur Radio Station VA7TO ___ 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 ___ 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] First Rigs - If you could do it all over again, what would your first station be?
Cool Story..Garey, Thanks... Lee, KC9CDT -Original Message- From: Garey Barrell k4...@mindspring.com To: drakelist drakelist@zerobeat.net Sent: Sat, Jun 18, 2011 10:50 am Subject: Re: [Drakelist] First Rigs - If you could do it all over again, what would your first station be? My first 'station' cost me all of $5.00. I received a Heath AR-3 kit for Christmas 1956, which was fun to build, and had a lot of fun listening to the SWBC and Ham signals. I had been experimenting with some old telephone equipment my Dad brought home from his company. They had completely renovated the phone system and had dozens of desk sets, patch boards, cables, etc. that all went into the dumpster.! After playing with that for a while, I managed to get a friend two houses away interested. The phone stuff wasn't much fun, since we already had phones (Gee, kinda like SSB today!) so we decided to put in a telegraph line between us. We knew just enough to be VERY dangerous, and ran a single wire from his room to mine, through a tree in the back yard of the house between us. A few hardware store items, and we had a 40W light bulb and key in each of our rooms, with the return the power ground.! Yes, the wire carried 120 VAC... Fortunately, the neighbor never trimmed his tree or we would have had a very messy situation! Anyway, that got us to learn the code, and I went on and studied the License Manual and Handbook to get my Novice license in 1957, KN4OAH. I had a lot of help from my Elmer, W4EEI, who provided much encouragement and had the neatest SX-28 / Viking II station. 'We' built a single 6L6 along the lines of the 'QSL 40' from a 1938 QST with parts from his junk box. It wasn't pretty, but sure would light up a light bulb with 600 VDC on the plates. Just don't hold the key down too long. After listening to a friend's ARC-5 receiver, and seeing how much more stable and easy to tune it was than my AR-3, I bought a brand new BC-454 for $4.95. The power transformer, rectifier tube and socket, and electrolytic cap were 'borrowed' from the AR-3 and mounted on the back deck of the BC-454. When my license finally arrived, (or perhaps 'shortly' before,) I was actually heard by a few stations on 80M. I made a LOT of contacts with that station, including one with the Grand Island Nebraska FCC monitoring station! Strangely enough, that was my best DX at the time from KY, and even stranger it was on 7440 kHz even though I was transmitting on 3720 kHz.! While the BC-454 was VERY stable and sensitive, the selectivity was great, for FM. The IF BW was spec'd at 30 kHz, meaning I could hear the entire 80M Novice band without moving the tuning knob. This was handy for spotting responses to CQ's, (most only had one or perhaps two crystals,) but made it difficult to hear just ONE, especially in the evening on 80 when the Novice band sounded like today's contest weekends. I determined that I needed an IF frequency lower than the 1415 kHz of the BC-454, and just happened to have a clock radio on hand. So I wove a piece of hookup wire into the loop antenna on the back of the clock radio, and stuck the other end down into the top of the last IF of the '454. Tuning the clock radio to 1415 kHz, I had a double conversion receiver, PLUS _Passband Tuning_ . This helped matters considerably, and then I saw a Heathkit Q-Multiplier in operation and HAD to have one. I managed to get it installed in the clock radio, with only a couple of house fuses blown before I got the grounds correct! I used this rig for a few months, and got my General license when the FCC came to town on one of its bi-annual trips. This let me stretch out to the lower part of 80M. My Dad took pity on me and 'helped' me purchase a WRL Globe Chief 90 kit and a Heathkit VF-1 kit. Looking back, I think he just wanted to prevent any further contact with the FCC, which was a pretty formidable organization in those days. About this time, a friend from school came over and decided he wanted to get a Ham license also. I showed him what I was doing, demonstrated the code, and loaned him my License Manual and Handbook. About a month later, he said that he was still studying, but was losing interest. Just can't learn the code. However, it seemed his Dad had bought him . A brand new 75A-4, AND a brand new factory wired Johnson Ranger! Yikes! My friend allowed as how his Dad wasn't too pleased that he had 'lost interest', and would I be interested in buying his gear to get him off the hook! Yeah, right, assuming I could talk MY Dad into selling the family car and my Mom to get a job. :-) So, the next question was could I help him sell it? About the same chance as me buying it, but I said I would try. The next unbelievable statement out of his mouth was, Why don't you set it up in your shack so you can show it, and, get it out of my Dad's sight! Of course
[Drakelist] First Rigs - If you could do it all over again, what would your first station be?
The threads about the comparisons of the Drake, Collins, etc. has got me thinking about my first receiver and station. Licenced at the age of 15 back in 1975, I bought used gear from the local club members, not giving any thought as to what was great, good, or bad in terms of design or performance. It was available and so that's what I got. If I knew then, what I know now, my first receiver and station would have been totally different. If I could have afforded it a new Drake R-4B or if money was not available, a used Drake 2B would have been my first receiver rather than the Hallicrafters SX-140. So if you knew then what you know now, what would have been your first station and what year would it have been? 73, Darrell Bellerive Amateur Radio Station VA7TO ___ Drakelist mailing list Drakelist@zerobeat.net http://mailman.zerobeat.net/mailman/listinfo/drakelist
Re: [Drakelist] First Rigs - If you could do it all over again, what would your first station be?
My first HAM rig was borrowed from a mentor (Tom Roberts WA6YKE/AC5RD)who was helping me get my HAM license it was a Knight T-60 transmitter and HRO-60 receiver. I was 13 at the time, then my dad and I found an HW-16 working, bought a HG-10B VFO which became the first station I owned. At 16 my Dad bought me a Yaesu FT-101B which I still have. As I said in an earlier post, in high school I was given the opportunity to purchase a HAM station for Helix High School here in La Mesa, CA. the station was a Drake TR-4C, RV-4C, MS-4, and W-4 watt meter (I'd sure like to know where that rig went). I'm not sure I'd change anything we did, perhaps instead of the Yaesu I would have asked for the Drake Twins but the old FT-101B has stood the test of time.. Then again Darrell wouldn't we all like to have known then what we know now; Dad lets buy stock in this new company called Microsoft ;-) De WA6HYQ -Original Message- From: drakelist-boun...@zerobeat.net [mailto:drakelist-boun...@zerobeat.net] On Behalf Of Darrell Bellerive Sent: Friday, June 17, 2011 12:08 PM To: drakelist@zerobeat.net Subject: [Drakelist] First Rigs - If you could do it all over again, what would your first station be? The threads about the comparisons of the Drake, Collins, etc. has got me thinking about my first receiver and station. Licenced at the age of 15 back in 1975, I bought used gear from the local club members, not giving any thought as to what was great, good, or bad in terms of design or performance. It was available and so that's what I got. If I knew then, what I know now, my first receiver and station would have been totally different. If I could have afforded it a new Drake R-4B or if money was not available, a used Drake 2B would have been my first receiver rather than the Hallicrafters SX-140. So if you knew then what you know now, what would have been your first station and what year would it have been? 73, Darrell Bellerive Amateur Radio Station VA7TO ___ 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] First Rigs - If you could do it all over again, what would your first station be?
On 2011-06-17, at 3:07 PM, Darrell Bellerive wrote: So if you knew then what you know now, what would have been your first station and what year would it have been? Hi Darrell, In truth in hindsight, I don't think that I would have changed a single, solitary thing from the early days of my Ham career... I first got ticketed as a highschool kid in 1971: that meant (A) no money for any dream rigs, and, (B) plenty of time to do some actual dreaming...and so I homebrewed my first transmitter from the March 1971 issue of QST (a 6T9 compactron QRP rig), and used this in conjunction with my third-hand Hallicrafters S-77A receiver. Being rockbound with low power meant that I had to learn the importance of timing and antennas(!). And that old receiver served as my own personal Elmer in that I built things to improve its performance---things like a pre-selector, Q-multiplier, audio filter, external converter, etc.---all of which made me comfortable with rolling-my-own, and instilled confidence in my abilities. Oh sure, at the time if some genie had magically appeared before me to grant me a wish I woulda yelled GIMME AN S-LINE! But I'm glad there are no genies---and I STILL don't own an S-line, either (but I DID acquire a nice T-4X / R-4 combo that I absolutely love, some 35 years after the fact!). ~73~ de Eddy VE3CUI - VE3XZ ___ Drakelist mailing list Drakelist@zerobeat.net http://mailman.zerobeat.net/mailman/listinfo/drakelist
Re: [Drakelist] First Rigs - If you could do it all over again, what would your first station be?
I had an atrocious first station...and I never made a contact with it. On the other hand it was 100% home made :-) First station: Ameco AC1 transmitter, and a Knight Star Roamer receiver. This was an atrocious station, and while I was able to make a contact with the AC1 (with another receiver) I'm not sure I could make a qso with the Star Roamer TODAY, with a bazillion QSO's under my belt and 40 years of experience. This was later upgraded to the AC-1 and a Knight R-100 , with which I made a good number of QSO's , upgrading to a DX-40 with which I made hundreds of QSO's in my Novice year. What would I have liked as a novice? Hmmm one of the Drake stations I now have.., a Drake 2NT, 2BQ and 2C (with a halli vfo) is an excellent performer and very easy to use. Fun to think about John K5MO ___ Drakelist mailing list Drakelist@zerobeat.net http://mailman.zerobeat.net/mailman/listinfo/drakelist
Re: [Drakelist] First Rigs - If you could do it all over again, what would your first station be?
25 years ago my first rig was a used Drake TR-7 from Burghardt Amateur Center, and I still have it. Antenna was a G5RV and a BW 300 watt tuner from Madison (downtown Houston at the time). Worked the world with it. About 12 years ago I started restoring tube gear, and most of you know what that means...Many fine-working radios saved from the scrap heap, and no more room at the QTH for any more (not to mention a VERY patient XYL) !!! 73 Mark N5KAE - Original Message From: John Hudson john.hud...@calema.ca.gov To: Darrell Bellerive drbellerive.va...@gmail.com; drakelist@zerobeat.net drakelist@zerobeat.net Sent: Fri, June 17, 2011 2:47:40 PM Subject: Re: [Drakelist] First Rigs - If you could do it all over again, what would your first station be? My first HAM rig was borrowed from a mentor (Tom Roberts WA6YKE/AC5RD)who was helping me get my HAM license it was a Knight T-60 transmitter and HRO-60 receiver. I was 13 at the time, then my dad and I found an HW-16 working, bought a HG-10B VFO which became the first station I owned. At 16 my Dad bought me a Yaesu FT-101B which I still have. As I said in an earlier post, in high school I was given the opportunity to purchase a HAM station for Helix High School here in La Mesa, CA. the station was a Drake TR-4C, RV-4C, MS-4, and W-4 watt meter (I'd sure like to know where that rig went). I'm not sure I'd change anything we did, perhaps instead of the Yaesu I would have asked for the Drake Twins but the old FT-101B has stood the test of time.. Then again Darrell wouldn't we all like to have known then what we know now; Dad lets buy stock in this new company called Microsoft ;-) De WA6HYQ -Original Message- From: drakelist-boun...@zerobeat.net [mailto:drakelist-boun...@zerobeat.net] On Behalf Of Darrell Bellerive Sent: Friday, June 17, 2011 12:08 PM To: drakelist@zerobeat.net Subject: [Drakelist] First Rigs - If you could do it all over again, what would your first station be? The threads about the comparisons of the Drake, Collins, etc. has got me thinking about my first receiver and station. Licenced at the age of 15 back in 1975, I bought used gear from the local club members, not giving any thought as to what was great, good, or bad in terms of design or performance. It was available and so that's what I got. If I knew then, what I know now, my first receiver and station would have been totally different. If I could have afforded it a new Drake R-4B or if money was not available, a used Drake 2B would have been my first receiver rather than the Hallicrafters SX-140. So if you knew then what you know now, what would have been your first station and what year would it have been? 73, Darrell Bellerive Amateur Radio Station VA7TO ___ 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 ___ Drakelist mailing list Drakelist@zerobeat.net http://mailman.zerobeat.net/mailman/listinfo/drakelist
Re: [Drakelist] First Rigs - If you could do it all over again, what would your first station be?
I chose TT Century 21 over Drake and would do it again. The reason is primary cost. 72 Ron, wb1hga ___ Drakelist mailing list Drakelist@zerobeat.net http://mailman.zerobeat.net/mailman/listinfo/drakelist
Re: [Drakelist] First Rigs - If you could do it all over again, what would your first station be?
When I got my novice ('64) I was 13 and a freshman in high school. I started
with a R55A (mowed lots of yards) and a DX40 (present from dad for passing
the novice). I have a copy of that station today. I have since gone through
the gold dust twins and have two S lines, a supper nice Drake C line,
and an R7, R388 along with other stuff (knight regens). But alas, an hour
ago, my K3 kit arrived and it will replace the broken FT1000 (probably
gonna be a parts unit ... note ... the Drake and Collins still work and can
easily still be fixed). If I started over again in the 60's I would stay
with the DX40 and opt for the 2B/2BQ (had one, mistakenly sold it).
After reading the original post that got this fascinating thread started, I
am going to get off of dead center and listen to the 75S3B and the R4C
(unmodified) to see how they compare. I am primarily a low band CW op here.
73, Mike WA5POK
-Original Message-
From: Mark Nace
Sent: Friday, June 17, 2011 6:22 PM
To: John Hudson ; Darrell Bellerive ; drakelist@zerobeat.net
Subject: Re: [Drakelist] First Rigs - If you could do it all over again,what
would your first station be?
25 years ago my first rig was a used Drake TR-7 from Burghardt Amateur
Center,
and I still have it. Antenna was a G5RV and a BW 300 watt tuner from
Madison
(downtown Houston at the time). Worked the world with it. About 12 years
ago I
started restoring tube gear, and most of you know what that means...Many
fine-working radios saved from the scrap heap, and no more room at the QTH
for
any more (not to mention a VERY patient XYL) !!!
73
Mark
N5KAE
- Original Message
From: John Hudson john.hud...@calema.ca.gov
To: Darrell Bellerive drbellerive.va...@gmail.com;
drakelist@zerobeat.net
drakelist@zerobeat.net
Sent: Fri, June 17, 2011 2:47:40 PM
Subject: Re: [Drakelist] First Rigs - If you could do it all over again,
what
would your first station be?
My first HAM rig was borrowed from a mentor (Tom Roberts WA6YKE/AC5RD)who
was
helping me get my HAM license it was a Knight T-60 transmitter and HRO-60
receiver. I was 13 at the time, then my dad and I found an HW-16 working,
bought
a HG-10B VFO which became the first station I owned. At 16 my Dad bought me
a
Yaesu FT-101B which I still have. As I said in an earlier post, in high
school I
was given the opportunity to purchase a HAM station for Helix High School
here
in La Mesa, CA. the station was a Drake TR-4C, RV-4C, MS-4, and W-4 watt
meter
(I'd sure like to know where that rig went). I'm not sure I'd change
anything we
did, perhaps instead of the Yaesu I would have asked for the Drake Twins
but the
old FT-101B has stood the test of time..
Then again Darrell wouldn't we all like to have known then what we know
now;
Dad lets buy stock in this new company called Microsoft ;-)
De WA6HYQ
-Original Message-
From: drakelist-boun...@zerobeat.net
[mailto:drakelist-boun...@zerobeat.net] On
Behalf Of Darrell Bellerive
Sent: Friday, June 17, 2011 12:08 PM
To: drakelist@zerobeat.net
Subject: [Drakelist] First Rigs - If you could do it all over again, what
would
your first station be?
The threads about the comparisons of the Drake, Collins, etc. has got me
thinking about my first receiver and station.
Licenced at the age of 15 back in 1975, I bought used gear from the
local club members, not giving any thought as to what was great, good,
or bad in terms of design or performance. It was available and so that's
what I got.
If I knew then, what I know now, my first receiver and station would
have been totally different. If I could have afforded it a new Drake
R-4B or if money was not available, a used Drake 2B would have been my
first receiver rather than the Hallicrafters SX-140.
So if you knew then what you know now, what would have been your first
station and what year would it have been?
73,
Darrell Bellerive
Amateur Radio Station VA7TO
___
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
___
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] First Rigs - If you could do it all over again, what would your first station be?
My first rig was a command set receiver on 40 meters along with a factory built Knight T-60 bought from another more affluent teenage ham. My antenna was a Gotham V-80 vertical mounted on a redwood 4x4. The antenna was a birthday present from my parents. I was on the air for less than $100, which was still a large sum for a sophomore in high school in 1963. I put a power supply on the back of the ARC-5 using the info from an article in Popular Electronics. I also set up the first IF stage in the receiver so that it was regenerative as those receivers had a virtually no selectivity. The only part of this station I still have is the Johnson straight key, which I have never liked. I have never used a Collins rig, though one fellow in my home town had a KWM2. He also owned a string of mens' stores, and a yacht, which he used to travel the world with the Collins rig. I really wanted a National HRO50, and I have had two of them, since. The rig I still have that I used for years is a Gonset G-76 transceiver. I have owned that one since 1965. I am in the process of restoring it. The Drake rig that I really like is the 2B. I got mine some years back on e-bay, and really like it. I pair it with an old Gonset GSB-100 phasing exciter, and they work very well together. I hooked both of them up to my Tapetone 6 meter receiving converter and my PH transmitting converter, and had a great time on 6 meters. I worked Greenland with them. That little receiver beats any other tube type receiver that I have ever used. I do not have it in action right now due to space constraints. I mainly use Ten Tec equipment now. I have an Omni V.9 hooked to an Elecraft 6 meter transverter and an ancient Mirage amp for 6 meters, and a Corsair II for HF. I also have 2 of the Argonaut II QRP rigs that tend to get a lot of use, both on HF and as a tunable IF for transverters. I worked all continents with one hooked to a Ten Tec transverter and a 4 element beam during the peak of the last F2 cycle. Not bad for 8 watts. When I get more room, I would like to get the old stuff back on the air again, and I have since acquired some command sets for 80 and 40 meters to get put back in service. I don't know if I am going to start looking for another T-60 or Heath DX20 yet... Not being a contest operator, I am not sure whether I would get much use from a Drake C line. But, every so often I get the itch to try out a B line. Time will tell. Steve WA9JML ___ Drakelist mailing list Drakelist@zerobeat.net http://mailman.zerobeat.net/mailman/listinfo/drakelist
Re: [Drakelist] First Rigs - If you could do it all over again, what would your first station be?
My first rig actually was a Drake - a TR-3. I was happy with it at the time, it and an AC-3 and MS were pretty cheap back in 76. Knowing what I know now, yes, I probably would have gotten something else. The worst part of the TR-3 was that it was a terrible CW rig: no filter, no break-in (not even semi), no RIT, and no sidetone. I made do by using a code practice oscillator as a sidetone, but the T/R switching was terrible. I got a Yaesu FT-101EE within a year and sold the Drake. The Yeasu was really more fun to operate than the TR-3. But I always liked Drake stuff and used it a good bit at other stations, so I imagine I would much rather have had a pair of Drake twinsOTOH, the price of the TR-3 really made getting on the air do-able. I doubt I'll ever own another TR-3 as almost all of my operating is CW and the TR-3 was just so unpleasant on CW. Which is probably why I've gotten an R-4...same vibe as the TR-3, but much better to operate...particularly when I match it up with a T-4X, which I hope to do someday. 73 de Lee, AA4GA -- Lee Hiers Have dobro will travel...and traveling! ___ Drakelist mailing list Drakelist@zerobeat.net http://mailman.zerobeat.net/mailman/listinfo/drakelist
Re: [Drakelist] First Rigs - If you could do it all over again, what would your first station be?
Started about the same way. 1959. DX-40, one 7198 crystal, and a borrowed BC-455. When I upgraded to a BC-312N, I thought I'd died and gone to heaven. After passing the General the next year I was rewarded with a 2nd hand SX-100. Used the DX-40 well into high school until I was presented with a Globe Champion 350 my dad found for sale for $25! Never owned a Drake of any kind until I started collecting and using the catalog contents of my youth. Been through a lot if it including some of the marine products. All time favorites are the 1-A and 2-B. All that's left of that today is a TR-7/RV-75 which I keep as a backup radio. Grant/NQ5T My first rig was a command set receiver on 40 meters along with a factory built Knight T-60 bought from another more affluent teenage ham. ___ Drakelist mailing list Drakelist@zerobeat.net http://mailman.zerobeat.net/mailman/listinfo/drakelist
