ham radio collectors

[cassandra and sara's daddy]

http://fredericksburg.craigslist.org/ele/1753335152.html
http://fredericksburg.craigslist.org/ele/1753324838.html
http://fredericksburg.craigslist.org/ele/1753316247.html
http://fredericksburg.craigslist.org/ele/1753293548.html
http://fredericksburg.craigslist.org/ele/1753277721.html

i'm clueless but i know there are some guys on here who aren't   so i figure they could tell me about this stuff or see if they want any antiques

[RocketMan]

I've still got my old Heathkit DX-60 transmitter like the one shown in the first link.  I need to clean it up and see if it still works.

[Boomhauer]

We call 'em boatanchors.

Fun if you have enough room/storage space for them...

[230RN]

I've still got my old Heathkit DX-60 transmitter like the one shown in the first link.  I need to clean it up and see if it still works.

Man, the spectrum !  Won't somebody please think of the spectrum ?



I had a DX-100 in which I could not neutralize the finals to save my soul.  And it required about an hours' warm-up to stabilize the VFO.  If it wasn't too drafty in my shack.

Parasitics! Splatter!

Even if it is working, could a barefoot DX-60 conform to spectrum requirements nowadays?

I sold my DX-100 to a CB-er who promised he would never, ever, ever, use it on the 11M CB band.

He promised!

"I just want it for parts,"  he told me, crossing his heart and hoping to die.

Yeah, parts.  Like the VFO "parts," the modulator "parts," the final amp "parts," the case "parts," the power supply "parts..."

And the knobs, of course.  Always handy to have extra knobs in your junk box.

Just extra parts.

And, after all, the old Ham 11 Meter band only covered parts of the then-new 11M CB band.

Just parts.

Terry, 230RN

(Pic credits in Properties)

[RocketMan]

Man, the spectrum !  Won't somebody please think of the spectrum ?

Even if it is working, could a barefoot DX-60 conform to spectrum requirements nowadays?

Probably.  Properly constructed and aligned, they were pretty clean rigs.  I used mine either with crystals or an old VF-1 VFO that I had converted to solid state.

[230RN]

Well, I said, "barefoot."  External VFOs and Xtals don't count.  It was assembled by someone else, but I went over the wiring with the checklist assembly manual point by point and it was a little sloppy, but correct.  I unsloppified it and made sure the VFO cage was well grounded all around and fed it to an antenna tuner and let it go at that. Uncle Charlie ("Reilly")never complained.

I got less unwealthy soon after that and got an ICOM high number (745?  I don't remember).  Got rid of of the Heathkit at a hamfest.  Hooked up a 60W light bulb as a dummy load and the flashing of the light as I talked into the mike attracted people.

I drove the bulb at 100W on 160 meters on voice peaks --pretty bright.  "Heah ya, heah ya! Step right up ladieeesngentlemen.  See the amazing boat anchor perform at 100 watts!  You there, you sir... yes, sir, you.  You look like you could light that bulb... come on, step right up and try it --show your lady friend there you can do it!"

Looking back on it now, the final sale was kinda wierd.  The buyer didn't sound like a ham so I probed a little and found out he wasn't licensed yet but intended to get one.  He finally asked if it could be used on CB. Not, mind you, "on 11 meters," the way a ham would have put it.

I finally sold it to him anyhow, but now, while I was posting this, I realized how similar it was to selling a gun in some states nowadays: "You got a license?"

Well, g'night.  I even bored myself with this narrative.  <yawns, stretches>

Terry, 230RN

[RocketMan]

Well, I said, "barefoot."  External VFOs and Xtals don't count.

Ain't no such thing as barefoot.  You must have something oscillating to set the transmit frequency.  Otherwise, it no worky.

[230RN]

^ ?   Look up "parasitic oscillations" and "neutralization." By "barefoot," I meant sans antenna tuner, using the rig's own VFO. "Barefoot," for CBers usually just means without an external (illegal) amplifier.

Don't forget we're talking tubes (valves) here. 

[RocketMan]

Barefoot to me means without an external amp.  That's how I learned it many years ago.
My "Ain't no such thing as barefoot" comment meant that the term barefoot really didn't apply in the context of the discussion re: VFOs and crystals.
I am aware of what parasitic oscillations are.  And speaking of tubes, the DX-60 uses a 6146W as a final.
Back when I used the DX-60 on a regular basis, it was properly neutralized, and fairly clean so far as I could tell.
It put out 80 watts max. in CW, and about that in AM mode.  It does not have SSB capability.

edited to reduce apparent snark oscillations.

[230RN]

By "barefoot," I meant sans antenna tuner, using the rig's own VFO. "Barefoot," for CBers usually just means without an external (illegal) amplifier.

OK, I guess I misused the term "barefoot" from your point of view --not an unreasonable extension of the term's meaning.  What I was getting at was "as is."   The DX-100 used a pair of 6146s in parallel and I suspected some kind of imbalance between the two tubes or their respective circuitries such that one tube would somehow feed back to the other on peaks.  I fiddled and fussed with it, switching tubes, carefully measuring various biases,  voltages on the neutralizing coils and resistors, plate drop on keying, all to no avail.

I'm not challenging the idea that the DX-60 might have been a clean XMTR, but my DX-100 wasn't, and there wasn't an internet back then on which I could rely for advice, eg:

http://members.cox.net/n4jk/dx-60.htm

Even the OTs at the club couldn't figure it out.

So I went and got the ICOM and sold it.

Period.

[RocketMan]

The DX-100 used a pair of 6146s in parallel and I suspected some kind of imbalance between the two tubes or their respective circuitries such that one tube would somehow feed back to the other on peaks.  I fiddled and fussed with it, switching tubes, carefully measuring various biases,  voltages on the neutralizing coils and resistors, plate drop on keying, all to no avail.

I have some vague recollections of folks having difficulties with the DX-100 back then.  It's good that you finally resolved the issue, even if it meant getting a new rig.
Given that those kits were all built by folks with wildly differing skill levels, it's to be expected that some would perform badly.  That could be a big issue if one bought a radio already assembled by someone that was less than skilled.  (Even radios built by skilled hands could have issues.  They were kits, after all.)
At one time I had a Heathkit SB-104A that I purchased second hand.  After I went through it and cleaned things up, it worked pretty well.  But I finally sold it, and like you, bought an Icom.  It's an IC-730 that I still use.  Icom makes pretty decent gear IMO.