Been there, done that several times with my Drakes!!! I vote for Luke's suggestion (K6LO) that bloody switch. I finally made up a batch of 'protectors' to prevent the switches from being moved when moving the radios around.
These are simple radios to work on. Come back to this group with your results.......

ron
N4UE

Bob, glad you got the info so quick. I was going to send a copy of the Manual, but M2 beat me to it.
These are great antennas. I have a stacked pair (horizontal polarization), top antenna is at 115', with a mast mounted preamp and fed with 7/8" hardline.

gl!
ron
N4UE

VERY interesting discussion. Tom and Lou, what would you suggest as a suppressor for a dedicated 6 Meter only amp, using a pair of 3-500Zs?

thank you!

ron
N4UE

In the hundreds of boatanchor radios and pieces of vintage test equipment I have restored, I have seen exactly 2 disk caps go bad. Shorted. I have seen quite a few of the "postage stamp' and other micas go bad.

Tish is very correct stating a 50 year old cap is a 50 year old cap. In fact, sitting on a shelf is worse than actually being used in a circuit. Black Beauties, Waxy Paper, Brown Tu**s, they all gotta go.

The reason for me sticking my $ .02 worth in here is this:

"Testing" any cap with a LV bridge, solid state handheld, etc,  is good ONLY for finding VALUE. You will learn NOTHING about leakage unless you test the cap at it's RATED voltage.

(I'm not talking about ESR which requires different testers)

For instance, I can take an old cap (say .01 uf) and put it on my NIST traceable Leader 9 VDC bridge and it will read exactly it's stated value. However, if I use one of many cap testers which uses HV, it may leak 500+ VDC out of 600 VDC applied.

I have buckets full of caps with this exact failure mode. A simple foolproof tester can be made with an old VTVM and a HV PS.

ron
N4UE

Hi. I recently purchased a CW IDer that was advertised as a Hamtronics unit. I don't believe this is correct. I have done as much searching as possible and have come to a dead end. It appears to be commercially made, but NO Mfg labels. However, there is a small sticker on the bottom stating "designed and built by XXXXXX". I sent the OM an e-mail and got no reply. I then sent a SASE to his QRZ address and his fiance sent me an e-mail stating he passed away. Of course, I gave her my sympathies.
It does work and produces his call quite nicely. It has timers, and a LOT of features. Inside, It is VERY well made with a nice circuit board, etc.
I was looking for info on how to reprogram it for my call (being a lowly 13 WPM Extra). It has a multitude of TTL chips in it.
I anyone would like to help me out, I would be thrilled to send pix of it.

I have already purchased a Hamgadgets ID-O-Matic ll. I REALLY do NOT weant to part out this SK's nice project, even though the cost was nil.....

thanks!

n4ue@arrl.net

Hi, I have been to this person's house and 'antenna farm' as he calls it. If you can describe a 40M dipole 15' above ground as such......
I have repeatedly tried to get the BBB and the KY Dept of Revenue to investigate him, without luck. He is from England and I doubt if he is a US citizen. He SHOULD be paying income tax on the amount of business he does. Several Ky Hams have contacted the local Sheriff without ANY result!! Does that tell you anything!!!!!?

BTW, the only way he will refund your $ (once you've been ripped off),is to demand you give HIM Positive Feedback!!! WOW!!
Flea Bay only tolerates him due to the amount of $ he gives them. Not only did I live near this crook, I also knew him back when he was "Multicomm 2000".

BEWARE, he has a BUNCH of shill IDs.. and bids against himself all the time.

When he says something is "**MINT** **LOOK** **NIB**, that means it has only been pulled down a dirt rod for less than a mile by a pick-up!

Been there, done that, now banned!! BFD!!

ron
N4UE

Idiom Press makes GUD stuff!! Period. I purchased a SCAF-1 Audio Filter when Bob was changing the design slightly. Having been a EE with IBM, writing Service Manuals, Bob not only accepted my small suggestions, but implemented them immediatly into all following kits.
I love mine and think Bob and Idiom Press are the BEST!!

ron
N4UE

Hi to all. I recently acquired a Specific Products SR-7 WWV receiver. This is the common, tube-type radio. As the seller indicated, the radio does not work. A quick peek inside, reveals the cause: no crystals!
Considering what I paid for the radio (and the otherwise nice shape it is in), I have NO problem buying new rocks for her. I need some for other radios anyway....

Searching the WWW for info on these radios always yields zip. Knowing that S.P. sold a lot of these radios, I am hoping someone out there could supply me with a schematic or at the very least, a list of the crystal frequencies.
I am MORE than willing to pay for this info.

I hate to see an otherwise fine radio go to waste.

Thank you!!

ron
N4UE

Since I have known Steve (WIK) for years, I usually agree with his comments. However, I must disagree with his observations on the weak signal performance of the 706g. I purchased a new one in Tokyo, soon after they were announced. It is the "E" model. Returning home, I did exhaustive testing with the g, using high quality coax switches, listening for the weakest signals I could find. I had a quiet location (Central KY) and all antennas were fed with hardline. All of the equipment is in 100% operational condition and from my 'personal collection' (as old RM likes to say! ha ha) The testing was the 706g against:

6 M:
Icom 575H
Icom 551D with ARR JFET preamp
Drake TR-6
Heath SB-110A (2)
Yaesu FT-901DM with all 3 transverters (2)
LOTS of Nuvistor and FET converters feeding Icom 761, 745, Collins 75A-4, 51J-3, Hallicrafter SX-101A, SX-117, R-390A, etc, etc

2 M:
Icom 251A with PIN Diode front end
Icom 271A with Mutek preamp
FT-901 DM combo
More converters for 144 MHz

70 CM:
Icom 471A (new)
FT-901 DM  combo
LOTS of converters, all solid state

In NO instance, did I hear a signal on the converter/receiver set-up that was unreadable on the g. In fact, the g was SO good, I sold the highly regarded 575H, since they were a dead tie. I worked a LOT of MS using the g on 6 Meters, driving a monster legal limit amp. weird combination.
Currently, my 'go to' radio is a 756PRO, I bought it on a later trip to Japan and also hand carried home. Recent testing of the PRO versus the 6 M combos listed above, show only the SLIGHTEST advantage to the converter combo. However, I will admit I tried NO 'tweaking' of the PRO's NR, bandwidth, PBT, etc.
Currently, here in Florida, I have a dead quiet location (last person on the AC line) and for 6 M, I have a M2 6M7JHV at 105' fed with 7/8" hardline. Yes, the PRO can (barely) hear the antenna.

regards,
ron
N4UE
EM80of

Monday, 1600 EST, June 14th... 6M is wide open to all of Europe right now. The last time I heard this much DX was during the peak of the last cycle in 2000.
During the VHF contest this past weekend, the band was open SO much, I didn't even particpate! No challange.. ha ha

ron
N4UE
EM80of

Hi. I am looking for a schematic (or any other info) on a Lunar Model PAI 144B 2 Meter preamp. I recently acquired one and although the internal relay functions, the preamp is deaf. I've repaired my Mast Mounted preamps (a LOT!), but the Lunar has been 'modified' by someone and will NOT be fun to repair, due to the size and construction....

Thank you!!

ron
N4UE

Hi, I know this is a loooong reach, but does anyone have a schematic for a Lunar Model PAI 144B 2 Meter Preamp?

I recently purchased one that someone has 'modified'....

I'll also post this on the VHF Forum.

tnx
Ron
N4UE

Hi, I recently purchased a Specific Products, Model WVTR, WWV receiver. This is a smallish, 19" rack mountable model. It is solid state. It works well but appears to be slightly off frequency. There is a schematic on BAMA, but when printed, it is unreadable. There's about a million trimmers in it (well, almost) and I really (!!!) don't want to make it worse.

I would love to buy a manual for this radio. A search of the WWW turned up zilch. Can anyone help???

thanks!
ron
N4UE

Maybe this is 'old news', but the back cover of the latest QST has a photo of a new "Coming Soon" DSP radio.
Was this seen at Dayton?

tnx

ron
N4UE

NK6Q, hi. I have all the equipment mentioned in this thread, including 3 R-4Bs.
I have several TR-4Cs also. If you want to work split, just pick up a RV-4C remote VFO. This will also help 'walking' up and down the band.
The TR-4C makes for a small, compact setup. Every time I fire up one of the TR-4Cs, I still marvel at how great they work......
Don't forget that the remote VFO has a speaker and a place to put the P/S.
Try to put a small muffin fan on the back of the Drakes to cool them. My TR-6 (19 tubes) produces a LOT of heat, without some type of cooling.

regards,
ron
N4UE