Yeah, but the professor on Gilligan's Island built a maritime homing beacon out of a cocoanut and three shark teeth..........

Which is also how Yaesu built their first CW rig.   

That was Vinnie's twin brother............. Who developed a spontaneous case of amnesia and can't remember Vinnie's phone number any more.

Just as well, Vinnie would have converted that cash into the biggest pile of Heathshkits you can imagine.   

The outside case of a TO-3 transistor like the 2N3771 is the collector. Which should be wired to the + side of the filter electrolytic. Which in turn comes straight off the bridge rectifier and secondary of the power transformer. Assuming it was a momentary short to ground (as noted by the arc telltale on the transistor case), you should have heard a fairly robust POP... Given the size of the transformer and filter cap. (?)

In any case, when a pass transistor collector shorts to ground the bridge rectifier will be stressed to maximum current from the transformer secondary. That's the first thing I'd check for damage. Believe it or don't, the 2N3771 is probably still good as the short was upstream from the internal junction. Check the rectifier(s) and you should find the fault.

When it's working properly you should see between 18 and 23 volts on the cases of the 2N3771's and 13.8 VDC on the emitters.

Thrift shops routinely offer speakers orphaned from defunct bookshelf stereos... The amplifier goes south but the speakers are still good. Usually cost $2 - $3 each, variety of sizes depending on what's donated that week, look for the single speaker bass reflex type with a 4 Ohm rating on the back. You won't do better for the money.

And pick up some polo shirts while you're in there......................

Take a close look at the squidmatic for a condenser across the AVC line intended to dampen the response time. There's usually something to reduce the chances of volume overshoot / pumping / or blasting on a station or mode change, and a leaky condenser can take a while to charge. Failing that, look for a resistor intended to pull up, pull down, or bias the AVC voltage that doesn't do that trick like it used to. The AVC line is a simple circuit if you can see the trees through the forest.


Very common with any audio amplifier that uses a transformer for interstage or output coupling. Also not unusual for the grid of an output tube to talk to you if you listen closely...........   

Congratulations!

Only two posts in the forums as of March 23rd and you made my ignore list.

Here's one that's going to sell high...

http://www.shopgoodwill.com/viewItem.asp?ItemID=12733401

Mid to early 50's vintage, extremely well regarded back in the day, but like anything of this vintage might have issues.
In fact, take a look at this picture and tell me if you notice anything that needs to go buh-bye........

This is a test of your Tube-Fu, grasshopper.   

Looking at the book, top of page 7, looks like you'll need two lengths of 50 Ohm coax like RG-50 or RG-8X. One with an RCA phono on each end, the other with an RCA on one end and a PL-259 on the other. Length isn't critical. 6-10 feet should get you where you need to go.

You'll find the manual on this page  http://www.foxtango.org/ft-library/FT-Library/FT101/FT101.htm
Along with other items of possible interest.

Isn't this always the way?  Wasn't more than two months ago I was cleaning out the garage and threw away a big box of......

......this is why I'd never let anyone from New Jersey work on my radio.

      Unless it's a phive tube Filco.

A perfectly matched system where the radio antenna jack, transmission line, and antenna impedance are all equal will provide the lowest loss and best overall transmission efficiency (minus the inevitable transmission line Ohmic loss due to imperfect conductors). It should be noted that perfection is an unnatural state rarely obtained and difficult to maintain.

But, it's a two way street... The transmitter delivers maximum power to the antenna, the antenna delivers maximum signal to the receiver.  Given a 2:1 measured SWR I'm surprised you can hear a difference through the tuner. A mismatch at 2:1 is low enough to be considered insignificant. If your RX is improved it's likely your TX is improved as well since both signals travel the same path.

As a general rule, adding complexity to a system will have a point of diminishing returns. The matching network has some loss and does present another set of knobs to adjust. But, if it works better, it's better. I have a hunch your SWR might be a little greater at some point than what you measured.   

This might be irrelevant thanks to product development, but back in the 70's when I spent a fair amount of time with 600+ pounds of Honda between my legs it was common knowledge that '409 would pit aluminum. Fantastic spray cleaner was the preferred product back then and if I had plans to rebuild an aluminum antenna I'd probably swing by the local scooter shop to see what's the hot tip for cleaning a vee twin............

Vinnie needs this:

Receives baseball games plus the 'classic' amateur bands. You just don't see chrome like that on a RoadTalker 40...................

...metal tubes often have the tube type stamped into the rim around the base.

Since the metal cover needs to be crimped apparently it's no big thing to emboss the tube type into the rim. For all I know Unca' Sam wanted 'em that way as a safeguard against rust. Wire brush the rim and maybe there's enough left to ident? You'll also find common incandescent lamps typically have the voltage / wattage rating stamped near the top edge of the Edison base.