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You can
write your own review of the Drake C-Line.
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IK1LBL
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Rating: 5/5
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Apr 15, 2009 13:24
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I love it !
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Time owned: 3 to 6 months
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Ham since 1987 im just discovery the world of vintage gear from 2 years and i fall in love of boat anchor radios.. How many time i have lose whit black box !!!
I brought my C Line from diffent source, the T-4XC on ebay from Norten Ireland Ham and a R-4C from a club station on Faroe Island... the rx was cheap why is to fix it... 15 minutes of work on them and soon the RX sound like a Hi-Fi equipement !
I have also a B line.
Use this kind of radios its a real pleasure, you have to try !!!
When you have a problem, fix it is just a piece of cake !!! try to fix your self a FT9000 !!! hi hi hi
Listening the RX it's very good ! quiet ! clear.... tuning on transceive after a few minute is a easy job and now is one o my prefered procedure...
I just wait to have enough money to load the R4C whit sherwood roofing filter and some mod.
For sure im a proud owner of this old American Radio ! work very well, very sensitive!
Sorry for my poor english...
Just search for my call on youtube to see the B and C line in action !
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VE6DRW
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Rating: 5/5
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Jan 2, 2009 21:57
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Bullet-proof and great fun to operate
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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This is the fourth C Line I've owned in the past 35 years and I never tire of the operating pleasure these rigs give. When properly refurbished and setup with appropriate mods (Sherwood and InRAD), they hold their own with some of the best available.
If you're used to digital bells and whistles and point-and shoot operating, these rigs take some getting used to. But if you like "operating" the radio, these are a great experience - lots of knob twisting. The positives are:
R4C Receiver:
- VERY Quiet
- A REAL IF notch control
- Excellent control of filter bandwith and passband
- Outstanding AGC
- Excellent audio
- Great ergonomics
T4XC Transmitter:
- Rugged final section
- Stable
- Flexible transceive integration with R4C
Two negatives come to mind; the C Line (and most rigs of this vintage) have limited "band-hopping" capability. If you like to change bands like you change channels on your home theater, this is not the rig for you; band changing can take a minute or two. Serious digital mode operation can also be a challenge as they lack the VFO stability and TX turn-around time that some modes require.
Cosmetics are outstanding; the black case, two-tone gray faceplate, and blue illumination are timeless.
Maintaining and operating the Drake C Line is a labor of love and well worth the effort.
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W7NWH
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Rating: 5/5
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Feb 24, 2008 10:44
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A great American Classic
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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I just picked up a set of twin's recently. Both in excellent shape. They have been sitting in a closet for 30 years. Used a variac first time up, surprised to find both operated fine. Receiver is just superb, that fat Drake SSB sound that I find my often used TR-4C has inherited. These are missing cables so I have not used them in transceive mode yet. Add the matching Drake speaker and I'm all set.
I just fell into becoming a Drake collector. Nabbed a clean TR-4C and now honestly, I can't stop! Nostalgia maybe, but there's something about owning a tubed radio.
I will most likely sell these eventually as there is no room in my small shack to really appreciate the American simplicity and quality engineering.
If you can find a clean pair, or an R-4C and you like operating period radio's then you'll get a huge smile spinning the VFO's on these rigs!
W7NWH
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N4FZ
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Rating: 5/5
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Feb 24, 2008 10:03
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Classics
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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My Dad bought the C-Line back in 1979, second hand. Still in use today. I retubed the finals a few years ago, and had the set realigned. Well designed, and built in America. Great reciever and transmitter. I have enjoyed using them all these years.
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HB9DDS
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Rating: 5/5
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Feb 10, 2008 08:16
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Excellent, also today
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Time owned: 3 to 6 months
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I own a Drake C-Line with 2K Sherwood Filter 1th ZF. Receive AND Transmit Audio are excellent with the Shure 444 Mic and a RF Speech Processor from Daton (ASP). Very quit RX, no Pops Problems with QRN and the AGC, easy to handle (tune). Newer Rigs are NOT "better" except some more comfort (Split, Memory etc). Very fast tuning over the bands, working also on 30M, 17M, 12M without nor problems and full output. And with the Digital Display DD-103 attached to the RX it is very comfortable.
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