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Reviews For: Central Electronics 100V

Category: Transmitters: Amateur radio

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Review Summary For : Central Electronics 100V
Reviews: 3MSRP: 795
Description:
80 - 10 Meter All Mode Broad-Banded Transmitter
Product is not in production
More Info: http://
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
0034.3
KQ6IG Rating: 2020-12-10
Not for Everyone Time Owned: more than 12 months.
My 100V is quite a piece of engineering. A very interesting transmitter to use - with everything from the built-in trapezoidal monitor, to the audio limiter, to the broadband design. However, like many tube SSB rigs, it has an incureable warmup drift problem as compared to the solid state gear you might be used to operating. It also weighs about 100 lbs.

The 100V is a phasing rig designed primarily for SSBSC. It uses odd value precision capacitors in the phase shift netowork that I hope I will never have to source. It will operate 9 different modes, but I have only used AM and SSB. It's rather lack luster on AM, but then it's an SSB rig.
WW3KP Rating: 2011-12-17
Great Vintage transmittter Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
I have owned several Central Electronics 100V's and if you have an interest in operating a vintage station this is a must have transmitter to own. There were many operating problems with the 100V like VFO stability, sideband suppression and audio limiter problems but there are several modification available that will improve performance. The 100V that I now own was completely rebuilt by Bob Sullivan W0YVA and incorporates all of the Tusa Engineering upgrades. All of the capacitors have been replaced, the VFO completely overhauled, the audio limiter circuit was modified to replace the battery, the chassis was glass beaded, replaced all tubes with NOS, the front panel was repainted and silk screened, the cabinet was powdered coated plus a complete alignment. The transmitter is at least a 9.5 on a scale of 10 now both in terms of its cosmetic and operating performance condition.

This is one of the greatest transmitters every made but do not expect to buy a 53 year old transmitter that has not been professionally modified or rebuilt and expect it to perform like the day it was manufactured in the late 1950's.

I now have the 100V operating together with my HRO-500 receiver; I am using a EV-664 microphone and I get great audio reports on SSB.
WA2MER Rating: 2004-11-16
The best of both worlds Time Owned: more than 12 months.
OK, maybe I'm superficial. I bought the 100V because of its looks. However, after I used it a few times I fell in love.

I'm a boatanchor enthusiast. I love the glow of tube equipment, especially the warm glow of tungsten-illuminated meter faces and tuning dials. What I don't care so much for is having to tune a tube transmitter after switching bands, or even straying 50 KHz or so from where I last tuned up. What would be better than a transmitter that glows in the dark, but one that you wouldn't have to tune? Well, the 100V is just such a transmitter, so I guess there's nothing better than a 100V.

The radio was introduced in the late-1950s, 1958 or so. It's an all-mode (CW, SSB, RTTY, AM, PM) radio that employs broadband circuitry that allows the radio to operate much like a modern solid-state rig: set the frequency and transmit. The radio has great sounding audio, a very stable VFO and an extremely easy way of spotting yourself on frequency. On the down side, the radio is large and heavy enough to keep your operating desk from blowing away in all but the worst of conditions, it's pretty complicated and not easy to service or troubleshoot, and it has a few common faults that can be time consuming to fix, but are not problematic for the patient and careful (VFO mechanism freezes up from dried-up grease, intermittent plug-in modules and bad modulation capacitors).

All in all, this radio is as much of a pleasure to operate as it is to look at. Examples in good physical and operating condition are getting pricey. I would caution anyone who might want to get one that needs "TLC" (that's ad-speak for a wreck): unless you're an experienced radio technician, I'd advise you to spend the extra money and get one in good operating condition.