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Reviews For: COLLINS REBUILDERS - Collins S-line Repair by K2LRC

Category: Amateur Radio Equipment Repair

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Review Summary For : COLLINS REBUILDERS - Collins S-line Repair by K2LRC
Reviews: 129MSRP:
Description:
We repair and repaint Collins S-line radios with many years of experience with over 40 years as an active Ham.

Our services include complete Laboratory testing of all the gear using HP and Bird equipment. We use all original documentation and maintain a stock of parts and an excellent selection of replacement tubes. This is now a full time operation now located in Penryn CA.

See the web site for more details and contact information.

Product is in production
More Info: http://www.k2lrc.com
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
001295
WA4JKW Rating: 2011-12-18
Perfect work! Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Peter is a wonderful friend and technician. He brought the old KWM-2 a friend sent me to care for since he could no longer operate it due to arthritis. It worked fine for several years, but when we relocated it was damaged in the move. Peter replaced the PTO, and did several other repairs, plus an alignment. Then went out of his way to meet me at BWI to pick the rig up from him. Wow, what an honor to know him.
I've have several OTA complements on the rigs being spot on in tx and rx frequency, the audio, and of course the great Collins punch. The receiver is hotter than ever, no signal robbing with it now!!
I highly recommend Peter for all you S-Line repair and restoration needs.
K7BM Rating: 2011-11-28
32S-1 REPAIR Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I own vintage S-line as many of you do..I am the second owner and this equipment has been trouble free for the last 10 years. A few weeks ago my 32S-1 lost all power . I checked the Collins Collector web site and found Peter K2LRC. Peter has a great web site with Photos of his tech bench.. Peter completed repair and added a long list of over due mods.. His work is almost an art form.. very clean finish work.I would Highly recommend Peter K2LRC for any S-Line repair.. Thanks Peter..
W7CUI Rating: 2011-10-06
Excellent work Time Owned: N.A.
Bought a KWM 2a on eBay that was in really lousy shape. Sent it to Peter and got back a great working rig. He had a friend paint the cage and it looks terrific. Peter does nice work. Highly recommended.
AK4IJ Rating: 2011-09-19
Knowledgeable and professional Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
f you want a real professional to restore or repair your vintage gear, I wholeheartedly recommend Peter Wittenberg. His knowledge of vintage gear, especially the Collins S/Line has few peers. If they award PHD's in Collins, I am sure he has one.....

I always feel a little uneasy sending off my carefully coddled 50+ year old gear to some stranger, but there's no such feeling when you deal with Peter. From start to finish he keeps you informed, is always available to answer questions, and follows up afterwards to make sure you are happy.

You can feel confident dealing with Peter, whether it is for repair, or restoration, or even helping you find restored gear.
SM0ADQ Rating: 2011-09-11
Very good Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
I have visited him once. Got a very good reception by him and his wife Ursula.Have also bought some S-Line Equipment from him.They all work like new. He has also given me many advices
about reparing other Collins products I have.I am very pleased with the contact.
SM0OTX Rating: 2011-08-31
Very nice and friendly contact, skilled competent in S-lines Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Traveld twice to him for personal and comersial matters. Very nice workshop, good instrumentation, very nice hospitality, My XYL/SM0ZEU was very well looked after by his wife Ursula.
Bought S-lines from him with good quality.
Talked several times to him via telephone always friendly and helpful.
Also visit Howard Mills W3HM together with Peter.
WB4VMH Rating: 2011-08-26
Problems with Collins Gear.... Contact Peter! Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Over the past couple of years the old "War Horses" have had some issues that were beyond my capabilities. My collection was showing it's years both in performance and in my 30L-1 "eBay Queen" the "Non-Smoking" "Outstanding Shape" was way less than advertised. This unit I had him Repaint the housing which came out beautiful! All the equipment is a close to "new" as I can think of in performance. He not only does a GREAT JOB but his communications and updates are extremely professional. Pricing is well within reason and certainly worth every penny. I highly recommend K2LRC, Peter Wittenberg (www.k2lrc.com)
KD8HSI Rating: 2011-08-18
Satisfying Experience Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
Had a malfunction with my Collins 32S-3 Transmitter & started searching internet for
repair facility specializing in Collins. Nobody
local that I could take to for repair. Peter Wittenberg K2LRC impressed me with his professional websight with photos of his shop and
his conversation with me by phone. Unit was evaluated, repaired, & returned to me in a short time. Transmitter works perfect. I would recommend his repair facility anytime. I'm
thinking of sending my receiver for a check-up sometime.
KI4EKL Rating: 2011-08-18
Professional Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Although it's called amateur radio, sometimes you need professional help. When it came to getting my Collins station back on the air, I wouldn't go anywhere but to Peter Wittenberg.

I purchased an S-line station (516F-2, 75S-3B, 32S-3) second-hand almost twenty years, but wasn't able to set it up until last year. I cleaned up, recapped, and made some other minor fixes on the rigs and managed to get everything but the transmitter working to some degree. As for the transmitter, bringing it up slowly on a variac yielded some fine wisps of smoke. I was clearly in over my head. As much as I like to do things myself, I'm not an expert in rigs of this era, and they're just too nice to "learn by experience". Rather than risk damaging them further, I did my homework on the web and concluded that Peter had an excellent reputation -- which I can now confirm is well-deserved.

I drove from Virginia to his workshop near Annapolis. If there was any doubt in my mind about where to bring the rigs, it evaporated as I got an eyeful of his extensively equipped electronics laboratory and his amazing collection of Collins gear, which spans their production history.

Peter did a quick inspection and pointed out some immediately noticeable, as well as some subtle, issues with the equipment and gave me a ballpark estimate. As the repairs went along, he kept me up to date by email and sometimes by phone. When decisions arose, his advice was helpful, and I never felt like he was leading me towards more expensive options; he just told me the pros and cons and let me make up my own mind, while giving me the benefit of his considerable experience. The cost of the repair was fair -- I knew how much the equipment cost, and the labor charges were, if anything, conservative. I felt it was a good deal.

When the repair was complete, I drove back up and we had a pleasant chat. Peter provided a detailed breakdown of the repairs performed, as well as results of laboratory alignment. He was generous with his time in walking me through operation of the receiver and transmitter, and in answering my questions.

As for the rigs, they look new, and they perform at least as well as they did when they first when on the air.

I was fortunate enough to be able to drive back and forth with my rigs, but most people will need to ship their radios. While I was there, I saw the sort of boxes that Peter uses, and we talked about how I might in the future ship my rigs when I move. He has the boxes built specially for these rigs, with heavy cardboard and dense foam inserts. These boxes are built like tanks, and I have to believe that anything shipping in them would come through in good condition. So, next time I move, even if the radios are working perfectly, I'll probably contact him just to get those boxes.
N3HU Rating: 2011-06-18
capable and honest Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
Peter rebuilt a 516F-2 power supply for me. It's working wonderfully. I had an initial problem with a bad rectifier tube that was flashing back on power up. Peter replaced the tube with a NOS military tube no questions asked.

He also assisted me with the purchase and repair of a KWM2-A that is proudly in use in my station. Peter is honest, technically competent and _very_ knowledgeable on Collins equipment. I highly recommend him for your restoration and repair needs for Collins gear.

73
rob
n3hu