Manager


Manager - NA4M
Manager Notes

Reviews For: Eico 717 Vacuum Tube Electronic Keyer

Category: Keyers & CW Keyboards

eMail Subscription

Registered users are allowed to subscribe to specific review topics and receive eMail notifications when new reviews are posted.
Review Summary For : Eico 717 Vacuum Tube Electronic Keyer
Reviews: 2MSRP: 50.00 (Kit, 1967)
Description:
Vacuum Tube Keyer from 1960s that included variable sidetone volume and pitch. Review is in July 1967 QST.
Product is in production
More Info: http://
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
0025
VE3CUI Rating: 2010-03-07
A Wonderful TOOB Keyer...! Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
My 717 was acquired just last week from a fellow "VE3"-type Ham. What a wonderful machine! It really complements my Drake Twins here ("Studio 'B'"), and is a lot of fun to use.

I had initial mis-givings about two of the tubes used in the circuit---i.e. the ECH81---perhaps falling into the category of "unobtainium" (apologies to "Avatar", Hi), but a bit of research reveals that there are TWO possible candidates that should serve admirably as direct plug-in substitutes.

Other keyers from the era of the 717---most notably the 9TO series from Hallicrafters---seem to have eclipsed the popularity of all other such vintage units...but the EICO is a true gem that can proudly hold its own with that company. It's a real find, and deserving of a lot of respect from CW aficiandos of every stripe, IMHO...!

~73~ de Eddy VE3CUI - VE3XZ
FORMER_K0RO_TRAMPLER Rating: 2009-05-16
Great for its time...and later! Time Owned: more than 12 months.
This was the keyer up with which I grew in the 1970s, and I had no idea how good it was. The variable pitch for the sidetone was a treat. It never occurred to me as a punk that not all keyers had such features. Our keyer was cosmetically modified with black and that mustard-brown plastic to match our Galaxy GT-550 set up. We ran it with a Viborplex paddle, and it is still runing strong in the shack of my brother, N2JT.