Interesting, Rick!
Yes, one of the things about the R-4 manual was a section on realigning
the receiver.
I was an Air Traffic Control Radar Technician with the Air Force from
1970-78.
At the time I had access to all of the best test equipment available, so
it was easy to keep things running well.
I built a Heathkit signal generator, VTVM, transistor checker and
numerous other kits and pieces of test gear.
Today, all I have is a VOM, digital multimeter and antenna analyzer.
One of my worries about the vintage Drake gear is keeping it going.
I missed the boat on getting some Collins equipment free or at little
cost when the MARS station at March AFB closed.
Someone also told me that the Red Cross office nearby had some Collins
gear that they were getting rid of. I should have listened.
Or not. I'd be in the same boat, maintenance-wise, only worse.
Rob Sherwood rates the noise floor of the R-4C with Sherwood mods within
3 db of a 75-S3B at -138 dbm
I also have the T-T 405 amp that I bought at the swapmeet at Ft. Tuthill
about 10 years ago.
73 de Jim - AD6CW
On 12/2/2010 6:15 PM, Rick - NJ0IP / DJ0IP wrote:
> Jim, my elmer had a 2B and 2BQ as well.
> I got my ticket in 1964.
> I got my Collins S-Line and a pair of KWM2's absolutely for free....only
> cost me 3 years of my life ;-)
>
> I was big into contesting and DXing then, and one of the things I noticed
> with the tube rigs is, about once a year they needed tuning. I found that
> if I didn't peak them, they would slowly drift and be down on sensitivity.
> For comparison, I had a brand new Yaesu FT-200 which had a transistorized RX
> with single 9 MHz IF, and then tubes in the driver and final.
> When peaked, the Collins rigs could hear as well or better as the FT-200.
> After a year I could hear weak signals on the FT-200 which were in the noise
> on the Collins.
>
> I built a heathkit VTVM, RF Voltmeter, and signal generator.
> Later I got a scope.
> I enjoyed tuning the old radios (well they were new then).
>
> Today I don't have any of these instruments and don't have the time or
> energy to be bothered having to tune a receiver every year.
> I'd be afraid, just when I wanted to use it in a contest, it would be out of
> tune.
>
> This is the main reason that I have resisted the urge to purchase something
> with tubes in it.
>
> To be fair, I ran the US Army MARS station in Berlin from 1972 until 1974,
> and the Collins gear was switched on 24x7, and used about 16 hours per day.
> Maybe that's why it needed tuning so often.
>
> I wonder is anyone else has had this kind of experience?
>
> Anyway, about one year after that story above, I got my first Ten-Tec:
> Argonaut 505.
> For the next several years that followed, most of my operation was portable
> and the 505, later replaced by the 509, together with a 405 amp, became my
> rig of choice. See www.dj0ip.de
>
> 73
> Rick, NJ0IP
>
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