>very quickly. I have no idea what ETO's relationship was with Payne Radio,
>but he openly advertized and sold Alpha 77DX's that had "factory installed
>kits" already aboard. A factory converted "SX" has more value to this day
>than does a "field converted" unit.
Phil:
Don Payne was a distributor of some of the best classic and "esoteric" genre
of amateur gear during the '60s, '70s, and perhaps into the '80s. I believe
his product line included among others, ETO and Signal One. By the way, I
received an e-mail from Don two weeks ago and he is doing well in his
retirement years and is spending a considerable amount of time along the
beaches of the beautiful Florida panhandle and chasing DX from atop his
200-foot condominium.
Regarding the 77Dx/77Sx: According to Dick Byrd, N4UQ, he has only seen
perhaps one factory-converted Sx in more than thirty units that have come
across his work bench. According to him, there are far fewer factory Sx
units than folklore would lead us to believe. From my perspective, there's
considerable distance between a manufacturer who produces an amplifier that
can be modified by the user to accommodate ultra-high power and the
manufacturer who is engaged in "speak-easy" deals in the parking lot. Let's
face it: any commercially-manufactured amplifier can be modified to produce
super power by anyone with the wherewithal and/or the finances needed to
succeed. I have a 77Dx and I know what is involved in incorporating the
addition of the second tube. Although making the modification is not
terribly difficult, it's not for someone with a Heathkit skill-set. Quite
honestly, I'll never understand why anyone would want to make the
modification to begin with. In my opinion, the incremental probability of
increased component failure by doubling much of the critical circuitry's
parts-count (particularly the added tube) just isn't worth it...neither is
the added cost per kilowatt-hour to my power company.
>We need to take back this country before all the lakes are full of gas
>additives and the airwaves are full of un-filtered 11 meter amps!
If you can figure a way to do it Phil, let us all know!
-Paul, W9AC
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