Topband: Powering a 26.5 V relay from 12 V

[ac7a at cox.net]

I am working on the band switching hardware for my latest 160/80/40 vertical project and will be using some 26.5 V vacuum relays in the circuit.

This may be a long shot, but I am trying to find a web site where a fellow showed how to power a 26.5 V vacuum relay from a 12 V source. It relies on the property that relays only momentarily require the rated coil voltage and that is during pull-in. After that, they will remain in the energized state with much lower voltage; sometimes a quarter of the pull-in voltage, or even less. So the circuit initially produces enough voltage to energize the coil and then drops to 12 V. Of course now that I need the web-site information I cannot find it, or the circuit which I had printed at one time. 

What I sort of recall about the web site is it was hosted by a 6-land radio amateur. And he had a bunch of information about HF amplifier stuff on the site. I am working from memory here so what I truly remember is prone to error. 

There was a circuit in QST, Hints in Kinks, a few years ago but it isn’t quite what I was looking for. Any ideas or leads will be appreciated.

’73, Thomas – AC7A (Tucson)