Topband: BA rigs on 160

[EP Swynar]

On 28th June, John wrote...

"...Top notch BA rigs for 160 are the Viking Ranger and the Viking Valiant.
Their keying is excellent! They both utilize vacuum tube keying via a 12AU7
keyer tube. The keying bias is adjustable with a potentiometer on the
chassis top..."


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Hi John,

Not to nitpick, but the first generation of the Johnson Ranger did NOT have
the 12AU7A keying circuitry that you mention --- it was a factory add-on,
after-the-fact (my own Ranger-1 that I had was a good example of one of
these first-off rigs...even though the schematic in the manual actually
showed the keyer circuit you refer to).

Also, in as much as I LOVE vintage hollow-state gear, the keying
characteristics of these Johnson rigs does not compare to that of to-day's
transmitters: indeed, a one-time big DX'er here --- VE3CSZ --- from back in
the early 70's swore by his Valiant rig on CW, claiming that its distinctive
note gave his signal an edge in cracking pile-ups!

To-day's signals sound so robotic and similar that a Valiant / Ranger stands
out every time --- something like seeing a 1958 car drive by, complete with
tail fins and 100 pounds of chrome! (NOT that there's anything wrong with
that! Hi).

~73~ Eddy VE3CUI - VE3XZ