I like vintage tube sets. I picked up an operating Regency Range Gain set & owned a Cobra Cam 88 for a while.
The Cobra Cam 88 s a fun set. The receive audio is ok and the transmit audio outstanding. I removed a resistor to allow the 4 watt dead key to swing to 10 watts vs the old 6 watt swing. I use a Turner +3 power microphone. The radio has lot of bass & just enough highs in transmit & receive. That sounds very smooth.
The Regency Range Gain was a surprise it was received in operating condition. The receiver is as hot as any solid-state I owned and sounds much more clear than most SS radios. The audio has little bass in transmit & receive. I suspect some capacitors are in poor condition. I ordered larger values to improve the bass response. The receiver is superior to the Cobra Cam 88. It hears the most faint signals clearly that the Cobra can hear, but not make out. The receive RF amp tube is a 6ES8. This is a very high gain TV frame grid tube made for high frequency and it was the latest in the last of receiving tubes. That is why the receive is so hot.
The transmit has no bass at all and sounds a little strained. I suspect the new capacitors will add bass & smoothness to the transmit. It dead keys 3 watts and swings to 10 watts. I would have expected more swing as the modulator uses push-pull 6AQ5 tubes. The factory stated 30 watts PEP output. Perhaps bad older resistors exist and using new replacements will allow more forward swing. I have not read about any mods to the modulator either. I would like to see 15 watts forward swing. The radio does not need a power microphone. I use a Turner 254 microphone.
In-between the two radios I like the Regency Range Gain better. The receiver is simply fantastic on crowed channels like channel 6. Although the transmit audio is not as good sounding as the Cobra Cam 88, I think the new capacitors will clean it up.
Not too many Regency Range Gain radios are around. The Regency Imperial and Range Gain II have the same AM receivers and transmitters as the Range Gain model.
The Cobra Cam 88 s a fun set. The receive audio is ok and the transmit audio outstanding. I removed a resistor to allow the 4 watt dead key to swing to 10 watts vs the old 6 watt swing. I use a Turner +3 power microphone. The radio has lot of bass & just enough highs in transmit & receive. That sounds very smooth.
The Regency Range Gain was a surprise it was received in operating condition. The receiver is as hot as any solid-state I owned and sounds much more clear than most SS radios. The audio has little bass in transmit & receive. I suspect some capacitors are in poor condition. I ordered larger values to improve the bass response. The receiver is superior to the Cobra Cam 88. It hears the most faint signals clearly that the Cobra can hear, but not make out. The receive RF amp tube is a 6ES8. This is a very high gain TV frame grid tube made for high frequency and it was the latest in the last of receiving tubes. That is why the receive is so hot.
The transmit has no bass at all and sounds a little strained. I suspect the new capacitors will add bass & smoothness to the transmit. It dead keys 3 watts and swings to 10 watts. I would have expected more swing as the modulator uses push-pull 6AQ5 tubes. The factory stated 30 watts PEP output. Perhaps bad older resistors exist and using new replacements will allow more forward swing. I have not read about any mods to the modulator either. I would like to see 15 watts forward swing. The radio does not need a power microphone. I use a Turner 254 microphone.
In-between the two radios I like the Regency Range Gain better. The receiver is simply fantastic on crowed channels like channel 6. Although the transmit audio is not as good sounding as the Cobra Cam 88, I think the new capacitors will clean it up.
Not too many Regency Range Gain radios are around. The Regency Imperial and Range Gain II have the same AM receivers and transmitters as the Range Gain model.
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