I had the same question , I am sure it's made in a garage or mobile home.
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B
big_sho9
Guest
When Dodge started making similar replicas of their classic cars, they sold like hotcakes. And is still selling. Even the newer VW beetles sold well. There are more readily available parts now, than in the 70's and 80's. It could be built wayyy cheaper than a modern radio. I think they would sell.
First problem, tubes aren't made anymore or it will be chinese ones...
Secondly energy consumption will be a lot more, not in the green interest....
Third, cost, any design going back to tubes see point 1 will be horrendous expensive.
If you want all the modern goodies like DSP forget it, tubes cannot replace the processors used for that.
You could go for a hybrid where audio and P.A is tube rest is modern.
Though good designed FET P.A.'s now come to a stage they can be just as good as tube, if you are ready to pay top prices that is.
So, looking back at the tube era it was nice and we remember the good parts, but forget how unstable they could be, my FT991A is 0.5 ppm on frequency... try that with tubes, and no stabilising with modern methods.
You would need a very big battery in your car to feed the 12 volt to 110 volt 60 Hz converter.
All in all very unpractical, even modern cars thaat "look" like the old ones are build with modern tools and parts.
Old VW bugs didn't have computers airco or whatever, new designs all have it on a bit retro package.
Totally different from going back to the tube era i grew up in.
Nostalgia is nice, but going back impractical.
Secondly energy consumption will be a lot more, not in the green interest....
Third, cost, any design going back to tubes see point 1 will be horrendous expensive.
If you want all the modern goodies like DSP forget it, tubes cannot replace the processors used for that.
You could go for a hybrid where audio and P.A is tube rest is modern.
Though good designed FET P.A.'s now come to a stage they can be just as good as tube, if you are ready to pay top prices that is.
So, looking back at the tube era it was nice and we remember the good parts, but forget how unstable they could be, my FT991A is 0.5 ppm on frequency... try that with tubes, and no stabilising with modern methods.
You would need a very big battery in your car to feed the 12 volt to 110 volt 60 Hz converter.
All in all very unpractical, even modern cars thaat "look" like the old ones are build with modern tools and parts.
Old VW bugs didn't have computers airco or whatever, new designs all have it on a bit retro package.
Totally different from going back to the tube era i grew up in.
Nostalgia is nice, but going back impractical.
Shadetree Mechanic
Delaware Base Station 808
First off those examples would have a MUCH larger customer base that was interested. Most probably grew up with the originals and missed out the first time around. Tube radios are a different beast for a lot of reasons such as availability of tubes, serviceability meaning not everyone can properly service one, and more tech know-how to properly tune and load them. No.......they would have a small market and the price would quash that one out of the gate.
Yes, but I don't feel like it's my place to share them. It's only a transmitter. What I saw was a prototype transmitter and audio processor. It also used a linearization circuit to clean up IMD like the Anan rigs have. The last time this came up someone said it was a sdr that he pieced together but that's not true. If you've heard mustang131 in the last few year's that's what he was talking on.
A lot of ignorant people think Dave is a moron because of the comp amps with his name on them. I've talked to him on the air but never met him. I have friends that have been to his shop...I really should have went to egg harbor for the 631 vs Zapco grudge match.
I don't know what Dave is up to nowadays, he may have left the game,
i have seen the hand built prototype Davemade transmitter board setup years ago,
back then on air with the pr40 mic it sounded smoothe articulate & warm on this side of the pond throught my old JRC radio,
possibly the nicest sounding audio i have heared on AM cb band,
don't for a minute think the shitty class c inneficient on stock volts keydown amps is all Dave was about,
those amps had 1 purpose and it worked, nobody won a keydown using toshiba datasheet specs.
ZAPCO lmfao that was funny.
i have seen the hand built prototype Davemade transmitter board setup years ago,
back then on air with the pr40 mic it sounded smoothe articulate & warm on this side of the pond throught my old JRC radio,
possibly the nicest sounding audio i have heared on AM cb band,
don't for a minute think the shitty class c inneficient on stock volts keydown amps is all Dave was about,
those amps had 1 purpose and it worked, nobody won a keydown using toshiba datasheet specs.
ZAPCO lmfao that was funny.
Shadetree Mechanic
Delaware Base Station 808
The patents have run out on the Browning and Sonar types of radios surely. If someone could come up with a parts kit and repop the cases so it looks like the original....... kind of like a modern day heath kit with a twist.
And they have little other than the name and a vaguely reminiscent visual style in common with their namesakes.
Especially the VW "New Beetle" which has absolutely nothing substantive in common with a VW Beetle, either in design or intent. A Galaxy radio with some added yellow LEDs under a grille to simulate tubes, would be closer to the real thing than the cars you mention are to their namesakes.
As for a tube radio being "wayyy cheaper," a single power tube costs more to produce than the entire circuit board including components on a modern radio.