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Radio for newbie
- Thread starter Tweetybird
- Start date
BJ radionut
Supporting Member and 6m addict
I never had an issue with sweep tubes in a transceiver.
R.L. Drake used sweep tubes in all their gear until they went solid-state.
That's some of the finest most dependable gear I ever operated!
I must have had 5 or 6 Tempo Ones (Blackface versions) never had one fail unless a tube shorted or got gassy. Then replace the screen or grid resister, another good set of tubes, back on the air.
Yes, 6146's are great tubes, proven circuits in the old Hybrids, but have had more than one come across the bench blown up also.
Getting the tubes correctly neutralized when changing them saves a lot of issues, and many times guys pop them out and go new and then wonder why they went FIZZ!!!
All the Best
Gary
R.L. Drake used sweep tubes in all their gear until they went solid-state.
That's some of the finest most dependable gear I ever operated!
I must have had 5 or 6 Tempo Ones (Blackface versions) never had one fail unless a tube shorted or got gassy. Then replace the screen or grid resister, another good set of tubes, back on the air.
Yes, 6146's are great tubes, proven circuits in the old Hybrids, but have had more than one come across the bench blown up also.
Getting the tubes correctly neutralized when changing them saves a lot of issues, and many times guys pop them out and go new and then wonder why they went FIZZ!!!
All the Best
Gary
Sweep tubes are ok. They get a bad rep from the cb amps that guys beat kilowatts out of. An 8877 is easy to kill but it ain't a bad toob.
You could buy a really nice rig if you fixed and sold the pile of sweep tube amps you have.
You could buy a really nice rig if you fixed and sold the pile of sweep tube amps you have.
Kinda the idea only wanted one and got carried away. I would have bought more but I ran out of money and the binge stopped. Besides it's great practice fixing them and they are not as complicated as transceivers.
Been down that road... with several different radios, parts, and accessories.
I would buy one, then think "I really should have a spare", buy another and think "Jeez, that spare should really have a spare" and then repeat those steps so many times until one day I looked around and realized I had created nest(s) of duplicate stuff I'll probably never use
Nice
The Lafayette radio catalog was like a Sears "Wish Book" when I was growing up.
My approach was different. I wanted something current enough that no one was racking their brain to recall how to use. Service available. Major name. Accessories, etc.
No, $200 wasn’t going to do it. Try 3x that (roughly). Still, versus $1,100.00 MSRP, I’m fine with it for a Yaesu ft450d.
I also wanted one that could be portable or fixed-base. My son and will likely swap it back and forth. Into — and back out of — a case it lives a multi-role life.
My son’s a funny one. Tells me getting married last month presents a time impediment on licensure. Re-current pilot training. Etc. A woman’s a woman, right? But a device could talk halfway ‘round the world . . . .
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Now I need an antenna tuner. and I did not see a Mike but wont need one till I get my ticket. About tuners, do they help reception? I would think so.but I am a newbie
They tune the antenna system. If it is way off then you will notice an increase in reception. Also an increase in noise as well.
Many people I know use manual tuners by tuning to max reception noise before keying up.