Thread
:
CW Only, Tube Transceiver
View Single Post
#
16
September 24th 03, 12:29 PM
N2EY
Posts: n/a
On Wed, 24 Sep 2003 01:09:23 UTC,
(N2EY) wrote:
In article ,
(M Wilson) writes:
Can someone suggest a CW only, all tube tranceiver for me? Nothing
QRP, more like between 20 and 100 watts, no transmitter/receiver
separate boxes, and no SSB transmitting capability. I want glowing
tubes and CW, in one box (power supply, of course, on the side).
What you describe is what I've been seeking for 30+ years. There ain't none
made. So I built my own. Three of them, in fact. My latest one runs 100
watts
out on 80, 40, and 20, has RIT, cascaded 8 pole 500 Hz filters, beam
deflection
mixer, no AGC, dial drive/capacitor from a BC-221, and lots more. The only
semiconductors are a pair of 1N34s in the SWR bridge.
807s in the final, 866As in the power supply....
The result is known as the "Southgate Type 7"
The HW-16 comes close, but it is not a *true* transceiver - it's a
transmitter
and receiver in one box with a common power supply. You have to re-zero the
external VFO every time you QSY.
73 de Jim, N2EY
Suppose you started with a Heathkit SB-101 (the 102 had a solid
state LMO), and removed the mike amp tube.
Not a good idea because the heaters in the '101 are in series-parallel.
It would be a CW only
tube transceiver, 2 6146's give you 100 Watts out.
Yup. But the AGC isn't defeatable. And the pinchdrive dial isn't as solid nor
as slow as some prefer.
Same tricks could be done with the HW-101, too.
You could cascade two Heathkit 400 Hz filters, using the space for
the SSB filter and just jumpering around the switch.
Definite possiblity. Or spend the money on an 8 pole Inrad filter.
Relatively compact. 1 kHz readout, great stability. No RIT though.
Which is a real problem in my book. Might be worth opening up the LMO to add
it.
The same tricks could be applied to the SB-100, which lacks the filter switch.
Or even the venerable HW-100 and HW-101, whose VFOs are not as nice as the
SB-series LMO.
Of course, for "a little more money", one could get an SB-300 or 301 and the
matching SB-400 or 401, and simply not use the SSB.
The Drake TR-4Cw probably comes closest to the original request. The last
version had both a 500Hz filter and RIT. But the dern AGC is not defeatable,
the finals are sweep tubes, and the PTO is solidstate.
For those who like to tinker, a Tempo One might make a good starting point.
Convert finals to 6146s, replace the SSB filter with a 9 MHz Inrad, and install
AGC defeat. Already has RIT and a nice dial.
You can probably buy a fixer for about $150.
--
The Southgate Type 7 cost me less than $100. But I have a big junkbox.
73 de Jim, N2EY
Reply With Quote