Sept. 9, 2012 — Not much going on in my blog lately … spent part of the day yesterday at 
the Louisville hamfest. Lots of great stuff for sale … I spotted a Hallicrafters Cyclone III in the tailgate area for $250. It took a lot of self-control to not bring that baby home. Of course, I was a little short on the cash to buy it, but I was close. As much as I have wanted a Cyclone, I decided I should avoid another rig for now.
My family and I have been cleaning out our storage room in order to make it usable for a den/game room, and I have a number of boat anchors and rigs I’ve picked up over the years and never used. “Never used” as in still in the box I got them in. My 16 year-old son accuses me of being a hoarder; all I can say is there’s too many rigs, and so little time to buy them.
I have some interesting stuff that I want to put on the air too. I have two receivers I hope survived shipment — an SX-101A and a National NC-300. On the TX side, I have a Meissner Signal Shifter that’s in great shape; I also have a Hallicrafters HT-44 and PS-150 transmitter and power supply. I ran across a Swan 500, an Atlas 210X with power supply/speaker, and a few others. I have no shortage of gear to play with, lol!
On the key side, I found a box of assorted bugs I packed up (carefully), and I found my mint condition, still-in-the-shipping-box Mon-Key electronic keyer, complete with invoice and letter from the company. Speaking of the Mon-Key, I saw one on eBay earlier this year, and a guy had modified it to eliminate the need for the resistive power cord to drop the voltage for the tubes. Seems to me the tubes were converted to ones using 6v filaments, perhaps? In addition to the Mon-Key that’s boxed, I also have a couple others that I want to get working.
One of the receivers I uncovered in storage was one that I have always had a soft spot in my heart — and head — for: The Gonset G-66B. I had forgotten I had the receiver … complete with the 12v power supply. I’m not sure of its condition, but I’m going to try it as soon as I get the correct Cinch Jones connector, which I have on its way.
The Gonset G-66B is one of the most attractive mobile receivers ever manufactured. My goal is to get the one I have to play. Years ago I bought a G-66 on eBay the seller claimed worked great. When I got it, the only thing that played was a very loud AC hum before the fuse blew. That was my sole eBay “fight” with a seller. The only reason I bought the rig was her claim it worked; her decision to ignore my complaint forced me to complain the item didn’t match the claimed condition in listing, which it did not. It took time, but I won that one. She gave me blistering feedback, and I kept my feedback factual. She lied through her teeth about the receiver operating, particularly the part about listening to several stations. That’s ancient history, one of my surprisingly rare less-than-savory experiences on eBay.
The power supply that came with the G66B has a built-in speaker; I’m interested in hooking it up asap, but I would prefer to have the Cinch Jones connector; the Gonset has a 12-pin connector, and those pins are mighty close to one another to risk a jumper lead shorting out. I need to the power supply to check its integrity and look for obvious problems.
That’s all this update. More to come …
-30-