Tuesday, Feb. 2, 2021
I had a meeting to cover for my news website this morning, but had the afternoon (mostly) free , so a return to the attic was in order.
I had spied a very large box marked “NCX-500” standing on one end, and after a little thought, I know it couldn’t have been an NCX-500 in the box — I already found the one I remember buying and have sold it on eBay. Certainly I would remember buying a second one … wouldn’t I?? (I won’t say how many Heathkit SB-102s I’ve sold, only that I have at least 3 left!)
In the box I found a very nicely packed Hallicrafters SR-150 and matching PS-150 speaker/power supply. I was anxious to try them out; the rig is in exceptionally good shape. I removed the top and bottom covers and boy howdy, the rig looks dust free and minty fresh. I powered the radio up and all the filaments lit, the white noise slowly came up in the speaker. I attached an antenna, though it wasn’t evident from the white noise — changing bands made no difference in band noise, regardless of where you placed the preselector. I cleaned all the rotary switches and pots, no change — the receiver made noise but quiet as a mouse. The transmitter tuned up reasonably well and on frequency, which was great to know.
The radio was originally equipped with sweep tubes in the finals, but at one point in the past, the radio was equipped with a pair of 6146Bs. The plate caps had been changed out, but the rest of the PA circuitry looked original.
I took the cabinet off and all the circuitry looked really nice. No burns, no smoke, no charred components. The one place I need to investigate is the T/R relay and the output jack. The original connector was swapped out for a BNC chassis connector. It looks like a homebrew T/R switch was added. If there’s an issue with the relay, it might kill the receiver, but I know it works because when I transmit, you can hear the relay operate.
At this point, I have not checked the tubes or even made sure they’re all in the proper sockets. Today was very preliminary. The rigs looks soooo nice and original, I really, really want to get it on the air!
PARAGON DEUX? I hardly remember this, but a year or more back, I submitted a very low offer on a super nice Ten Tec Paragon — despite having one with a leaky 9v batter acid-damaged memory board. This one has no memory issues. If I have time tomorrow, I would like to replace the PROIII with the Paragon and check it out.
I’ve used my first Paragon to check in to my CW traffic net earlier in the year, and I’m really impressed with the radio.
WHAT? ANOTHER TEN TEC? “…. um, well, Honey, you see, there was this auction last year for a lonely Ten-Tec Omni VI, and the bidding was so low I couldn’t resist sniping a last-minute bid” — only to win the damn thing. So yes, one of the shipping boxes in the hallway outside Studio C has a very nice condition Ten Tec Omni VI.
My plan is to try the second Paragon and the Omni VI out, each on the air for a while, and then decide if I want to keep one of the three or send all of them back to eBay.
Of course, its likely I’ll shed all three eventually; I still have my recently arrived HPM-300MkII to unbox and put on the air, but all good things in time.
My real goal is to have two or three folding tables set up along the walls of Studio C … one table for packing eBay shipments, the other two for boat anchors and classic gear troubleshooting.
AND … ANOTHER KENWOOD? I forgot to mention that I just won an auction for a very nice Kenwood TS-530S, complete with CW filter (woot!). This is a working rig, and I’m looking forward to getting it on the air. It features additional refinements that will make life easier on a crowded band — plus it includes the WARC bands.
I finally got the main power supply caps to replace in my TS-520SE. The rig receiver works great, but there’s no power out. Both of the large upright caps have “domes” on the bottom, indicating they need to be replaced. I also need to make sure the T/R relay is in good condition. I’m not sure which one will go, but one of these Kenwoods — the 520SE or the 530S — will also find their way back to eBay. I would love to get the 520 transmitting again, challenge accepted!