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HAM radio Awesomeness Here!

pmclaine

Gunny Sergeant
Full Member
Minuteman
  • Nov 6, 2011
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    MA
    A week or so ago I saw this image in a link over at the CMP forums....

    1613244705891.png


    The topic was "When was the first combat use of the Garand".

    This is a picture of GI's on Bataan prior to the surrender and the Garand is present.

    Someone commented on the Hallicrafters receiver set and noted that its not a GI item. The soldiers must have had a personal set and such a receiver would have allowed them to receive news and perhaps transmit to maintain comms and continue the fight.

    I thought that was cool as hell and on a thread in Snipershide about comms.......lots of people buying Baofang and Yaesu HAM sets as other forms of communication continue to cancel people out......I made a comment that I thought that vintage radio set was cool as fuck being weaponized like it was and I wanted to get one.

    Today I came back from my big walk and this is sitting on the porch....

    1613244982309.png


    Inside....

    1613245023810.png


    1613245046115.png


    1613245067573.png




    I suspect @gayguns has gifted me with awesomeness.

    It came with a set of period instructions......I know nothing about setting one of these up. The station it is receiving is a strong local AM. Im sure with the appropriate antenna it would pull in some great stations........maybe I could be a test receiver for you nascent Baofang/Yaesu peeps.
     
    when i was growing up, a neighbor down the street built a really tall tower for this ham radio.
    unfortunately i learned nothing about it back then.
     
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    Its got the 1940s stuck inside it.....



    An antenna would take care of that static, that station is up in Bath Maine....

    If this were a time machine and a portal back to the 40s Id go in a second and be a 53 year old PVT on the first boat to the Pacific.
     
    Have my dads old AM/FM shortwave reciever. He used it when we were in Libya.
    I got into HAM as a kid but my Elmer (mentor/teacher) moved to Michigan after he and I put up a 50' antenna.
    In 2018 I got off my ass and finnaly got my license.
    I would love to have a vitage transceiver to use, I only have a Baofeng hand held.
     
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    You sure he’s not expecting a little “something” in return?

    Might be worth it. Doing it for schwag doesn’t make you gay.
    LOL... I would say fuck you --but fuck you. Bahahaha (very funny tho!)

    Mr. @pmclaine did me a wonderful gesture once of taking his time and materials to do an exquisite gravestone rubbing of my GGGGG Grandfather and send it to me.

    I felt that because he was so generous --when he made an off the cuff comment and posted that exact radio... I took upon myself to find one that actually worked and sent it as a way to show my deepest gratitude. Plus he also was once of the first guys on here when I was new that, just by his reaching out and acceptance seemed to quell some snarky subtle anti-gay crap. While it's not quite giving him a piece of his own lineage like he did for me.. still it was giving him a neat little piece of American history.

    I didn't realize until after the purchase it was missing it's back plate.. opps.. but finding one for parts shouldn't be to hard.
     
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    LOL... I would say fuck you --but fuck you. Bahahaha (very funny tho!)

    Mr. @pmclaine did me a wonderful gesture once of taking his time and materials to do an exquisite gravestone rubbing of my GGGGG Grandfather and send it to me.

    I felt that because he was so generous --when he made an off the cuff comment and posted that exact radio... I took upon myself to find one that actually worked and sent it as a way to show my deepest gratitude. Plus he also was once of the first guys on here when I was new that, just by his reaching out and acceptance seemed to quell some snarky subtle anti-gay crap. While it's not quite giving him a piece of his own lineage like he did for me.. still it was giving him a neat little piece of American history.

    I didn't realize until after the purchase it was missing it's back plate.. opps.. but finding one for parts shouldn't be to hard.
    It was a very nice gesture of appreciation.
     
    Old tube radios and equipment are a sickness for which there is no known cure. Ask any of us that suffer from the disease of vacuum tube collection disorder. One is to many and a thousand is not enough. I am not so sure he did you a favor.

    Seriously, that was a way cool thing to do. I would advise that you open it up and look to see if the electrolytic capacitors have been replaced. That is the FIRST thing to do when getting your hands on one of these vintage pieces of history. Last thing you want to happen is have a 50 year old cap take out a component like a transformer. Open it up and look at the bottom side, not the side with the tubes, underneath that. If you want, post some photos. Pretty easy to tell if there are old electrolytic's and old paper wax caps still in there. Both should be replaced without question. Use the trash can test. Pull them out and drop them in a trash can. If they make noise when hitting the can, they are bad.

    A typical "restore" includes replacing ALL electrolytic and paper, wax capacitors (leave the Micas alone they almost never go bad), checking all the resistors for out of tolerance and then an alignment. All of that takes specialized test equipment like vacuum tube volt meters. Modern day digital volt meters impedance will give false results. Maybe a local "ham" could help you out. Anyway...enjoy the journey!
     
    Old tube radios and equipment are a sickness for which there is no known cure. Ask any of us that suffer from the disease of vacuum tube collection disorder. One is to many and a thousand is not enough. I am not so sure he did you a favor.

    Seriously, that was a way cool thing to do. I would advise that you open it up and look to see if the electrolytic capacitors have been replaced. That is the FIRST thing to do when getting your hands on one of these vintage pieces of history. Last thing you want to happen is have a 50 year old cap take out a component like a transformer. Open it up and look at the bottom side, not the side with the tubes, underneath that. If you want, post some photos. Pretty easy to tell if there are old electrolytic's and old paper wax caps still in there. Both should be replaced without question. Use the trash can test. Pull them out and drop them in a trash can. If they make noise when hitting the can, they are bad.

    A typical "restore" includes replacing ALL electrolytic and paper, wax capacitors (leave the Micas alone they almost never go bad), checking all the resistors for out of tolerance and then an alignment. All of that takes specialized test equipment like vacuum tube volt meters. Modern day digital volt meters impedance will give false results. Maybe a local "ham" could help you out. Anyway...enjoy the journey!
    A further word on tube equipment if going to work on it yourself. Learn how to safely discharge capacitors. The charges involved can often be lethal.
     
    That's pretty rad! I didn't know they used vacuum tubes in ham radios, only in older T.V's and the best guitar amplifiers. Being a guitarist, I'm very partial to tube amps. There's only a few brands around today that still use them. 🤟
     
    A further word on tube equipment if going to work on it yourself. Learn how to safely discharge capacitors. The charges involved can often be lethal.

    In high school I remember electronics shop where we built our own circuit boards and learned to read the bands on a resistor to figure it value.

    All that stuff is beyond my knowledge now.

    My wife is thinking we are made of money and planning a home addition. I want no part of it, preffering to leave this AO as soon as retirement kicks in, but.......as Im paying for this addition my intent is to have this radio on its own shelf in said new addition.

    I want to have the electronics gone through. Such repair shops are not as common anymore in our disposable world.

    There is a store nearby "You Do It Electronics" that might be helpful.
     
    Old tube radios and equipment are a sickness for which there is no known cure. Ask any of us that suffer from the disease of vacuum tube collection disorder. One is to many and a thousand is not enough. I am not so sure he did you a favor.

    Seriously, that was a way cool thing to do. I would advise that you open it up and look to see if the electrolytic capacitors have been replaced. That is the FIRST thing to do when getting your hands on one of these vintage pieces of history. Last thing you want to happen is have a 50 year old cap take out a component like a transformer. Open it up and look at the bottom side, not the side with the tubes, underneath that. If you want, post some photos. Pretty easy to tell if there are old electrolytic's and old paper wax caps still in there. Both should be replaced without question. Use the trash can test. Pull them out and drop them in a trash can. If they make noise when hitting the can, they are bad.

    A typical "restore" includes replacing ALL electrolytic and paper, wax capacitors (leave the Micas alone they almost never go bad), checking all the resistors for out of tolerance and then an alignment. All of that takes specialized test equipment like vacuum tube volt meters. Modern day digital volt meters impedance will give false results. Maybe a local "ham" could help you out. Anyway...enjoy the journey!

    What do you think of this restore kit?


    Thank you for your opinion.
     
    Strictly curious, what's the attraction to or the draw to vacuum tube & old ham radio collecting? I don't quite understand that one. If they don't operate and are functional, seems to defeat the purpose to me.
     
    Strictly curious, what's the attraction to or the draw to vacuum tube & old ham radio collecting? I don't quite understand that one. If they don't operate and are functional, seems to defeat the purpose to me.
    Think you misunderstand they DO work. With audio stuff they absolutely have a different sound to them that many prefer. For others it is purely nostalgia. For some it is still the ability to DIY, you can build your own tubes, good luck making integrated circuits on your own.


    Another more relevant point to our current time are the HF frequencies many older units work on will soon be very useful given we have entered a solar minimum. The traffic in that spectrum has been very low for a long time due to unfavorable conditions.
     
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    What do you think of this restore kit?


    Thank you for your opinion.
    At those prices you could get the parts elsewhere, like Mouser, for allot less. BUT, it is nice to have it packaged all up especially when your just starting out. The instructions are a nice touch too. There are many different types of resistors and capacitors so a packaged deal would save you from trying to figure out if that is carbon, metal oxide...blah blah. I am actually going to buy a similar kit for a Kenwood hybrid I have. It has over a hundred capacitors in it so it's worth it to me not to sit there and make the shopping list online.

    You do need to be carfull around capacitors but anything in the Sky Buddy and simlar products should not kill you, but they sure and the will bite you. I have rebuilt linear amps with 6k voltage..now that shit will kill.

    They still make some tubes but not all of them. You would be surprised at the NOS that is still out there. Some get really pricey though because they are so scarce. Damned guitar players drove up the cost of NOS 12AX7 tubes because they sound awesome in an amp. I know, that is what my guitar amp uses. LOL. They do make new 12AX7 tubes in China and Russia, I wish the guitar guys would buy those instead of teh vintage stuff I want in my old radios.

    It is difficult to explain the lure to tube equipment. Nostalgia? The warm red glow? The purple glow of some tubes? Beats me. But how do you explain why anyone collects old razors or barbed wire?

    Oh, someone asked "what about the tubes". Tubes in receive only radios just seem to last forever. I have several Hammarlund and a few Halicrafters with the original tubes...least as far as I know they are. Its teh transmit tubes that get killed most of the time.
     
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    Strictly curious, what's the attraction to or the draw to vacuum tube & old ham radio collecting? I don't quite understand that one. If they don't operate and are functional, seems to defeat the purpose to me.
    Vacuum tubes for amateur radio aren't just used in radios. They are used in amplifiers especially in hf. Tube stuff for radios is cheaper than solid state for the same power rating. Also it seems that tubes for amplifiers are more forgiving in mismatches than solid state but I don't know that first hand since I'm not into that section of radio. I think in the guitar world tubes are more expensive.

    Amateurs are generally more hands on and want to be able to fix crap themselves. If something goes wrong in new stuff you're more or less SOL. Old stuff is generally cheaper too.
     
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    For the OP, my dad was a radio operator in the later part of WW2 in the western Pacific, and he said that his outfit had AN number gear but also had Hallicrafters receivers. He was in Panama in the beginning of the war, and there they had AN equipment, but his outfit got sucked up by a jungle infantry regiment and when they went to the Pacific islands in 1943, they often had commercial equipment that worked. When we first got into ham radio in the early 60's, the first receiver he got us was a Hallicrafters.

    I drifted away from the hobby during military service (1969-1973), but I came back several years ago. I still maintain and use a "hybrid" radio that is solid state except for the transmit diver and final amp, which are tubes I'm quite familiar with. My big 2 meter power (1 KW out) is an old tank of an amplifier that has insanely high voltages inside that will kill you and a tube that will cost hundreds of dollars to replace when it dies, but I know how to deal with the voltages and it's almost perfectly linear and clean.

    I have a friend who came here from Ukraine who recently built a 60W/channel audio amplifier using Russian tubes that I'm not familiar with. It is beautifully crafted and sounds as good as vintage tube amplifiers I've heard (I have USN trained ears). Tubes have a different sound that is cleaner than SS, but I guess that is in the ears of the listener.

    I still believe that there is no better receiver than a Collins R390 with original milspec parts. It didn't have the current DSP, PLL and such, but it had a sensitivity, noise floor, selectivity and such that have not been equaled by modern equipment. These radios had an extremely complex mechanical tuning system that probaby can't be serviced by anyone except a very small handful of people who are still alive . Unfortunately, they are old and it's almost impossible to find one that hasn't been goobered (the old milspec parts are unobtanium). I believe that only Collins and Motorola made the R390. There was a cheaper R390A that was made by several manufacturers and it is also a fine radio, but it is not the old R390.
     
    For the OP, my dad was a radio operator in the later part of WW2 in the western Pacific, and he said that his outfit had AN number gear but also had Hallicrafters receivers. He was in Panama in the beginning of the war, and there they had AN equipment, but his outfit got sucked up by a jungle infantry regiment and when they went to the Pacific islands in 1943, they often had commercial equipment that worked. When we first got into ham radio in the early 60's, the first receiver he got us was a Hallicrafters.

    I drifted away from the hobby during military service (1969-1973), but I came back several years ago. I still maintain and use a "hybrid" radio that is solid state except for the transmit diver and final amp, which are tubes I'm quite familiar with. My big 2 meter power (1 KW out) is an old tank of an amplifier that has insanely high voltages inside that will kill you and a tube that will cost hundreds of dollars to replace when it dies, but I know how to deal with the voltages and it's almost perfectly linear and clean.

    I have a friend who came here from Ukraine who recently built a 60W/channel audio amplifier using Russian tubes that I'm not familiar with. It is beautifully crafted and sounds as good as vintage tube amplifiers I've heard (I have USN trained ears). Tubes have a different sound that is cleaner than SS, but I guess that is in the ears of the listener.

    I still believe that there is no better receiver than a Collins R390 with original milspec parts. It didn't have the current DSP, PLL and such, but it had a sensitivity, noise floor, selectivity and such that have not been equaled by modern equipment. These radios had an extremely complex mechanical tuning system that probaby can't be serviced by anyone except a very small handful of people who are still alive . Unfortunately, they are old and it's almost impossible to find one that hasn't been goobered (the old milspec parts are unobtanium). I believe that only Collins and Motorola made the R390. There was a cheaper R390A that was made by several manufacturers and it is also a fine radio, but it is not the old R390.
    That is friggen awesome. Show us a pic of your set up.

    Oh and can I please have your Ukraine friend's number please?

    lololol
     
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    Antique radio peeps.....Take a look at the guts in this radio.....

    1615327852258.png


    Does it appear that the electronics have been updated? Would those resistors been around in 1939?

    Just noticed....dude should wear pants when taking pictures. Is that Toilet Paper? Dude is in his carpeted shitter posting pics?
     
    @gayguns

    Quit screwing around......

    Oh peeshaw... Only 500 watts? Lmk when you find a real radio shack. 2000 watt min. None of this wimpy 500 watt for me please. :)

    Seriously tho.. I bet when that shack is cranking you could hold a bare flouresent tube in your hand and watch it lite up.



     
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    Yep, those are all original. All of the capacitors will need to be replaced. The only exception to being original is the one electrolytic at about 6 o-clock. That has been replaced but looks like 70's era and needs to be replaced.

    Did you find a capacitor kit for it? This is where the additional cost of a kit will pay off dividends of time not having to sort through all jargon of what type of capacitor is a modern day replacement for those old wax paper one. An electrolytic is an eloctrolytic. Also, back in those days they used mmf as a rating. Today they use Pico farads to represent micro micro farad (mmf).

    I would imagin there is also a can capacitor on the top section. They usually had 3 or 4 capacitor sections. Looks like aluminum can about as round as a silver dollar, 3-4" tall. Those need to be replaced because they are electrolytic capacitors.

    Yep...just looked. The can cap should be to the right of the red electrolytic in the photo.
     

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    Yep, those are all original. All of the capacitors will need to be replaced. The only exception to being original is the one electrolytic at about 6 o-clock. That has been replaced but looks like 70's era and needs to be replaced.

    Did you find a capacitor kit for it? This is where the additional cost of a kit will pay off dividends of time not having to sort through all jargon of what type of capacitor is a modern day replacement for those old wax paper one. An electrolytic is an eloctrolytic. Also, back in those days they used mmf as a rating. Today they use Pico farads to represent micro micro farad (mmf).

    I would imagin there is also a can capacitor on the top section. They usually had 3 or 4 capacitor sections. Looks like aluminum can about as round as a silver dollar, 3-4" tall. Those need to be replaced because they are electrolytic capacitors.

    Yep...just looked. The can cap should be to the right of the red electrolytic in the photo.


    Thank you for the help.

    Yes there is a can capacitor in the top section.

    I understand its a 4 capacitor unit as in one of the videos I posted above the guy says he replaced it with four individual capacitors but wired them underneath the tube shelf....he left the can in place although it isnt connected to anything.

    There is a kit for replacing all the resistors and shit available on Ebay, comes with instructions, posted a link above.

    I saw this....

    1615340652466.png


    and it looks like in the other photo at least the resistors had been upgraded
     
    Yep, those are all original. All of the capacitors will need to be replaced. The only exception to being original is the one electrolytic at about 6 o-clock. That has been replaced but looks like 70's era and needs to be replaced.

    Did you find a capacitor kit for it? This is where the additional cost of a kit will pay off dividends of time not having to sort through all jargon of what type of capacitor is a modern day replacement for those old wax paper one. An electrolytic is an eloctrolytic. Also, back in those days they used mmf as a rating. Today they use Pico farads to represent micro micro farad (mmf).

    I would imagin there is also a can capacitor on the top section. They usually had 3 or 4 capacitor sections. Looks like aluminum can about as round as a silver dollar, 3-4" tall. Those need to be replaced because they are electrolytic capacitors.

    Yep...just looked. The can cap should be to the right of the red electrolytic in the photo.
    Damn dude, you da man
     
    Wow, new here and also a HAM. Extra Class boner fide nerd grandpa gunner motorcyclist
     
    I like vintage HAM radio! Especially the AM nets, old coots blathering about……
    Anyway, old radio collecting can get to be like old gun collecting, so make some extra room.View attachment 7560227
    Holy Magnetic Field Batman!!!!
    When you leave that room you dont need the lights on to get to bed at night.
     
    Thank you for the help.

    Yes there is a can capacitor in the top section.

    I understand its a 4 capacitor unit as in one of the videos I posted above the guy says he replaced it with four individual capacitors but wired them underneath the tube shelf....he left the can in place although it isnt connected to anything.

    There is a kit for replacing all the resistors and shit available on Ebay, comes with instructions, posted a link above.

    I saw this....

    View attachment 7577882

    and it looks like in the other photo at least the resistors had been upgraded
    Definitely not the same radio in both photos. I presume yours was the first photo? I think your right about the resistors. Back then they would have been a carbon and I only see one in there that looks to be carbon. I found a schematic for a S-19r but it does not provide any values for the caps or resistors. I will look around some more. There should be a good manual with a parts list out there. The one on BAMA sucked.

    Some people re-stuff the cans. I am too lazy so what I do is mount a board that is made for electronics on the chassis and thread the cap leads through the holes. It's made to solder resistors, caps etc. etc. to make your own circuits. Not meaning to discourage you, but so you know, that can cap will probably be the biggest hurdle to solder. That cap takes a lot of heat to solder the grounds. I have to pull out my old Weller that is 325 watts and I still struggle with that. Just be patient, make sure it's clean and use flux and you will get it. The trick is to create a little puddle on the chassis and build on it.

    It may seem obvious, but only replace one capacitor at a time, one lead at a time. Trust me, I have made that mistake before. After that, start checking resistor values and then voltages.
     
    Definitely not the same radio in both photos. I presume yours was the first photo? I think your right about the resistors. Back then they would have been a carbon and I only see one in there that looks to be carbon. I found a schematic for a S-19r but it does not provide any values for the caps or resistors. I will look around some more. There should be a good manual with a parts list out there. The one on BAMA sucked.

    Some people re-stuff the cans. I am too lazy so what I do is mount a board that is made for electronics on the chassis and thread the cap leads through the holes. It's made to solder resistors, caps etc. etc. to make your own circuits. Not meaning to discourage you, but so you know, that can cap will probably be the biggest hurdle to solder. That cap takes a lot of heat to solder the grounds. I have to pull out my old Weller that is 325 watts and I still struggle with that. Just be patient, make sure it's clean and use flux and you will get it. The trick is to create a little puddle on the chassis and build on it.

    It may seem obvious, but only replace one capacitor at a time, one lead at a time. Trust me, I have made that mistake before. After that, start checking resistor values and then voltages.

    The first picture is another radio I saw for sale which the seller is claiming works great has had an alignment and is ready to go.

    The second picture I sent one I found online from a radio museum.

    Neither is mine....just looking for an example of what to expect when I open mine.
     
    Thank you for the help.

    Yes there is a can capacitor in the top section.

    I understand its a 4 capacitor unit as in one of the videos I posted above the guy says he replaced it with four individual capacitors but wired them underneath the tube shelf....he left the can in place although it isnt connected to anything.

    There is a kit for replacing all the resistors and shit available on Ebay, comes with instructions, posted a link above.

    I saw this....

    View attachment 7577882

    and it looks like in the other photo at least the resistors had been upgraded
    The days of all point to point wiring. Nostalgia.

    Im not into ham but high end audio. Printed circuit boards may be a bit quieter but nowhere near as dynamic and refined a sound as point to point. Dont get me started on vacuum tubes vs solid state. No comparison. For you old timers, photos of some of my tube amps. 1960's vintage Altec 1569's completely rebuilt on Brazilian Rosewood bases. modified to play in pentode or triode. All NOS tubes, Mullard and Sylvania.
     

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    Someone locally is giving away a ham radio antennae. Heres the link if youre interested.