Oldest Drake 2B? (now with pictures)

Bill and Soldersmoke readers,

One of the earliest and still surviving Drake 2Bs is owned by Paul Brock (K4MSG) of Hamilton, Virginia.

Paul is very much into Boat Anchor Ownership and Restoration.  

 

If you are interested, look at his write-up titled “The Magic of Boatanchors” http://www.k4lrg.org/Projects/Magic_of_Boatanchors/index.html

 

 

K4MSG’s Drake 2B Receiver s/n 2052

 

In my perspective, this receiver is still an absolute “Keeper.”  

If anyone has a Drake 2B older than Paul’s,  we’d love to see it.

We have all surmised that the first 2B was serial number 2000, from the first production run back in April 1961.

Paul’s radio could have easily been one of the first receivers to hit the market.

 

Interesting sidebar; The early 2B and 2As do not have the red scale log scale adjustor button.  

 

I remember these when they first hit the market. They seemed so small compared to the Hammarlund, Hallicrafters and National triple conversion receivers from the same era.

Most Old Timers felt they were not going to get their monies worth with a tiny receiver sitting next to their big 60 to 100 Lb. transmitter.

In 1962, this was a very modern radio both in style and performance. Coupled with the Q-Multiplier/Speaker you had a superb receiver which worked extremely well on C.W., A.M. and S.S.B.

 

My first experience with the Drake 2 B came at Skyview Radio Club near the Pittsburgh, Pa area back in 1965.

 

 

 

Here is one of those early ads that show the Drake 2B without the Red Scale Slider Button.

 

 

 

 

Happy building and melting solder everyone.

 

73’s De -=WA3EIB=- Harv. Albq., NM

 

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On 15 with HT-37 and Drake 2B

W7FE's Shack and Hex Beam

After I replaced the 6U8 first mixer tube on the trusty Drake 2-B I tuned around a bit on 15 meters.  IZ4NIC was loud, all the way from Bologna.  I gave him a call and we had a nice QSO in Italian.  then I talked to F4GBU.  I was using my 40 meter dipole, but I thought I might do better with my 17 meter dipole (it is higher up in the trees).  I called CQ 15 and got into a very nice QSO with Jim, W0JLG in Wichita.  Jim has a very impressive collection of Boatanchors.  We were soon joined by Stu, W7FE.  Stu was using a Central Electronics 100v from the early 1960s.  Wow, the three of us had a nice long contact. 

The QSO was a real trip down memory lane for me:  My sister Trish is visiting us.  We had been talking about how when we were kids she would come into the shack to watch me try to talk to people... with the very same HT-37 and Drake 2B.  I was 15 and she was 10.   That was 39 years ago!  Here we were again, sitting in front of the same old rig.   It was a lot of fun.

Stu has some great info on his very impressive radio shack.  You guys will really enjoy a visit to his QRZ.com site:  http://www.qrz.com/db/W7FE   

And check out his switching system for all those rigs: http://www.qsl.net/w7fe/ 

Wow,  his site makes me want o move out to the shed and put up a hex beam! 

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Rich Arland's "Commo Bunker"

Well known QRP author Rich Arland has launched a new blog called "The Commo Bunker."   I'm pleased that one of his first articles deals with Boatanchor radios in general and the Drake 2B in particular.

Check out his blog: http://commobunker.blogspot.com/

Rich's article came at a good time for me, because today's task in the SolderSmoke HQ shack is fixing my suddenly deaf Drake 2B.  Without even taking it out of the case, I think I have most of the troubleshooting done:  signals make it through, but very weak.  And the S-meter is now resting far below zero.  The S meter is a bridge circuit that looks at current through the RF amp stage (V1) and the IF amp (V5).  So my guess is one of these tubes has gone soft.  This should be an easy fix.

I have a nostalgic reason for fixing this rig.  My sister is visiting us. When I was 15 and she was 10  she would sometimes sit with me in the shack as I used the HT-37 and the 2B.   Those same rigs are still with me and we hope to make a few contacts with them this weekend. 

UPDATE:   I fixed the 2B.   V2, the 6U8 used as first mixer and crystal oscillator had gone soft.  This may also explain difficulties I had in getting the rig to work with a crystal in the E band socket.


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Drake 2B Filter Madness!

Wow, WB4HFN has ALL the details here: 

http://www.wb4hfn.com/DRAKE/DrakeArticles/HenryFilter01.htm

--------------------------------------------
Grayson:  Good to hear from you on this snowy morning in DC.   Wow, that's a bit of 2B history I hadn't heard of. Seems like a bit of overkill to me.  Maybe it was aimed at people who were unconvinced of the effectiveness of the LC filters?   Somehow, to me, it just doesn't seem right.  If you want more selectivity from a 2B, the thing to do is Q multiply using that socket on the back.  73  Bill 

--- On Wed, 1/23/13, Grayson Evans wrote:

From: Grayson Evans 
Subject: New info on the Drake 2B
To: "Bill Meara" 
Date: Wednesday, January 23, 2013, 1:43 PM

HI Bill, 

I was looking through the Dec. 1963 issue of 73 and came across an ad for a "New Mechanical Filter Modification Kit" for the 2A and 2B.  IT says "like magic the Drake becomes a truly superlative SSB receiver"  Model DMF-2 $29..  Says sold exclusively by Henry Radio, but does not say if they made it or not.  

Has a photo showing a module that plugs in (maybe a tube socket?) right behind the VFO.  Module has a mechanical filter (Collins I presume), two IF transformers and a tube (probably the tube it substitutes for).   I have been looking through a bunch of old CQ's and 73's, early 60's, and I only saw this one ad.  Probably a rare accessory, but how knows.

Thought you might be interested.  

Take care,

Grayson

TA2ZGE - Ankara, Turkey

KJ7UM

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A WWV Trick with the Drake 2-B

I was reading the October 1962 issue of 73 Magazine (we're always on the cutting edge here!). In the back pages a little piece from K4FQU (quite a call!) about the Drake 2-B caught my eye. OM FQU points out that by putting the bandswitch on 40 and the preselector at 10, WWV's 15 mc signal can be heard at the zero position on the 2B dial. It works! The familiar time signal beeps are coming through nicely here. It's fun to teach an old dog new tricks!

If you are looking for a 2-B, Bill KE5VZT alerted me to this one:
http://forums.qrz.com/showthread.php?325222-Drake-2B-with-Q-mult-amp-speaker

On the same page there is a review of a new Double Sideband rig from World Radio Labs -- the SB-175. Sounds like a winner!

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SolderSmoke Podcast #139

December 3, 2011

http://soldersmoke.com/soldersmoke139.mp3

Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Billy's Birthday (on the range!)

Astro-Knack: CCD camera in the telescope. Solar astronomy.

Winter approaches: Shack heating by Heath, Halli, Hammarlund and Drake.

2B troubles on 17 meters.

Rig Re-Cycling: Rebuilding 17 meter rigs from the last solar cycle.

Azores DSB re-build: Oscillator troubles then adding a JBOT.

Manhattan style construction and the need for urban renewal.

Book Review: Steve Jobs. (Woz has the Knack!)

MAILBAG

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Electronics"http://soldersmoke.com/book.htmOur coffee mugs, T-Shirts, bumper stickers: http://www.cafepress.com/SolderSmokeOur Book Store: http://astore.amazon.com/contracross-20

My New Shack Heating System: Heath, Halli, Hammarlund and Drake

Temperatures dropped over the weekend and I had to fire up my new heating system for the SolderSmoke shack. See above. Heating by Heath, Halli, Hammarlund and Drake (sounds like a law firm doesn't it?). I'm happy to report that those old filaments take the chill off quite nicely while adding a nice aroma to the room, along with some very pleasing lighting effects (I especially like the green glow from the DX-100 tuning dial).

The Azores-17 DSB JBOT project is (I think) complete. And I did include a low pass filter. In keeping with the finest of ham radio traditions, now that it is cold I will go out and work on an antenna.

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A Good Day in the Shack -- 2B Fixed, SPRAT Arrives

The temperature has dropped to around 10 C today. Fall is in the air. So it was appropriate for me to do some work on an old tube radio. (Several of our correspondents have reported similar seasonal urges to melt solder and to heat filaments.) This week my trusty Drake 2-B was giving me trouble on 17 meters. It was working on all other bands, but not on 17. Today I put it on the bench, pulled out the schematic and started troubleshooting. I quickly determined that the problem was, in fact, with the 22 MHz crystal. The 2-B has a 24.5 MHz rock for tuning the lower portion of the ten meter band. When I put that crystal in the "E" socket (where the 22 MHz crystal normally sits), the local oscillator worked just fine. Putting the 22 MHz rock back in the E socket resulted in no oscillation. And when I tried to the 22 MHz crystal in the 10 Meter socket normally used by the 24.5 MHz rock... nothing. What causes a perfectly good crystal to go bad like this?

Consulting the 2-B manual, I saw that I could also tune the 17 meter band by using (in socket D) a 14.21 MHz crystal from my junk box (it had been used in my 20 meter NE-602 DSB. transceiver). It works great. I'm listening to DK9KW calling CQ on 17 right now. Makes me want to fix up my homebrew 17 meter transmitter. (I need a final for it, and am thinking of using Farhan's JBOT circuit). I may even buy some telescoping fishing poles and rebuild my Azorean rotate-able dipole (I have the mast and the wooden center support for the fishing poles). This magnificent antenna is shown above, spreading its wings above Sao Miguel island in the Azores (our home from 2000--2003).

Icing on the cake: I went out to the mailbox, and, instead of the usual pile of bills, there was a SPRAT 148 and the G-QRP Club's Members Handbook.

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2-B Trouble Continues

Thanks for all the suggestions and encouragement. I agree with WA6ARA that the bandswitch is a likely suspect. For the E socket on the Drake 2-B (that's where my 22 MHz rock goes) the bandswitch switches in not just the crystal, but also a slug-tuned coil. It is presumed to be an overtone crystal.

The receiver works fine on all other bands.

I've already hit the wafer switch with several shots of RadioShack Contact Cleaner (I'm out of De-Ox-It). And I've given position E a good work out. No joy.

I will dig deeper this week.

It may be the crystal. It looks like I got it from Drake -- it is marked "22 MHz 2C" so it may be for the 2C receiver. It has a sort of worrisome dent in the side. I may build the test oscillator that Steve recommends.

Of course, as soon as I get this fixed the sunspots will disappear and 17 will become a white noise generator.

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2B Trouble!

So this morning I hear that the solar flux is up around 190 and the higher bands are coming back to life. I turn to my trusty Drake 2-B and turn the band switch from "40" (where it has been parked for quite some time) to "E." E is the position that kicks in the 22 MHz overtone crystal on the 6U8 local oscillator. I eagerly turn the pre-selector to the area where the 17 meter band used to appear and... nothing. Nada. Silence. No band noise. Nothing.

I thought the 6U8 might be going a bit soft. I swapped it out. The problem remains. I twisted that E band coil from one end to the other. Nothing. I cleaned the bandswitch contacts. No joy. Now I'm thinking it is the 22 MHz crystal. But its kind of strange for a crystal to just suddenly go bad... It worked before. The receiver is working on all the other bands, so the problem is really that the oscillator just won't go on 22 MHz.

What do you wizards recommend?

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Drake 2-B Video

Some cynical readers will see this as yet another effort on my part to drive up the net asset value of the SSDRA2B Investment Fund, but I really just thought that those of you who have not had the pleasure would enjoy seeing a Drake 2-B in operation. Pity he didn't have the Q-multiplier. I'm sure some of the other 2-B videos on YouTube (there are many!) will feature 2-B regeneration.


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Shack Rehab

Every once in a while we all need to attack the clutter that grips our radio shacks. That's what I was doing this weekend. I got rid of a lot of junk. And I reorganized the operating position. On the left is the HQ-100. I plan on putting the K2ZA DX-100 underneath the HQ-100. To the right is the famous Drake 2-B/Hallicrafters HT-37 combo. Next we have the roadkill Ubuntu computers. The laptop used in the production of the podcast is right behind the keyboard. To the right of the computers I have the HW-7 that we recently discussed. Next to it is my Ne-602-based 20 meter DSB transceiver. I plan to us the shelf above the HW-7 (where the clock is) for experimental rigs. To the right of the operating table I have some shelves that hold the beacon gear.

I have all the rigs on the operating table hooked up to an old MFJ coaxial switch, so it is easy to get them connected to the ether. I'm listening to 40 meter AM now. I did some Spanish language SW listening this morning: Radio Havana Cuba, Radio Marti, CBC Canada, Radio Japan, WWV...

Cleaning up proved very fruitful. I found an old portable DVD player -- Elisa's Mom now has a way of watching the many hours of family video that we have accumulated. I also found and rehabilitated some "family radio service" handi-talkies -- the kids are using these to communicate with friends across the street. And I dusted off my old 2 meter Radio Shack HT. It works! I almost clipped it onto my belt as we were heading out today, but my kids would never allow me to be so techno-retro in public.

FIGHT ENTROPY!

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SolderSmoke Podcast #137

http://soldersmoke.com/soldersmoke137.mp3

10 September 2011

Earthquake! Hurricane! Tropical Storm!
The Heathkit HW-7 -- An Undeserved Bad Reputation
Over-the-counter saltpeter
Movie review: Green Hornet, Captain America
How many 2-Bs? (11,571)
Ubuntifying dead laptops
Get the SolderSmoke blog by e-mail
Replacing a diode ring mixer with a diode...
...then trying the NT7S MOSFET detector
Where is boatanchor wizard Walt Hutchins KJ4JV ?
GREAT NAMES IN RADIO: MCMURDO SILVER
Sputnik update
Lew McCoy wrote about one of my projects
MAILBAG (with mail from Farhan and Wes)

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The Oldest 2-B? (I say it's a 10!)

Harv: Wow, that's a beautiful 2-B OM. I give it a 10. If you compare it to mine, it's a 20! I checked our collection point for 2-B serial numbers and see that we have a couple that may be rivals in the title "Senior 2-B." Thanks for pointing out that they started at #2000.

................................

Hi Bill,

What makes a radio a 10 out of 10?

Good question. A real 10 to me means the radio is flawless, clean, not repainted and the best example possible based upon age and general appearance.

Here is one of my Drake 2B Communication Receivers with the matching Speaker/Q Multiplier.

This one has the S/N 2532 which, places the production of this radio close to early Spring 1961. The radio is not flawless. It has very minor metal edge dings in the paint.

I have the original Owners Manual and lots of special notes. At best my pictured radio above is a 9.5.

In my collection is also; S/N 4226 which was built near the end of 1961. I rate S/N 4226 as a 9.8 radio.

I’m impressed with the AVG recovery, general receiver sensitivity and the combination selectivity afforded by the Q-Multiplier.

I believe the Drake web site is spot on with the dating of the production runs for Drake equipment.

From talking to other Hams, it looks like the 2B started with S/N 2000 on their first full run of production in early April 1961.

It would be interesting to see if others find radios with a serial number less than mine still out there pulling duty.

I’m sure some pilot radios are out there in private collections. Let me know if someone finds an earlier serial number.

Keep up the great work Bill!!!

ENJOY

HARV -=WA3EIB=-

Albuquerque, NM.

-------------------------------------------------------

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German Tanks and Drake 2-Bs: We Have the Number!

Hi Bill,

Finally getting back to you. I crunched the numbers... I saw a total of 23 serial numbers reported. The important thing is that these numbers be reported somewhat randomly with no biases etc. I think this is the case, and the fact we have 23 numbers is very very good in terms of the power of this experiment. The highest number reported was 12955. Let m = 12955. The number of reports was 23 so let k = 23. The equation to use (from wikipedia) is below...

Simply applying this equation we get an estimate highest serial number of 13517. So we can estimate that between 13000 and 14000 Drake 2Bs where made. I think I remember someone mentioning that the Drake 2B serial numbers did not start at zero. This is not really a problem. You just need to know at what number they did start, then subtract that number from 13517, and that would be the number of Drake 2Bs ever manufactured.

The lowest serial number reported to SolderSmoke was 2008, so you wouldn't need to subtract more than that. You can think of this equation intuitively (a very SolderSmoke thing to do!). Imagine what happens when we have a single observation. k = 1, so our estimate is about 2 times what our highest observation is. This makes sense because you would guess your observation is most likely to be about half way between 0 and the true top number. If k = 2, then our estimate is about 1.5 times our highest observation. If k = 3, then our estimate is about 1.333 times our highest observation.... as we observe more numbers, we are more likely to have observed the top number so as k goes to infinity, our estimate moves towards our top observed number, which it should.

I hope my explanation made sense. Anyway I highly recommend SolderSmoke listeners who want to know more, to read the wikipedia page. Its quite well written and offers a lot for people who like hard formal explanations and an intuitive description. Keep up the good work!

I love the podcast - hopefully we may catch each other one day on the bands.

73 Scott (K6AUS)

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SolderSmoke Podcast #136

http://soldersmoke.com/soldersmoke136.mp3
August 7, 2011
Travelogue: New York City
A Stroke of Luck: Lightning strikes Rome HB DC DSB WSPR rig
It's an IGY thing: Recreating the Sputnik Transmitter
ArisSAT-1 deployed. Audio Clip (Can anyone decode the SSTV in this clip?)
Summertime SPRAT -- ZL2BMI rig and the mysteries of the '602
A writer for "The New Yorker" builds a radio
June Smithsonian Magazine has a lot of Knack
Electric Radio on AM selectivity, Japanese, and the sibilant S problem
Gathering Drake 2-B Serial numbers for use with German Tank Equation
Amazon breaks into oscillation on "Atoms to Ampere" prices
MAILBAG

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Amateur radio at PAR (W4OP)

An e-mail exchange on QRP-L this morning about using ceramic resonators in 455 kHz filter circuits (great idea Grayson!) led me to the ham radio corner of the PAR electronics web site. PAR is the company run by Dale Parfitt, W4OP.
http://www.parelectronics.com/par-amateur-radio.php.
That's a nice looking 2-B Dale! Please send us the serial number! Even more impressive is Dale's award-wining homebrew solid state version of the 2-B (on the far right). Visit his web site for more info (on his site you can hover your mouse above the pieces of gear for more info).

I'm proud to say that I have a piece of gear in my shack that was built by Dale Parfitt. The story is told in SolderSmoke The Book: I'd built my own version of Doug DeMaw's Barebones Superhet and had liked it a lot. When I saw another one (this one built on a FAR circuits board) for sale on e-bay, I bought it. It stayed on the shelf for a while. Years later when I started working on it, I turned to QRP-L for help and this fellow named Dale Parfitt came to my rescue. It was only after a long series of e-mail exchanges did we realize that the receiver we were discussing had been built (and sold to me) by... Dale Parfitt.

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Please Put Drake 2-B Serial Numbers Here!

Let the count begin! Folks have been sending in Drake 2-B serial numbers. They've been coming in via the blog, via e-mail, twitter tweets, Facebook messages, carrier pigeons, etc. I'm afraid I might miss some precious numbers. So let's put them here. If you have some, and I don't have them below, you can post them as a comment to this blog post. When we get enough, we'll turn them over to Scott, K6AUS, for analysis using the same mathematics used to determine the number of German tanks during WWII.

Mine: 11976
Aramand's three (scandalous to have THREE!): 2599, 5149, and 12038
WB4NCT's: 8682
From Rogier's e-bay search: 8069
Another from Rogier: 5153
More from Rogier: 11222, 9041, 9180
From WB4HFN's web site (thanks Rogier!): 2008, 4025, 9289, 11059, 12060
WA5DJJ's: 5254
N5JKY's: 10616
Stephen NM7J / HS0ZHB 12955, 10328
Pete, VE2XPL's: 8873
WA5BDU's: 4950

Armand's 2-B (X3)

Good morning Bill!,

Let me start of by letting you off the hook (a little anyway), by saying that I no longer hold you responsible for the escalating values of the Drake 2B. After acquiring one, cleaning it , recapping and tweaking it, it's pretty clear that the 2B doesn't need anyone to sing its praises. It sings pretty well all on its own! Having said that, I really have to thank you for nudging me into finally getting one for myself. After a lot of searching I finally found one that was in not too bad shape for its age. I also found two others that were in less than working condition. For a while I was troubled as you were about having more than one Solid State Design. Is it really ethical for someone to have more than one 2B? Fortunately I can rationalize with the best of them. It's obvious that I will only own them for a while and am saving them from the scrap heap. Maybe we could start a 2B rescue organization?

Also thanks for the WARC and 160M tuning template - much appreciated!
The serial numbers for these sets are

2599, 5149, and 12038

Will be neat to get an estimate for the final count. Good luck!

Also wanted to mention that I really enjoyed SolderSmoke "the book". Will there be a second volume? Enough for now.

Keep the solder flowing and the podcasts and blogs comming.

Thanks again,

73's

Armand WA1UQO

p.s. If you have an extra set of crystals for a 2B that you would be willing to part with, let me know.

Merrill Budlong's Drake 2-B

Hi -

I just listened to Soldersmoke 134 and was delighted to hear the reading from Peter Doherty, W1UO.

I first met Peter just before his transcendent 2-B experience. He joined the Fidelity Amateur Radio Club, then K1NQG, of Cranston, RI, which was started by Merrill Budlong (SK), then W1QLD, later W1MB, in 1958. Merrill had a 2-B at that time, so I am almost certain Peter was referring to Merrill's receiver.

Peter received a bachelor's degree in English from the University of Rhode Island. He was an adventurer. After college, we briefly worked together at Merriam Instruments, which was owned by Robert Merriam,W1NTE. (Bob is the founder and curator of The New England Museum of Wireless and Steam in East Greenwich, RI.) Peter soon got wanderlust. He loaded his backpack and took a 1 year trot around the globe. I was astouded when I got a Nepalese postcard from him! Since then he helped deliver vessels from the east coast to Seattle via the Panama canal, worked at the Voice of America, worked in marine electronics in Port Townsend, Washington, and has worked for at least two communications equipment manufacturers. I'm sure he had many other adventures.

The Fidelity Amateur Radio Club is still alive and doing well. Some of the original members are still active with the club, but most of us are gray/bald, fatter, and move slower, but we still love the hobby and appreciate what Merrill did to get so many of us started in our careers. Since Merrill's passing his callsign was transferred to the club and we used it this past Field Day.

Keep up the good work! We ARE listening!

73,

Ken Tata

K1KT