Another Blast from the Past -- Dino KL0S in the early 70s -- A Turner mic, a Vibroplex, an HQ-100, a DC receiver, and a tech library.

Dino:  Yes the parallels are really eerie OM.  There is that Turner mic.  I still have mine too, but I had to replace the element with an Electret. Mine brags that it is Transistorzed. Wow!   It apparently had three transistors in it. Therefore it was a Turner +3.  I also had a Vibroplex bug, but I never really used it and it fell apart.  Pieces were donated to a restoration of the K3ZO bug in the Dominican Republic.  I kept the base, which now holds a straight key that I use very infrequently.   There is of course, the Drake.  In the other picture (below)  I see your HQ-100 (A model).  Please tell us more about that DC receiver.  Homebrew?  Solid State?  Band?  Where did you get the schematic?  I also see that you had a good library even back then.  FB OM.  I remember fondly the Zoom visit to the Williamsburg club.  And I still use the coffee mug!  73 to all.  Regards to Toby.  Bill N2CQR 

Dino writes: 

Bill - saw your 15-year old pix on the blog today and immediately found a distinct likeness in my teen ham pix!

And me, WB6FZN at the time, I probably had a similar plaid shirt too:

Come to think about it all of us “of an age” look a lot alike back then.  I still have the Vibroplex key, Turner 454-C mic and Drake MS-4 speaker/AC-4 power supply.  My dad bought me the TR-4 when I got my General license and that setup was north of $600 if I recall correctly from AES; that was big money for ~1969 as he was a bartender, bless his heart.  Sold the TR-4 in Alaska during our first duty assignment with the blessing of my YL Toby KLØSS and got the Drake C-line to replace it which I also still have.

You visited our Williamsburg Area Amateur Radio Club’s “Builders Group” via Zoom during Covid and guys still talk about that session we had with you.

BTW, you can see my first direct conversion receiver in the aluminum chassis sitting on top of my Hammarlund HQ-100A here:

Hope all is well in Northern VA and/or the DR!

73 - Dino KLØS
Williamsburg

Hammarlund HQ-100 Misidentified in 1963 FCC Film

Oh the indignity!  It appears at 7 minutes 16 seconds in this FCC film.  It is clearly an HQ-100, but the FCC subtitles identify it at an HQ-110.  It is clearly an HQ-100 ( the model without the clock). 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LzPIOfpKkRM

As the owner and operator of what must be one of the few remaining HQ-100s, I feel obligated to defend the reputation of this fine piece of shortwave gear.   

How many of you have HQ-100s?  

Hammarlund and Homebrew Heroine: Janis AB2RA, HQ-100 Filter Cap Question

 

I was searching for Hammarlund HQ-100 wisdom when Google pointed me to the Electric Radio articles of Janis AB2RA.  They were in  ER #380 and #381 (February and March 2021).  Lots of good stuff  in there.  

This morning I happened upon a 2014 SolderSmoke blog post (as you do) about my Tuna Tin 2. Turns out that Janis was my first contact with this rig.  And she too was running a homebrew rig. TRGHS. 

https://soldersmoke.blogspot.com/2014/03/i-too-built-tuna-tin-2.html

I continue to work on my HQ-100.  The AC hum is getting worse so I have ordered a replacement capacitor can from Hayseed Hamfest.   But I was a bit confused about which cap to order.  Hayseed has two caps listed for the HQ-100 -- one (it seems) for the early model of this receiver and one for later models.  Is that right?  Did Hammarlund update the power supply to add filter capacitors?  Take a look: 

https://hayseedhamfest.com/collections/hammarlund

Dean KK4DAS is getting ready to work on his dad's HQ-170A.  He too will find lots of wisdom and tribal knowledge on Janis's wonderful web site.  

Her main page: http://www.wireless-girl.com/  (with a vast amount of technical info available through the links on the upper left side of this page) 

About Janis: http://www.wireless-girl.com/AboutMe.html

Thanks Janis!  

The Original Wireless Girl

http://www.wireless-girl.com/OrigWirelessGirl.html

HF Bandsweep with the Hammarlund HQ-100 (video)

It has been a while since we last did a bandsweep.  Too long.  Here is one using my recently fixed up Hammarlund HQ-100.  Repair details are in recent videos. 

For this bandsweep we cover most of the HF band and even briefly dip down into the AM broadcast band: 

Demonstration of the Hammarlund HQ-100: Radio Marti, 40 meter AM, 40 Meter SSB, 40 meter FT-8, 40 meter CW with and without the Q multiplier, classical music on WRMI, WFAX 1220 kHz AM, WWV 20 MHz, CB!, 17 meter SSB, the 20 meter BS position, the effect of AVC and the Noise Limiter, SSB with the internal BFO and with the Q multiplier as BFO. CW with the internal BFO AND the Q multiplier. 

Be sure to subscribe to the YouTube channel.  

W1VD's Boatanchor Receiver Tests

I've been trying to get more rigorous in my evaluation of receiver performance.   My HQ-100 is tuned to Radio Marti, and it sounds great.  But how great is it really?  And what about all the receivers and transceivers I have built?  How good are they?  

Our friend Dean KK4DAS is about to start the rehabilitation of his dad's old HQ-170A.   A search for that receiver led me to Jay Rusgrove's very interesting measurement and analysis of old tube type radios.  Jay's results appear in the links below.  More important is his very clear description of how the tests were done and what the results mean (link below). Also included is one link showing a discussion of Jay's work.  

Jay notes: 

The decision of which boat anchor receiver(s) to own is seldom based on performance alone. A combination of favored manufacturer, period of manufacture, features, collectability or even just 'looks' often rank higher on the priority list than receiver performance. Even if one were interested in performance specs much of the available information is subjective as few receivers manufactured prior to the mid 70s have undergone standardized testing. Hard data on minimum discernable signal (MDS), blocking and two-tone IMD dynamic range is interesting to some operators and important in an historical context as it shows the progression of receiver development.

Jay designed the very first real transmitter that I homebrewed (The VXO 6 Watter from QRP Classics). Jay has been mentioned many times in the SolderSmoke podcast and blog:    

Jay's results:   http://www.w1vd.com/BAreceivertest.html

Jay's methods:  http://www.w1vd.com/Receivermeasurementbasics.html

Discussion: https://www.antiqueradios.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=96872

Troubleshooting and Fixing Old Faults in my Long-Suffering Hammarlund HQ-100 (Part 2) (video)

Work continues on my old Hammarlund HQ-100. I give background on the rig and explain the electrical trauma it likely suffered. Following Dave K8WPE's dictum that we can still learn a lot from old receivers, I dug into this one. I wanted to fix a long-standing S-Meter/AVC problem. This led me to an interesting troubleshoot, with at least one "waste of time" detour. Eventually I found the fault in one of the coils in the grid circuit of the RF amplifier. The coils had been smoked years ago, perhaps by a lightning strike. I came perilously close to permanently losing 10-30 MHz. But I figured out how to fix the smoked coil. So my S-Meter/AVC problem was fixed. I really like listening to this thing. There is still a lot of nice material on the SW bands. There are some very nice broadcasts in Spanish. Please subscribe to my YouTube channel.

You can see where the coil burned. Wire remained intact, but the insulation burned creating a Primary to Secondary connection.

I just very carefully lifted one of the coils way from the other, eliminating the unwanted connection.

Here's my homebrew "RC Printed Network" Z2 module. This was unnecessary -- the original was good. I put the original back in.

Electric Radio magazine recently ran a two part series on the HQ-100. I have ordered these issues of the magazine.

Electronics Manufacturing in New York City -- Limor Fried and Adafruit (video) -- "TRUST YOUR TECHNOLUST"

The Radio Gods seem to be directing my attention to my hometown: New York City.

I was recently in the city, observing the placement of various IBEW - WYKSYKDS stickers.  And as I work on my old Hammarlund HQ-100 I note that both the HQ-100 and I may have been produced on Manhattan island at about the same time (me definitely, but the HQ-100 may have been built in Mars Hill NC). 

This morning Jim W4JED reminded me that Limor Fried, MIT Engineer and founder of Adafruit,  is producing a lot of amazing electronics items right in NYC, on Manhattan Island, down in Chelsea.  Thanks Jim.  FB Limor!  

Watch the above video.  I really liked the sign Limor has above her workbench: 

"TRUST YOUR  TECHNOLUST."  

 Indeed.  Back to the HQ-100. This IS a case of technolust.  I'm not quite satisfied with the alignment.  And it bugs me.  I technolust for perfect alignment.    (Steve Silverman -- I think we should add technolust to the SS lexicon.) 

Working On My Old Hammarlund HQ-100 (Part 1)

I like this old receiver, with all its shortcomings.  I picked it up in the Dominican Republic in 1993 or 1994.  I've been using it on AM with my K2ZA DX-100.   It needed some contact cleaner, and I took the opportunity to work on a few of the circuits that were getting kind of decrepit. 

I came to a new understanding of -- and appreciation for -- the Q-multiplier.

While of similar vintage, this receiver is MUCH nicer than the Hallicrafters S-38E: 

S-38E 1957-61 $54.95 5 tubes.  AC/DC, kind of flimsy. 

HQ-100 1956-60 $169  10 or 11 tubes.  Power supply,  regulator,  much sturdier construction

You get what you pay for.   

 In Part II I'll show you how this thing sounds and what it is like to use it for SWL, CW, SSB and AM. 

Level UP EE Lab Builds a Superhet Receiver

I was really glad to have stumbled across Darren's YouTube channel: 

(46) Level UP EE Lab - YouTube

Heck, he has an S-38E on the shelf above his bench.  He is clearly one of us.  What is his callsign?  

This morning I watched the first and last of his 10 videos on his superhet receiver project.  Very cool.  Lots of good info in there.  And there is something for everyone:  Arduinos and Si5351s, along with a lot of standard analog circuitry.  The first episode appears above. 

The variable bandwidth filter looks very interesting. And there was a nice shout-out to Charlie Morris and one to Hans Summers. 

I really like his effort in episode 10 to measure Minimum Discernible Signal using commonly available test gear.  This helped me in my effort to get more rigorous and serious about receiver performance measurement.    

Darren has many other excellent projects on his YouTube channel.  My Hammarlund HQ-100 receiver started giving me trouble this week, and I was debating whether or not to fix the old thing.  Darren's channel provided the inspiration I needed.  It will be fixed!   

Please subscribe to Darren's channel.  And spread the word about his videos.  We definitely want him to make a lot more.  

Thanks Darren! 

Mike WU2D Looks at the "Dream" SW Receivers of the 1960s and 70s (Video)

Wow, I really liked Mike's walk down memory lane. I saw several of my own dream receivers: 

S-38E.  Indeed, this little monster did add some danger to your life.  AKA "The Widow Maker," I gave one to my cousin's husband so he could listen to what the commies on Radio Moscow were saying.  He later told me that the receiver had given him a shock.  I now have TWO S-38Es in my shack (two more than I really need).  I have installed isolation transformers in both of them, so they have lost the one element (danger!) that made them attractive.  

HA-600A. I got this one for Christmas in 1972.  The A model is MUCH better than the plain vanilla HA-600.  I recently got another HA-600A and found serious deficiencies in the Product Detector.  Has anyone else noticed these problems?  BACKGROUND INFO AND A PLEA FOR MORE INFO HERE: https://soldersmoke.blogspot.com/search?q=HA-600A+Product+Detector

HQ-100.  Got one in the Dominican Republic.  Fixed it up, repairing damages caused by radio life in the tropics.  Disabled the goofy audio amplifier circuitry.  I now wonder if this receiver might benefit from the insertion of a 455 kc ceramic filter. 

NC190.  Wow "Cosmic Blue"  Perhaps this was an early influence that led to "Juliano Blue?" 

HQ-180.  "18 tubes and almost as many knobs!"  FB!  

HRO-500.  Love the dial. 

Transoceanic.  Never had one, but built a BFO for the Transoceanic that W8NSA took with him to SE Asia during the war. 

R-390A.  I don't have a crane for the workbench.  

Thanks Mike -- that was a lot of fun.  

A Lifetime of Workshops

 

https://microship.com/consoles/?fbclid=IwAR37yc-NfOrUC93C8QZYXZfakGLf-4eBtPw2php0CpzGHBW3-fb55ciyp0w

It has been more than decade, but we've posted about Steven K. Roberts N4RVE before: 

https://soldersmoke.blogspot.com/2009/09/i-didnt-care-i-had-secret-life.html

https://soldersmoke.blogspot.com/2009/09/knack-on-bike-steve-roberts-video.html

This morning I came across his recent article about the workshops he's had over the course of his life.  Very nice.  Man, I should have held on to that SP-600 I once had.  You folks will like this: 

https://microship.com/consoles/?fbclid=IwAR37yc-NfOrUC93C8QZYXZfakGLf-4eBtPw2php0CpzGHBW3-fb55ciyp0w

Shortwave Dials -- Exotic Locations -- Hong Kong! Berlin! Springfield? Schenectady?

Click on the picture for a closer look. 

No offense to the birthplace of Homer Simpson, but Springfield?  And Schenectady?  This dial glass is all that remains of a shortwave receiver used by my wife's grandfather in the Dominican Republic. 

Many years ago the Boatanchor enthusiasts had a very informal "dial lights" competition.  Which receiver cast the best glow from its dial lights.  (I think my HQ-100 was the best.)

The dials of many old shortwave receivers have recently started to show up on the Shortwave Listening group on Facebook.  Some have some very exotic foreign locations.   Perhaps we should launch a similar competition:  Which SW receiver dial has the most exotic foreign locations? 

   

Will, KF4IZE's Beautiful Boatanchors

Wow, check out the paint job on that SP-600.  Nice work Will.  Hammarlund should have done it that way.  And I should have kept the one I had years ago.  I would have painted mine that way.  

And my DX-100 (given to me by John K2ZA) has similar vernier reduction drives. 

I run into Will KF4FZE fairly often on 40 meters.  He and I were in the same (very cool) part of the U.S. Army (in different times).  Will is retired but he still works at Ft. Bragg. 

I heard Will on 40 SSB yesterday afternoon.  I was listening with my HRO dial receiver (that I am now working on).  I shot quick video: 

Will was on a Swan Cygnet 270 that he had recently picked up on e-bay.  

More on Will KF4IZE here: https://www.qrz.com/lookup/d/kf4ize

Godzilla, an SP-600, a D-104, and a Turner SSB+2 Transistorized Mic

We were in a restaurant last week and this trailer played on a TV that was all the way across the room.  The SP-600 caught my eye.  I once had one of those, but chickened out when I read about the horrors of black-beauty cap replacement.   There is also a D-104 in the trailer (several of those are with me now).  And the girl is transmitting with a Turner SSB+2 Transistorized mic -- I have one of those also. 

Thomas K4SWL over at The SWLing Post  notes that the SP-600 Tuning Dial appears to have been modified.  I'm thinking the wanted it to look like some sort of transmitter output meter. 

I think I can also see some sort of Collins antenna tuner.   

Any ideas on whose shack this all comes from?   It looks like a real ham shack.  

From the trailer, it appears that the ham gear somehow helped us establish contact with Godzilla, who then went on to save the planet.  I hope.  ONCE AGAIN, HAM RADIO SAVES THE DAY! 

The ham radio stuff is in the first minute or so of the trailer. 

Reduction Redux: Searching for Some Smooth Spin

OK, here is yet another picture of my Mighty Midget's Mate receiver, this time with yet another main tuning dial. I gave up on the large reduction drive on the right -- it worked fine but was very stiff.  I cracked open a smaller version of this very common Japanese-made reduction drive, but in this smaller one I was kind of surprised to find  a Jackson Brothers drive in there.   I now had three of these beauties available -- all of them worked fine but with considerable difference in ease of turning.  I picked the one that was easiest to turn.  

I had to cut the main shaft of the beautiful Hammarlund 35 pf variable cap that I am using. This was dangerous, because of the risk of messing up the delicate bearings.   I stayed out of trouble by putting the tip of the shaft in a vise and then cutting the shaft with a small coping saw.  This prevented any force from being transferred to the bearings.  It worked. 

I was careful to try to line up the shaft and the reduction drive as closely as I could. 

I needed something to serve as the tuning indicator.  I used one of those small CDs that often carry the drivers for cheap electronic devices.  It fit nicely.  A standard sized CD was too big. 

The final element was the knob itself.  I had an old Drake 2-B knob in my junk box (who sent me that?).  It was perfect and added a nice touch of soul to this old-new machine.

I built this receiver in 1998 and when I finished it I thought it was pretty good.  But it is much better now.  It has a nice 455 kc Toyo Crystal-Mechanical filter.  The tuning ranges on 40 and 75 now line up perfectly with the phone bands.  It now has a fuse in the power supply. And the tuning is now SMOOTH.

   

75 and 40 Meter AM on my HQ-100 (Videos) + Digital Display

And here is how I sample the oscillator frequency for the digital counter.  I use an old trick:  I wrap some wire around the oscillator or mixer tube.  I made the coil out of an old coil form. I had to play around with the number of turns to get suitable pickup on both 160 and 40 meters.  The San Jian board allows for IF freq offset.  I use a similar arrangement on the transmit side with the DX-100.  By the way, the box that houses the two displays is the carcass of one of the Heath QF-1 Q multipliers from which I heartlessly pulled the nice reduction drive variable caps for use in my BITX rigs.  

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