From: "David" <david.w5xu@...> To: "DRAKE-RADIO" <[email protected]> Sent: Tuesday, January 9, 2024 10:31:23 AM Subject: Re: [DRAKE-RADIO] New to me drake 4 twins
Ryan:
I am about 4 hours from you in Covington, LA.? Package it up and come over and I will help you in any way I can.? ?Assume you have all the manuals and stuff as that.
Not sure what that plug in is for.? But we can look at that as well. The Drake B line s a favorite of many Darke users. It is a capable radio even in these times.
New to the group and?I just came into an old Drake 4B set. This radio set is super cool, turns on, transmits (although I don¡¯t know where) and the amp is pristine and quite easily put out 1kw when I drove it with a different radio. I¡¯d love to keep it and make it work again, but it¡¯s so far before my time that I really don¡¯t know what I¡¯m looking at, if you want to know the truth. Originally licensed in 1993 and this gear was old then!? This is my first tube type anything to try and use.
I have the power supply for the radio set and the power supply for the amp and I¡¯d like to keep this set together. I¡¯ve had several people ask me how much I want for it but I think I want to keep it. Besides, eBay is the only place I¡¯ve looked to find a value and I don¡¯t know what category this set would fall into, working, parts only, etc. One guy offered me $100 for the radio set and power supply, but I¡¯ll box it up and put it in the attic for that much!? It¡¯s just so cool. I was surprised by the color of the meter backlights too, what a treat!? The amp looks super cool as well!
Problem I have is it really won¡¯t fit into how I currently operate, so I¡¯m still on the fence about keeping it or passing it on. ?I¡¯ve been learning all I can but I know when my knowledge limit has been reached. I¡¯m considering keeping it as a full on restoration project, though it already looks super clean on the outside and the inside. I did an internet search for drake restoration and found a few websites dedicated to it. So it occurred to me that I might be inclined to send it off for rework if it needs it.?
So far, I am unable to get any speaker audio, not even a crackle. I tested the speaker with a 9v battery and it made noise. I ohmed out the cord at 3.5ohm. So I suspect maybe the socket on the receiver is bad. I don¡¯t know. I can make it transmit, it puts out about 125w into a dummy load when I peak it with a calibrated ARRL whistle, but I really don¡¯t know what I¡¯m doing and don¡¯t hear anything on my shack radio on the freq I think I¡¯m transmitting on. It¡¯s very likely operator error, but I¡¯d like any opinions or advice someone can offer me.?
There¡¯s also this little circuit board that was plugged into the back accessory port thats a drake 4-LF, but I can¡¯t find any info on it. I actually have the leaflet for it from Drake, but it¡¯s beyond my knowledge. To be honest, I haven¡¯t the slightest idea what it¡¯s supposed to do or if it was an option or aftermarket or anything. There just doesn¡¯t seem to be much info on the web about it, so hopefully someone on here can shed some light on this thing.??
I¡¯ll be happy to post pictures or send them to someone individually if it at all helps. I¡¯m not much for being on message boards, or any social media to be honest, and it¡¯s unlikely I¡¯d be able to offer anyone here any value unless you need me to climb your tower!
So thanks in advance for your time and anything someone can offer me.