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Re: T4XB/R4B Transceive problem
If the carrier balance adjustment does nothing something is seriously wrong. Go over the carrier balance adjustment on P,15 of the handbook. The balance control should show an definite null. It is more common that a good null can not be achieved than that the modulator can not be unbalanced but in either case something is wrong. When working properly the balanced modulator has a very good null, you really need to set it using a receiver lightly coupled to the output. C-6 will affect the null but usually in making it impossible to get a null.
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Go over the adjustments again and see what you find. I am disturbed that the original problem may not have been a bad filter but whatever is causing this to happen. A story: when I first got my T4XB I could not null the carrier. After I got Garry's discs I found the wiring in the photographs didn't look write. I asked Garry and he confirmed that what was in mine was not correct, although it looked factory. In fact, the circuit is quite sensitive to stray capacitance. With the wires as they were the modulator could not be balanced. I moved them and got the correct deep null. So, look for something out of place. You should be able to get a substantial amount of carrier by unbalancing the pot. Actually, you need it for alignment. On 1/15/2025 10:28 PM, Tony Sokol via groups.io wrote:
?Hi Gang, --
Richard Knoppow Los Angeles WB6KBL SKCC 19998 |
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Re: T4XB/R4B Transceive problem
?Hi Gang,
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I thought I¡¯d update my progress on the T4XB filter issue that I brought up just before Christmas. I found that I had the mate for the blue USB filter I had mounted years ago. Mounting the new filter which is on the bottom was exciting. Now they match pretty well. I was not able to match them per the manual though. You are told to unbalance the balanced modulator by turning the pot fully CCW. This did nothing so I didn¡¯t have a carrier feeding the filters to balance. Rather than detuning the coil possibly opening another can of worms, I simply went to transceive mode and tuned C2 till they ¡°birdied in¡±. Then I went back and forth between upper and lower sideband listening to myself. Not only did it sound good but the transmitter oscillator ended up on 5.645008. Close enough. The acid test will come when I check in with the Friday evening gang. Hopefully they will not tell me my shorts are way too tight. ? Thank you for all the help and suggestions. 73 Tony - W9JXN On Dec 22, 2024, at 6:45?PM, Richard Knoppow via groups.io <1oldlens1@...> wrote: |
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Re: Drake Ad from Feb "73"
¿ªÔÆÌåÓýHi Bob, ? The ARRL sold these, about a dozen in all.? You might want to check with them to see if they are still available.? They weren¡¯t cheap, I think they were around $600 back then. ? I have them in my shack somewhere and I don¡¯t think the package has even been opened! ? I have been on and off over the years with being an ARRL member, mostly for QST.? I don¡¯t get much out of QST any more as there really aren¡¯t any technical articles in it any more, at least not enough to keep my interest up. ? By Maxim¡¯s definition, I have been a ham since I was 6, got licenced in 1988 and am 69 now, so I have seen a lot of changes throughout the years.? I have somewhere around 200 radio items, most of them from before 2000.? The newer rigs are great but good luck if they fail.? They really aren¡¯t repairable after a few years because the parts are not available.? It¡¯s strange that I can get parts for gear that¡¯s 100 years old, but 18 months after the last new rig was sold, parts for it aren¡¯t available!? Hence my love of the older stuff. ? I¡¯m not at my QTH right now but I will look at the CD¡¯s and let you know their state if you are interested in them. ? 73, Clint, VE3CMQ ? From: [email protected] <[email protected]>
On Behalf Of Robert Logan via groups.io
Sent: Wednesday, 15 January 2025 23:21 To: [email protected] Subject: Re: [DRAKE-RADIO] Drake Ad from Feb "73" ? Clint, is the CD for sale? ?Bob NZ5A
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Re: Drake Ad from Feb "73"
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On Jan 14, 2025, at 9:49?AM, Clint VE3CMQ <ve6cmm@...> wrote:
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Re: R4B s-meter only reflecting half way when turned on in stand-by, low receive.
I'm still doing repairs; you can take this offline and I can give you more details. Steve Wedge, W1ES Time flies like an arrow.? Fruit flies like a banana.
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On Wednesday, January 15th, 2025 at 7:09 PM, Dale KD5UVV via groups.io <bayou50@...> wrote:
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Re: R4B s-meter only reflecting half way when turned on in stand-by, low receive.
Thank you for the information Steve. I think I'm going to try to find someone that knows what they are doing to check, fix and align this R4B, it's such a nice receiver!?
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Any recommendations for a good Drake tech from anyone out there, will be much appreciate. As I see a few of the "go to" Drake techs seem to have stopped their operation.? ??
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Thanks again, Steve. 73
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Dale, KD5UVV |
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Re: R4B s-meter only reflecting half way when turned on in stand-by, low receive.
This is one of those problems that can have several causes and sometimes, it's more than a single problem. The meter not deflecting on STDBY indicates a possible bad connection through the switch or the relay but I suspect the switch more.? If the contacts develop high resistance, the meter can indicate a partial reading of the meter.? This is because the circuit expects either a short or an open. To check this, put your switch in the normal MUTE position with a shorting plug in the MUTE jack.? If the meter goes full scale with the plug out and S1 with the plug in, you could have a dirty switch. With the shorting plug in, you should see S1 with the RFG fully CW and should see full-scale with the RFG fully backed-off. Your lack of signal receive indicates resistance either in that switch again or, more likely, in the relay contacts. These can be gently cleaned with a piece of white paper soaked in DeOxIt.? Pull through the NO contacts and then gently press the armature and run through the NC contacts. Finally, a really gassy tube can cause fairly wild symptoms.? There are several tubes that affect the AGC circuit.Because Drake used an extremely high AGC impedance (megohms) means that it doesn't take much unwanted grid current to send things wacky.? The faulty tubes I've seen causing these issues are the 6BZ6, 6BE6 and 12BA6's. Steve Wedge, W1ES Time flies like an arrow.? Fruit flies like a banana.
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On Wednesday, January 15th, 2025 at 2:15 PM, Dale KD5UVV via groups.io <bayou50@...> wrote:
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R4B s-meter only reflecting half way when turned on in stand-by, low receive.
Hello all, I hope I can explain this correctly. I have a R4B and sometimes when I turn the radio on to the STBY position, the S-meter reflects all the way over to around the 40 decibel mark on the meter. Then when moved to the ON position, I get full volume and normal deflection of the S meter as to the incoming signal.?
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But sometimes, (and it's starting to happen more often now), when I turn the radio on to the STBY position. The meter will only go to the mid section (around S-9) and when put in the ON position, the receive volume is low and the S-meter barely moves. Stays around 1 to 3 S-units on the meter and seems to respond in a very "tight" way by movement.?
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Any idea what this could be? Or what is the cause? Thanks in advance! 73
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Dale, KD5UVV?? |
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Re: Drake Ad from Feb "73"
In the beginning, my first homebrew transmitter, an ongoing project for AM and CW, was more complex. 6U8 VFO oscillator and buffer, then 6BQ5 with low +B to drive the 807. PI output. 80 m band. Powerful 40 w out.
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Nevertheless, I managed to get into my neighbour's radios and TV sets. Within the "audience", was a girl... who blamed any time I get through her FM music listening ... We're married now... 24 years and counting ... Regards Guillermo - LU5WE. El 15/1/25 a las 15:04, Howard Hoyt via groups.io escribi¨®:
Hi Jerry, |
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Re: Drake Ad from Feb "73"
On 2025-01-15 10:04, Howard Hoyt via groups.io wrote:
Hi Jerry,*** I built one of those! Used it for exactly one QSO. In the middle of the contact, the plate current suddenly rose to unreasonable levels, and the 807 glowed red.... I think it was oscillating. I hurredly disconnected it and put my DX-40 back on the desk - the guy was still there, and I completed the QSO. - Jerry, KF6VB |
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Re: Drake Ad from Feb "73"
Hi Jerry,
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The 6V6 was a popular tube to use as a power oscillator, the first transmitter I owned was built using a 6V6 driving an 807 to near-novice power levels.? Back then (1970) power was calculated by output but by Plate V*A, so I really do not know how much output that transmitter actually had, having been built by a 14 year old...likely not much, but some of the power definitely went into harmonics.?
My favorite band was 15M and a favorite local TV channel was Ch.3, WTIC in Hartford, CT.? When I'd operate in the early evening, the phone would begin ringing and my parents would yell to the basement: "Stop screwing up the neighbor's TV reception!"? About this time I received a pink slip from an FCC monitoring station saying my emissions were observed on 63 MHz in Boston, MA and to desist in transmitting on that frequency. I spent my hard-earned TV and Radio repair money on a Drake TV-CB-LP filter which was all I could afford, but it did the trick and mollified my neighbors. ?
Exciting times in the basement ham shack! Cheers & 73, Howie / WA4PSC |
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Re: Looking for a VOX 2-pin cable for an L-4b to T-X4b
They're very hard to find.? You can bring out the 2 conductors to small Molex pins and connect them that way.? I remember doing this back in the 80s when I didn't have one of those connectors.? It's a set of relay contacts in the AC-4, so I don't think that polarity is important. 73, Steve Wedge, W1ES Time flies like an arrow.? Fruit flies like a banana.
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On Wednesday, January 15th, 2025 at 11:56 AM, Larry W6YH <larry@...> wrote:
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Re: TR-4 No Output On SSB Where to Begin?
It is essentially both and yes, it's different from the Kenwood hybrid method, where the carrier injection is controlled separately from the mic gain. Additionally, on the TR-3/4, the S meter also indicates, roughly, ALC activity.? There's no way to calibrate it but seeing the needle moving means that the ALC in the rig is working. Because there's no separate carrier control, the only way to control output power on SSB is to turn down the gain, which also turns down the mic gain.? I am not sure if anyone has actually measured the ALC and its action if a TR-3/4 is feeding an amplifier but I would recommend using the ALC connection is driving an amp with one of these rigs, to avoid overdriving. 73, Steve Wedge, W1ES Time flies like an arrow.? Fruit flies like a banana.
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On Wednesday, January 15th, 2025 at 10:11 AM, Anthony KB2OMC via groups.io <kb2omc@...> wrote:
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Re: Looking for a VOX 2-pin cable for an L-4b to T-X4b
If you have these connectors shipped to you be sure to specify that they be securely wrapped and packaged in a small box. They are fragile and will not tolerate much abuse. Years ago I bought a number of these and the seller shipped?them in an envelope. Almost all of the connectors?were smashed or cracked.? Before I got my 2 pin?connector I used an RCA jack on a short pigtail that was soldered to the?terminals?on the two pin socket. No "mods" necessary and the pigtail was easily?removed when?the plugs arrived. GL! Ken WA2LBI On Wed, Jan 15, 2025 at 12:24?PM Ron K0IDX via <ron=[email protected]> wrote:
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Re: Looking for a VOX 2-pin cable for an L-4b to T-X4b
¿ªÔÆÌåÓýKE9PQ has the VOX2RCA kit Paul K0UYA On 1/15/2025 11:03 AM, Dave Edwards via
groups.io wrote:
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Re: Looking for a VOX 2-pin cable for an L-4b to T-X4b
Ron K0IDX
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From: [email protected] <[email protected]> on behalf of Larry W6YH via groups.io <larry@...>
Sent: Wednesday, January 15, 2025 10:56 AM To: [email protected] <[email protected]> Subject: [DRAKE-RADIO] Looking for a VOX 2-pin cable for an L-4b to T-X4b ?
Hi I am Looking for a VOX 2-pin cable for an L-4b to T-X4b.
I know there are RCA connector mods but I'd like to keep them original.
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TIA,
de Larry, W6YH
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Re: Looking for a VOX 2-pin cable for an L-4b to T-X4b
By the way....the RCA connector mod was a Drake mod, so it kinda IS original.?
....Dave
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Re: TR-4 No Output On SSB Where to Begin?
No problem.? I'm pretty new to boat anchors and Drake gear myself and TX gain was a mystery to me for a while.? There's a lot of different terminology.? ie "pre-selector" vs RF Tune .? Have fun with that TR-4 and realize you are playing with fire.? I have three TR-3s, a TR-4Cw, and a Swan 260 plus all of the test gear, antenna tuners, and mics I've bought to fix and use them.
On Wednesday, January 15, 2025 at 09:11:07 AM CST, Anthony KB2OMC via groups.io <kb2omc@...> wrote:
Oh boy it sure would help if I read the manual more closely, I was mistaken and thought the TX Gain was a carrier control instead of the MIC gain. Thanks Steve and Barry for clearing that up for me.
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