Re: AFG/RFG controls R4C (W1ES)
I guess you probably don't need to lower your noise floor for any reason. You must have DSP ears. I bet you can copy RTTY in your head too. On Wed, 08 Jan 2025 14:19:37 -0800 "N3 EG via groups.io" <n3eg@...> wrote: The RF Gain control has always been the most useless thing to put on a radio. -- 73 -Jim NU0C
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Re: If you're going to be sloppy....
It should come off without too much trouble.? An okay price if it's actually working.
Steve Wedge, W1ES
Time flies like an arrow.? Fruit flies like a banana.
Sent with secure email.
On Wednesday, January 8th, 2025 at 7:28 PM, John K5MO via groups.io <johnk5mo@...> wrote:
... do so on the front panel?
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This is a shame.
I wonder if it has the crystals that the overlay suggests it might.? Rest of the rig looks well worn too and priced accordingly.? Too bad some care wasn't taken in placing the overlay.
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https://www.ebay.com/itm/186861604746
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If you're going to be sloppy....
... do so on the front panel?
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This is a shame.
I wonder if it has the crystals that the overlay suggests it might.? Rest of the rig looks well worn too and priced accordingly.? Too bad some care wasn't taken in placing the overlay.
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https://www.ebay.com/itm/186861604746
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Re: 6HS6 Price and Availability
If you try them as a sub, please let us know how it goes.
John K5MO
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Re: 6HS6 Price and Availability
This tube (6AH6) intrigued me, so I went down today to the supply store and bought a couple to test in place of the 6136/6HS6 tubes I'm currently using as mixers.
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I confirm they work fine as mixers in the R-4x in place of the 6HS6. I measured the heater voltages again this afternoon and I show 12.68VAC on the 6EH5 and 6.31VAC on the 6AH6, so completely in spec with the series filaments.
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So forget the expensive 6HS6 and just buy the cheapie 6AH6 instead ($3 each at my local electronics store).? Dave
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Re: AFG/RFG controls R4C (W1ES)
I also use the RF gain control on my 75A-2 & 75A-4 receivers quite regularly
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On Jan 8, 2025, at 4:46?PM, Richard Knoppow via groups.io <1oldlens1@...> wrote:
? All I can say is that I disagree. There are times when an RF gain control is quite useful. On radios where there is a good AVC the RF gain acts as a variable "delay" setting the threshold of the AVC.
BTW, if you think any S meter is accurate you are fooling yourself.
On 1/8/2025 2:19 PM, N3 EG wrote:
On Wed, Jan 8, 2025 at 03:13 AM, Joseph K7CBR wrote:
Are you still using electricity?
The RF Gain control has always been the most useless thing to put on a radio. It's like a high/low switch on a vacuum cleaner, which should be called "Clean/Less Clean." In the case of HF radios, it should be called the Ignore Weak Signal Stations And Screw Up Your S-Meter Reading Control.
I've never found a good reason to use it in at least 52 years of HF listening, and it's totally useless on 10 meters and up.
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Richard Knoppow
Los Angeles
WB6KBL
SKCC 19998
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Hi All.
New to the group so hope it is ok to do this. Have been licensed solid since the mid 50's while in high school and am looking to upgrade the classic operating position of the station. Have modern black box equipment? (FTDX3000, FT1000mp mk5, AL80B). The classic position is a DX60B and HQ140x. Am going to sell the 140x while I can still move it to pack and get it up out of the basement to ship HiHi. I am wondering if anyone has a "nice"/ working R4B that they have considered extra they would be willing to sell? It would replace the 140x.? Had a R4/T4x in the early 70's and remember them fondly. Let me know.TNX and have a great New Year,
73's David
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Re: AFG/RFG controls R4C (W1ES)
This old guy has been using old-fashioned "tube" radios for nearly 70 years and has found the RF gain control to be useful...leave the AF control at near max gain and use the RF control to control sensitivity, overload distortion, AGC help, and static interference,?etc.? With my solid state Yaesu gear, it seems not as useful as it is with the tube gear.? Dunno why that is. And yes, "S" meters aren't of much use.? Ears are better. Frank, W4NPN Certified troglodyte
On Wed, Jan 8, 2025 at 5:46?PM Richard Knoppow via <1oldlens1= [email protected]> wrote: ? ? ?All I can say is that I disagree. There are times when an RF gain
control is quite useful. On radios where there is a good AVC the RF gain
acts as a variable "delay" setting the threshold of the AVC.
? ? BTW, if you think any S meter is accurate you are fooling yourself.
On 1/8/2025 2:19 PM, N3 EG wrote:
> On Wed, Jan 8, 2025 at 03:13 AM, Joseph K7CBR wrote:
>
>? ? ?Are you still using electricity?
>
>
> The RF Gain control has always been the most useless thing to put on a
> radio.? It's like a high/low switch on a vacuum cleaner, which should be
> called "Clean/Less Clean."? In the case of HF radios, it should be
> called the Ignore Weak Signal Stations And Screw Up Your S-Meter Reading
> Control.
> I've never found a good reason to use it in at least 52 years of HF
> listening, and it's totally useless on 10 meters and up.
--
Richard Knoppow
Los Angeles
WB6KBL
SKCC 19998
-- Frank Barnes
W4NPN
Chapel Hill, NC
Grid Square FM05
Cell 919.260.7955
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Re: AFG/RFG controls R4C (W1ES)
All I can say is that I disagree. There are times when an RF gain control is quite useful. On radios where there is a good AVC the RF gain acts as a variable "delay" setting the threshold of the AVC.
BTW, if you think any S meter is accurate you are fooling yourself.
toggle quoted message
Show quoted text
On 1/8/2025 2:19 PM, N3 EG wrote: On Wed, Jan 8, 2025 at 03:13 AM, Joseph K7CBR wrote:
Are you still using electricity?
The RF Gain control has always been the most useless thing to put on a radio.? It's like a high/low switch on a vacuum cleaner, which should be called "Clean/Less Clean."? In the case of HF radios, it should be called the Ignore Weak Signal Stations And Screw Up Your S-Meter Reading Control.
I've never found a good reason to use it in at least 52 years of HF listening, and it's totally useless on 10 meters and up.
--
Richard Knoppow
Los Angeles
WB6KBL
SKCC 19998
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Re: AFG/RFG controls R4C (W1ES)
On Wed, Jan 8, 2025 at 03:13 AM, Joseph K7CBR wrote:
?
Are you still using electricity?
?
The RF Gain control has always been the most useless thing to put on a radio.? It's like a high/low switch on a vacuum cleaner, which should be called "Clean/Less Clean."? In the case of HF radios, it should be called the Ignore Weak Signal Stations And Screw Up Your S-Meter Reading Control.?
?
I've never found a good reason to use it in at least 52 years of HF listening, and it's totally useless on 10 meters and up.
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Re: 6HS6 Price and Availability
I have used a 6AH6 in my R-4A for a year now with no issues. Maybe there was something magical about the 6HS6 when Drake decided to use it. My guess it was the cheapest tube that would work.
And I also suspect that a couple of tube vendors cornered a bunch of 6HS6s and jacked the tube's? prices up? blaming the audio people for the "scarcity".
It is pretty easy to make a solid state mixer. Unlike amplifiers, that need just a certain amount of amplification, extra AVC inputs, etc., mixers are
basically non-linear choppers.? They just need enough gain to chop and enough voltage tolerance for the circuit they are in.
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My very first experiment was a J-310 FET(the only FET I had) plugged into the R-4A Pre-mixer socket.? I only had to disconnect the +150V plate supply resistor and hook it to about 18VDC(?).? Worked fine though hooking it to the T-4X and selecting XMTR control might have blown it.
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I researched more (stole designs and modded) and now have a plug in tube replacement.? Works great.
Attached is what I think I am running now.? I also attached a 6AU6 replacement from the Collins site.
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Beats trying to buy expensive, possibly bad old tubes.? YMMV.
My 6HS6 is now safe and part of my 401K IRA.. hi hi...
73,
Gary
WB6OGD
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Re: 6HS6 Price and Availability
It is pretty easy to make a solid state mixer. Unlike amplifiers, that need just a certain amount of amplification, extra AVC inputs, etc., mixers are
basically non-linear choppers.? They just need enough gain to chop and enough voltage tolerance for the circuit they are in.
?
My very first experiment was a J-310 FET(the only FET I had) plugged into the R-4A Pre-mixer socket.? I only had to disconnect the +150V plate supply resistor and hook it to about 18VDC(?).? Worked fine though hooking it to the T-4X and selecting XMTR control might have blown it.
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I researched more (stole designs and modded) and now have a plug in tube replacement.? Works great.
Attached is what I think I am running now.? I also attached a 6AU6 replacement from the Collins site.
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Beats trying to buy expensive, possibly bad old tubes.? YMMV.
My 6HS6 is now safe and part of my 401K IRA.. hi hi...
73,
Gary
WB6OGD
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Re: Using the PLJ-6LED digital display with the R4C
I like to use the J-310/MPSH-10 buffer amp used in the old (now retired, NLA) NorCal FCC-1 frequency counter kit.
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Schematic is in the manual at:
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The same or similar circuit is used in many articles.? Works good on the INJ line.
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73,
Gary
WB6OGD
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Re: Using the PLJ-6LED digital display with the R4C
Possibly consider a J310 JFET as a common-source amp placed right at the source of the INJ jack. Resistors chosen for a gain of A = 2 (6 dB) to get over the minimum RF sample voltage requirement. ?
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The JFET unloads the INJ line to the Hi-Z gate and that isolates the INJ source from cable capacitance to the freq. counter.? With adequate PS decoupling, probably a half-dozen parts are needed, mounted either on a 5-6 lug terminal strip or Vector board.?
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The common I.F. output buffers often seen are common-drain source-followers with a gain of less than 1.0.? That won¡¯t work in this instance to solve the problem.?
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Paul, W9AC
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That sounds like the solution, Paul, but I'm afraid I'm not capable of doing that probably simple design.? Can you point me to an existing example, or, do a simple design ?? Not sure why I seem to be the only one who ever had a problem with the available INJ signal level, but maybe others haven't actually tested their configuration on 10 and 15 meters with the T4X connected to the INJ cable.? Without that connection, the signal level is adequate to provide a stable readout in my case on the highest bands.
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73, Floyd - K8AC??
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Re: Mn2000 broken insulator
Guess I hit on a hot topic. ?I think various ceramic standoffs can be found at digiKey. Mf¡¯d by Keystone. ?Not inexpensive and maybe a slow delivery. ? Likely other vendors will offer these. ?
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Re: 6HS6 Price and Availability
I do recall having a VERY early T-4 Reciter that used the 6AU6 instead of the 6HS6. It was a very low serial number (003x).?
Steve Wedge, W1ES
Time flies like an arrow. Fruit flies like a banana.
On Wed, Jan 8, 2025 at 12:59, Kim Herron < w8zv@...> wrote:
I checked NJ7P's website before I posted this.? the 6AH6 is can be used as a sub for a 6HS6.? Its not directly listed as a sub.? It's listed as a sub for a 6AU6, which is also listed for a 6HS6.? The 6HS6 has a gain of 9500 mU, and the 6AH6 has a gain of 9000 mU.? I've been trading tubes for a LONG time.? In the last 20 years, I think I've seen about 6 6HS6's. I think that I have 2 or 3 right now.? I must has 200 6AH6's on the shelf.? How many would you like???
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The reason that the 6HS6 is so expensive is because of the gain of the tube and the supply available.? They are also VERY quiet.? Most pentode tubes of that family are noisy and get subbed out for some quiet version if they are being used in communication receivers.? The SP-600 is full of them and the noise floor is awful because of it.? Heathkit used them in their LMO/VFO application in the HW-100/101 and the SB-100/101/102.? If your rig went to Heath for service, that tube got replaced with a 6136.
--
Kim Herron
W8ZV
w8zv at goldenradioservice dot com
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Re: Anyone have an R4B dial?
Steve,
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It would certainly be worthwhile to ask the owner where he bought the dial. ?I have asked Radio Daze to consider making a B-line dial. ?If they made the C-line dial that has problems they need to know about the issues so to fix them. ?IF, Radio Daze is willing to make them (they make business decisions on each graphics project), I would expect it would be best for someone to send an original smoked dial to them to use as a standard.
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73,
Michael Smith, N4KZO
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Re: Radio Daze Replacement C-line Dials
I have dials, several PTOs and parts for various Drake models, including the R4B. You can see them at
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All parts are from Jeff Covelli, WA8SAJ's repair collection. Contact me if there is anything that is of interest.
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73, Kevin, K8KVN
k8kvn.oh@...
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Re: 6HS6 Price and Availability
I checked NJ7P's website before I posted this.? the 6AH6 is can be used as a sub for a 6HS6.? Its not directly listed as a sub.? It's listed as a sub for a 6AU6, which is also listed for a 6HS6.? The 6HS6 has a gain of 9500 mU, and the 6AH6 has a gain of 9000 mU.? I've been trading tubes for a LONG time.? In the last 20 years, I think I've seen about 6 6HS6's. I think that I have 2 or 3 right now.? I must has 200 6AH6's on the shelf.? How many would you like???
?
The reason that the 6HS6 is so expensive is because of the gain of the tube and the supply available.? They are also VERY quiet.? Most pentode tubes of that family are noisy and get subbed out for some quiet version if they are being used in communication receivers.? The SP-600 is full of them and the noise floor is awful because of it.? Heathkit used them in their LMO/VFO application in the HW-100/101 and the SB-100/101/102.? If your rig went to Heath for service, that tube got replaced with a 6136.
--
Kim Herron
W8ZV
w8zv at goldenradioservice dot com
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Jim Shorney
Thomas W9TAB
Gary WB6OGD
Floyd - K8AC