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On Jan 18, 2025, at 3:16?PM, jerry-KF6VB via groups.io <jerry@...> wrote:

?Write about fixing a Drake TR4 in the style of a Raymond Chandler detective novel:

--------------- snip --------------------
It was one of those nights when the air’s so thick you could slice it with a knife, and I was nursing a glass of bourbon that’d gone flat with the sorrow of too many repairs. The city hummed outside like a broken circuit, but I wasn’t listening. I was looking at the old Drake TR4 sitting on the bench in front of me—its knobs shiny but its heart hollow. She had problems, all right, and I wasn’t sure if I had the patience for her lies.

The TR4 had a voice once, a smooth, steady hum, sending out signals like a well-dressed man at a party. But now it was sputtering, skipping like a broken record. It was the kind of problem only a desperate man would tackle—tangled wires, faulty resistors, a power supply that couldn’t keep up with its promises. She was a dame who had seen too many miles and wanted too many fixes, but she was mine for the night.

I reached for the schematic—those crumpled blueprints always looked like something out of a pulp novel, scribbled on paper that was more coffee stains than diagram. I needed to find the problem, and fast. The Drake had a nasty habit of throwing a tantrum when it wasn’t happy. And lately, she’d been spitting out signals like a jealous lover, overdriving the AGC and messing with the detector like it was a dirty secret.

I knew this rig better than I knew my own skin. I’d taken the back off her before, stared into her guts, felt the burn of her circuits as they shorted out. But tonight? Tonight was different. I could feel it in my bones. Something was off—something deep inside her. The audio was off, too. No low-end warmth, just a harsh, clipped sound that gnawed at your nerves like a cat on a tin roof.

I rolled up my sleeves and dove in. The first thing that caught my eye was R19, the resistor on the AGC/Detector board. She was supposed to be regulating the signal, keeping everything in check. But her resistance was out of whack, and that was making the whole rig run hot. The signals came in too strong, pushing Q6, the poor transistor, to its breaking point. I’ve seen radios burn out from less. This was no different.

I cracked open my toolbox and pulled out the right resistor—one with a little more resistance, a bit more subtlety. Nothing too flashy, just the kind of part that would keep Q6 from popping its top. I unsoldered the old R19, careful not to disturb any other connections, like a gentleman lifting a dame’s veil for the first time. The new one slid in smooth, just like it belonged. I put everything back together, not giving her a second thought.

I powered her up. The lights blinked on, the tubes warmed up, and the receiver hummed. But it wasn’t the same hum. It was richer, deeper, like she’d found her voice again. The signals were steady now, no more distortion, no more hiss. She was singing like a soprano in a smoky bar, smooth and clear.

The job was done. But fixing this radio wasn’t just about resistors and wiring. It was about something deeper—maybe something even I didn’t understand. She was alive again, and for tonight, that was enough. I could hear her whispering through the speakers, telling me everything was going to be all right.

But I knew better. In this town, things were never all right. You could fix a radio, but you couldn’t fix the world. Not for long, anyway.
--------------- endsnip -----------------

- Jerry, KF6VB

p.s. "R19" and "Q6" apparently crept in from an earlier question about my Signal/One...

On 2025-01-18 14:09, Frank Barnes via groups.io wrote:
> The demons have been released from Pandora's box, I see.

*** Oh, yeah. "Do it again in iambic pentameter" :).
..as an epic poem in Russian.
.. in the style of the "Art of War" by Sun Tzu.
.. in the style of Chairman Mao's "Little Red Book".

This is fun.

- Jerry, KF6VB


> ?
>
> On Sat, Jan 18, 2025 at 4:36?PM Tony Sokol via groups.io [1]
> <tony.sokol@...> wrote:
>
>> OMG! This will become a literary classic for sure.
>>
>> Tony - W9JXN
>>> On Jan 18, 2025, at 3:16?PM, jerry-KF6VB via groups.io [1]
>> <jerry@...> wrote:
>>>
>>> ?Write about fixing a Drake TR4 in the style of a Raymond
>> Chandler detective novel:
>>>
>>> --------------- snip --------------------
>>> It was one of those nights when the air’s so thick you could
>> slice it with a knife, and I was nursing a glass of bourbon that’d
>> gone flat with the sorrow of too many repairs. The city hummed
>> outside like a broken circuit, but I wasn’t listening. I was
>> looking at the old Drake TR4 sitting on the bench in front of
>> me—its knobs shiny but its heart hollow. She had problems, all
>> right, and I wasn’t sure if I had the patience for her lies.
>>>
>>> The TR4 had a voice once, a smooth, steady hum, sending out
>> signals like a well-dressed man at a party. But now it was
>> sputtering, skipping like a broken record. It was the kind of
>> problem only a desperate man would tackle—tangled wires, faulty
>> resistors, a power supply that couldn’t keep up with its promises.
>> She was a dame who had seen too many miles and wanted too many
>> fixes, but she was mine for the night.
>>>
>>> I reached for the schematic—those crumpled blueprints always
>> looked like something out of a pulp novel, scribbled on paper that
>> was more coffee stains than diagram. I needed to find the problem,
>> and fast. The Drake had a nasty habit of throwing a tantrum when it
>> wasn’t happy. And lately, she’d been spitting out signals like a
>> jealous lover, overdriving the AGC and messing with the detector
>> like it was a dirty secret.
>>>
>>> I knew this rig better than I knew my own skin. I’d taken the
>> back off her before, stared into her guts, felt the burn of her
>> circuits as they shorted out. But tonight? Tonight was different. I
>> could feel it in my bones. Something was off—something deep inside
>> her. The audio was off, too. No low-end warmth, just a harsh,
>> clipped sound that gnawed at your nerves like a cat on a tin roof.
>>>
>>> I rolled up my sleeves and dove in. The first thing that caught my
>> eye was R19, the resistor on the AGC/Detector board. She was
>> supposed to be regulating the signal, keeping everything in check.
>> But her resistance was out of whack, and that was making the whole
>> rig run hot. The signals came in too strong, pushing Q6, the poor
>> transistor, to its breaking point. I’ve seen radios burn out from
>> less. This was no different.
>>>
>>> I cracked open my toolbox and pulled out the right resistor—one
>> with a little more resistance, a bit more subtlety. Nothing too
>> flashy, just the kind of part that would keep Q6 from popping its
>> top. I unsoldered the old R19, careful not to disturb any other
>> connections, like a gentleman lifting a dame’s veil for the first
>> time. The new one slid in smooth, just like it belonged. I put
>> everything back together, not giving her a second thought.
>>>
>>> I powered her up. The lights blinked on, the tubes warmed up, and
>> the receiver hummed. But it wasn’t the same hum. It was richer,
>> deeper, like she’d found her voice again. The signals were steady
>> now, no more distortion, no more hiss. She was singing like a
>> soprano in a smoky bar, smooth and clear.
>>>
>>> The job was done. But fixing this radio wasn’t just about
>> resistors and wiring. It was about something deeper—maybe
>> something even I didn’t understand. She was alive again, and for
>> tonight, that was enough. I could hear her whispering through the
>> speakers, telling me everything was going to be all right.
>>>
>>> But I knew better. In this town, things were never all right. You
>> could fix a radio, but you couldn’t fix the world. Not for long,
>> anyway.
>>> --------------- endsnip -----------------
>>>
>>> - Jerry, KF6VB
>>>
>>> p.s. "R19" and "Q6" apparently crept in from an earlier question
>> about my Signal/One...
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>
> --
>
> Frank Barnes
> W4NPN
> Chapel Hill, NC
> Grid Square FM05
> Cell 919.260.7955
>
>
> Links:
> ------
> [1] http://groups.io
> [2] /g/DRAKE-RADIO/message/82054
> [3] /mt/110689660/243852
> [4] /g/DRAKE-RADIO/post
> [5] /g/DRAKE-RADIO/editsub/243852
> [6]
> /g/DRAKE-RADIO/leave/12260778/243852/767576506/xyzzy

On 2025-01-18 14:09, Frank Barnes via groups.io wrote:
> The demons have been released from Pandora's box, I see.

*** Oh, yeah. "Do it again in iambic pentameter" :).
..as an epic poem in Russian.
.. in the style of the "Art of War" by Sun Tzu.
.. in the style of Chairman Mao's "Little Red Book".

This is fun.

- Jerry, KF6VB


> ?
>
> On Sat, Jan 18, 2025 at 4:36?PM Tony Sokol via groups.io [1]
> <tony.sokol@...> wrote:
>
>> OMG! This will become a literary classic for sure.
>>
>> Tony - W9JXN
>>> On Jan 18, 2025, at 3:16?PM, jerry-KF6VB via groups.io [1]
>> <jerry@...> wrote:
>>>
>>> ?Write about fixing a Drake TR4 in the style of a Raymond
>> Chandler detective novel:
>>>
>>> --------------- snip --------------------
>>> It was one of those nights when the air’s so thick you could
>> slice it with a knife, and I was nursing a glass of bourbon that’d
>> gone flat with the sorrow of too many repairs. The city hummed
>> outside like a broken circuit, but I wasn’t listening. I was
>> looking at the old Drake TR4 sitting on the bench in front of
>> me—its knobs shiny but its heart hollow. She had problems, all
>> right, and I wasn’t sure if I had the patience for her lies.
>>>
>>> The TR4 had a voice once, a smooth, steady hum, sending out
>> signals like a well-dressed man at a party. But now it was
>> sputtering, skipping like a broken record. It was the kind of
>> problem only a desperate man would tackle—tangled wires, faulty
>> resistors, a power supply that couldn’t keep up with its promises.
>> She was a dame who had seen too many miles and wanted too many
>> fixes, but she was mine for the night.
>>>
>>> I reached for the schematic—those crumpled blueprints always
>> looked like something out of a pulp novel, scribbled on paper that
>> was more coffee stains than diagram. I needed to find the problem,
>> and fast. The Drake had a nasty habit of throwing a tantrum when it
>> wasn’t happy. And lately, she’d been spitting out signals like a
>> jealous lover, overdriving the AGC and messing with the detector
>> like it was a dirty secret.
>>>
>>> I knew this rig better than I knew my own skin. I’d taken the
>> back off her before, stared into her guts, felt the burn of her
>> circuits as they shorted out. But tonight? Tonight was different. I
>> could feel it in my bones. Something was off—something deep inside
>> her. The audio was off, too. No low-end warmth, just a harsh,
>> clipped sound that gnawed at your nerves like a cat on a tin roof.
>>>
>>> I rolled up my sleeves and dove in. The first thing that caught my
>> eye was R19, the resistor on the AGC/Detector board. She was
>> supposed to be regulating the signal, keeping everything in check.
>> But her resistance was out of whack, and that was making the whole
>> rig run hot. The signals came in too strong, pushing Q6, the poor
>> transistor, to its breaking point. I’ve seen radios burn out from
>> less. This was no different.
>>>
>>> I cracked open my toolbox and pulled out the right resistor—one
>> with a little more resistance, a bit more subtlety. Nothing too
>> flashy, just the kind of part that would keep Q6 from popping its
>> top. I unsoldered the old R19, careful not to disturb any other
>> connections, like a gentleman lifting a dame’s veil for the first
>> time. The new one slid in smooth, just like it belonged. I put
>> everything back together, not giving her a second thought.
>>>
>>> I powered her up. The lights blinked on, the tubes warmed up, and
>> the receiver hummed. But it wasn’t the same hum. It was richer,
>> deeper, like she’d found her voice again. The signals were steady
>> now, no more distortion, no more hiss. She was singing like a
>> soprano in a smoky bar, smooth and clear.
>>>
>>> The job was done. But fixing this radio wasn’t just about
>> resistors and wiring. It was about something deeper—maybe
>> something even I didn’t understand. She was alive again, and for
>> tonight, that was enough. I could hear her whispering through the
>> speakers, telling me everything was going to be all right.
>>>
>>> But I knew better. In this town, things were never all right. You
>> could fix a radio, but you couldn’t fix the world. Not for long,
>> anyway.
>>> --------------- endsnip -----------------
>>>
>>> - Jerry, KF6VB
>>>
>>> p.s. "R19" and "Q6" apparently crept in from an earlier question
>> about my Signal/One...
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>
> --
>
> Frank Barnes
> W4NPN
> Chapel Hill, NC
> Grid Square FM05
> Cell 919.260.7955
>
>
> Links:
> ------
> [1] http://groups.io
> [2] /g/DRAKE-RADIO/message/82054
> [3] /mt/110689660/243852
> [4] /g/DRAKE-RADIO/post
> [5] /g/DRAKE-RADIO/editsub/243852
> [6]
> /g/DRAKE-RADIO/leave/12260778/243852/767576506/xyzzy