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Johnson Navigator output

 

Just finishing up restoration of a Navigator, and measured the maximum achievable output into a 50 ohm dummy load on each band.? This was with a new 6146 and other tubes testing well above "good" on the tester.? Here's what I saw:
  • 160M - 28W
  • 80M - 26W
  • 40M - 25W
  • 20M - 23W
  • 15M - 18W
  • 10M - 13W
I've found comments by others who mentioned 25W output was normal, but no one ever commented about the output on the higher bands.? For anyone with Navigator experience, is the output level I'm seeing on the higher bands what I should expect to see?? One fellow told me the Navigator had the same RF stage layout as the Ranger and that I should see the same output level as the Ranger.? That, of course, is far from true and there are major differences between the two.? Drive on the higher bands is much lower than the lower bands, around 1 ma. of grid current on 10 meters.? Any comments or advice?
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73, Floyd - K8AC
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My last Navigator was in 1970 and I did not even own a good power meter. But the manual I have says the 6146 anode voltage is only 360Vdc. I assume that is with no load. At 150mA I'd expect what you see is normal. The low anode voltage is going to be a major limitation.

I just love the way a Navigator looks. Plus as a bonus I bet I can still carry one up the steps. :)

Did you solve the meter problem?

73 Tom

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On 4/26/2025 10:09 AM, Floyd - K8AC via groups.io wrote:
Just finishing up restoration of a Navigator, and measured the maximum achievable output into a 50 ohm dummy load on each band.? This was with a new 6146 and other tubes testing well above "good" on the tester.? Here's what I saw:
  • 160M - 28W
  • 80M - 26W
  • 40M - 25W
  • 20M - 23W
  • 15M - 18W
  • 10M - 13W
I've found comments by others who mentioned 25W output was normal, but no one ever commented about the output on the higher bands.? For anyone with Navigator experience, is the output level I'm seeing on the higher bands what I should expect to see?? One fellow told me the Navigator had the same RF stage layout as the Ranger and that I should see the same output level as the Ranger.? That, of course, is far from true and there are major differences between the two.? Drive on the higher bands is much lower than the lower bands, around 1 ma. of grid current on 10 meters.? Any comments or advice?
?
73, Floyd - K8AC
?

Virus-free.
 

Yes, got the meter working just fine.? I disassembled the ball drive the other day, cleaned out the old grease and polished the shaft.? Now the dial is very smooth as it probably was 70 years ago.? I used the Navigator with my 75A-4 in the UK-EI contest yesterday and worked a couple of dozen European stations with no problem with the 18 watts on 15 meters.? At this QTH, my shack is in a walk-out basement, so I no longer have to carry the boatanchors up steps, but just getting them to the workbench is getting tougher every day.? The? Navigator weighs just 22 lbs. and is very easy to move compared to my Ranger.? I had my first Navigator back in the 70s and didn't have a power meter.? At that time, I was using a simple field strength meter powered just by the signal, and tuned for maximum power with that.??
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73, Floyd - K8AC

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