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Hello FRG-7 users, i have one heading my way and on the rear there is a port simply labeled "counter".....According to the prior owner, he said "?Gilfer Shortwave and Electronic Equipment Bank were big shortwave radio stores back in the day and they did mods to Frog 7s to take a digital counter." The thing is I cant find much information out there on what kind of digital counter it could take and if its something others here have seen.

Thanks,
Lou

Hi Louie,
Welcome to the group. I have one of the Gilfer Associates GAR-7 digital displays. I put a new folder in the Files section with some GAR-7 pictures, from eBay, in it. The picture of the rear of the FRG-7 shows the missing red label that has fallen off your FRG-7.

The counters were not actually made by Gilfer. They were made by e-tek. Their main claim to fame are the FR-4 digital displays for the Drake R-4 series of receivers. I have added a picture to the new GAR-7 folder.

The GAR-7 is a simple offset counter. It counts the VFO frequency of 2.445 - 3.445 MHz and subtracts the IF frequency of .455 MHz. This indicates 2.0000 to 3.0000 Mhz on the display. Because the GAR-7 only shows the last 4 digits you see 000.0 to 999.9 on the display. The accuracy is dependent on the FRG-7's 1 MHz crystal. I don't see a trimmer for zeroing the 1 MHz crystal, in the schematic, but someone may have addressed this problem in the old messages section.

A number of suitable 4 digit offset counters have been offered over the years. Probably the smallest with four 1/2" red LED's is the S & S Engineering PC1. It measures 5 1/2 by 4 by 2 1`/2 inches and has DIP switches for setting the offset required. S & S is gone but they go for a song on eBay. I'll try to find a picture for the Gilfer folder.

73
Roger VE7LB group owner

Hello fellow enthusiasts,

?Interested in adding a digital dial to my Sears version. ?I would guess that the "readout" jack is connected to some oscillator via coax and a small cap.

? Don't see any info in files or picture sections. ?What do you see in your radios for cap value and PCB connection point?

Thanks,
Greg // KE7NJS?

Hi Greg,
I can't find my GAR-7 manual but the VFO signal is present after the VFO buffer transistor Q404 at TP404. I would pick up the signal there using a .001 uf cap in series with a 470 ohm resistor. Use RG174u coax to a new RCA jack on the rear panel.

73
Roger VE7LB Group Owner

Hi Lou,
Take a look at eBay item numbers 121536911607, 381698446335, 264731791631 & 172709026592. All for less than $20. The Drake List guys have been happy with the blue version used with the R-4 series receivers. Just tape over the two left most digits and mount in a case that only shows the right 4 digits. The one with 5 digits would only need one taped over. The SpeedPak shipping is less than 2 weeks (pre Covid) to the USA.

I found a few other displays that I will upload to the files section tomorrow.

73
Roger VE7LB Group Owner

I added a files folder for non-GAR-7 displays. Added some pictures of other displays. Several YouTube video addresses also added. I did find a 7 digit display that will work on the FRG-7. The Electronic Specialties DD-103 (manual added in new displays folder). It can have 32 bands on it's band switch so would easily cover all the FRG-7 bands. Due to it's programming ability it can correct for the 1 MHz synthesizer crystal not being exactly on frequency. It uses the VFO frequency only. A bit expensive but the manual lists about a hundred other radios it will work on including the Yaesu FR-101S. He usually sells on eBay but also has a website. Presently a months delay while he waits for cases to come in. It has an auto program mode for the FRG-7 that would get it working quickly. For maximum accuracy you would need at least crystal calibrator or marker generator to accurately program/calibrate the DD-103 to your FRG-7. I see a couple on eBay in the $20 range.

73
Roger VE7LB Group Owner