Discussion:
Drake TR-4C
(too old to reply)
vu2nan
2015-03-14 07:43:17 UTC
Permalink
Drake TR-4C - receive problem

http://tinyurl.com/qanh6t7

73,

Nandu


--
vu2nan
philo
2015-03-17 21:24:36 UTC
Permalink
Post by vu2nan
Drake TR-4C - receive problem
http://tinyurl.com/qanh6t7
73,
Nandu.
Good memories

I once owned a TR3-A really liked it
vu2nan
2015-03-19 02:52:44 UTC
Permalink
On 03/14/2015 02:43 AM, vu2nan wrote:-
Drake TR-4C - receive problem
http://tinyurl.com/qanh6t7
73,
Nandu.
-
Good memories
I once owned a TR3-A really liked it
Hi Philo,

Yes, the TR-4C is a great rig - has a fine receiver and rugge
transmitter. Have always received excellent reports with respect t
signal strength and audio.

The VFO is very stable and I like the variable inductor design.

Regards,

Nandu


--
vu2nan
n***@wt.net
2015-03-19 05:44:12 UTC
Permalink
Post by vu2nan
On 03/14/2015 02:43 AM, vu2nan wrote:-
Drake TR-4C - receive problem
http://tinyurl.com/qanh6t7
73,
Nandu.
-
Good memories
I once owned a TR3-A really liked it
Hi Philo,
Yes, the TR-4C is a great rig - has a fine receiver and rugged
transmitter. Have always received excellent reports with respect to
signal strength and audio.
The VFO is very stable and I like the variable inductor design.
Regards,
Nandu.
--
vu2nan
Never had any of the Drake transceivers.. A friend of mine had a TR4Cw
that I tried a few times back in the late 70's. It was new then..
I still have an old R4 "serial 0058", a R4C, a T4XB, and a 2C and 2CQ
speaker/Q multiplier though.. Also a SW1, which is like a modern S/S SWL
receiver.. :/ It's a toy compared to the 4 line receivers..

Ran the Drake twins for a long time back when the dinosaurs were just
starting to become extinct. I always thought they were the best of the
later tube rigs if you couldn't afford the Collins gear. And the circuits
are quite similar in many ways. I think R.L. Drake worked for Collins at
one time if I remember right.. Both the Collins and the Drakes were more
stable than many of the other brands made at the time. And they were just
as stable on 10m, as they were on 80m, which was not the case for some
of the other older rigs.
philo
2015-03-19 18:57:34 UTC
Permalink
Post by n***@wt.net
Post by vu2nan
On 03/14/2015 02:43 AM, vu2nan wrote:-
Drake TR-4C - receive problem
http://tinyurl.com/qanh6t7
73,
Nandu.
-
Good memories
I once owned a TR3-A really liked it
Hi Philo,
Yes, the TR-4C is a great rig - has a fine receiver and rugged
transmitter. Have always received excellent reports with respect to
signal strength and audio.
The VFO is very stable and I like the variable inductor design.
Regards,
Nandu.
--
vu2nan
Never had any of the Drake transceivers.. A friend of mine had a TR4Cw
that I tried a few times back in the late 70's. It was new then..
I still have an old R4 "serial 0058", a R4C, a T4XB, and a 2C and 2CQ
speaker/Q multiplier though.. Also a SW1, which is like a modern S/S SWL
receiver.. :/ It's a toy compared to the 4 line receivers..
Ran the Drake twins for a long time back when the dinosaurs were just
starting to become extinct. I always thought they were the best of the
later tube rigs if you couldn't afford the Collins gear. And the circuits
are quite similar in many ways. I think R.L. Drake worked for Collins at
one time if I remember right.. Both the Collins and the Drakes were more
stable than many of the other brands made at the time. And they were just
as stable on 10m, as they were on 80m, which was not the case for some
of the other older rigs.
Yeah, I bought that TR-3 back in 1966 or so.Loved it.

When I started college I needed the money so sold it to my cousin. He
had one already but was going to take mine to France and sell it to a
friend there.


I also had a Drake 2A that I sold about 20 years ago for next to nothing.


Hard to believe I've been licensed for over 50 years.


The only equipment I have now is an HQ-140-X and a ten meter CW
transmitter I made from a junked CB set.
vu2nan
2015-03-21 12:50:31 UTC
Permalink
On Wednesday, March 18, 2015 at 10:13:02 PM UTC-5, vu2nan wrote:-
philo;837127 Wrote:-
On 03/14/2015 02:43 AM, vu2nan wrote:-
Drake TR-4C - receive problem
http://tinyurl.com/qanh6t7
73,
Nandu.
-
Good memories
I once owned a TR3-A really liked it-
Hi Philo,
Yes, the TR-4C is a great rig - has a fine receiver and rugged
transmitter. Have always received excellent reports with respect to
signal strength and audio.
The VFO is very stable and I like the variable inductor design.
Regards,
Nandu.
--
vu2nan-
Never had any of the Drake transceivers.. A friend of mine had a TR4Cw
that I tried a few times back in the late 70's. It was new then..
I still have an old R4 "serial 0058", a R4C, a T4XB, and a 2C and 2CQ
speaker/Q multiplier though.. Also a SW1, which is like a modern S/
SWL
receiver.. :/ It's a toy compared to the 4 line receivers..
Ran the Drake twins for a long time back when the dinosaurs were just
starting to become extinct. I always thought they were the best of the
later tube rigs if you couldn't afford the Collins gear. And th
circuits
are quite similar in many ways. I think R.L. Drake worked for Collin
at
one time if I remember right.. Both the Collins and the Drakes wer
more
stable than many of the other brands made at the time. And they wer
just
as stable on 10m, as they were on 80m, which was not the case for some
of the other older rigs.
-
Yeah, I bought that TR-3 back in 1966 or so.Loved it.
When I started college I needed the money so sold it to my cousin. He
had one already but was going to take mine to France and sell it to a
friend there.
I also had a Drake 2A that I sold about 20 years ago for next t
nothing.
Hard to believe I've been licensed for over 50 years.
The only equipment I have now is an HQ-140-X and a ten meter CW
transmitter I made from a junked CB set.
Hi Philo,

Very interesting.

Those days are gone forever and the great rigs along with them!

73,

Nandu


--
vu2nan
philo
2015-03-21 21:07:09 UTC
Permalink
Post by vu2nan
Post by philo
-
Yeah, I bought that TR-3 back in 1966 or so.Loved it.
When I started college I needed the money so sold it to my cousin. He
had one already but was going to take mine to France and sell it to a
friend there.
I also had a Drake 2A that I sold about 20 years ago for next to nothing.
Hard to believe I've been licensed for over 50 years.
The only equipment I have now is an HQ-140-X and a ten meter CW
transmitter I made from a junked CB set.
Hi Philo,
Very interesting.
Those days are gone forever and the great rigs along with them!
73,
Nandu.
Yes. I so much liked the move to SSB as one could "get out" so much
better. Years later I realized I missed the old "AM" days where you
could actually hear the unique voice of each operator.


Even though it was nearly 50 years ago I still recall talking to a guy
who had his shack up in the attic...and it was raining hard on his tin
roof and he held his mike up in the air so I could hear it!


Still recall working Ascension Island on 40 meter CW with a wire
vertical. Transmitter was a Johnson Adventurer 6AG7 feeding an 807.


Even then it was old technology.
Scott Dorsey
2015-03-21 21:19:21 UTC
Permalink
Post by philo
Post by vu2nan
Very interesting.
Those days are gone forever and the great rigs along with them!
They are NOT gone forever! They are here right now, and those great rigs
are still available at hamfests. Prices aren't what they were 25 years ago,
but they are still reasonable and you can still find a pair of Drake Twins
and get on the air and talk to people. And that's what this group is all
about.
Post by philo
Yes. I so much liked the move to SSB as one could "get out" so much
better. Years later I realized I missed the old "AM" days where you
could actually hear the unique voice of each operator.
Then go pick up a Viking at a hamfest.... there is not that much demand for
the AM gear, so you can find some really top notch equipment at very reasonable
prices. And they are easy to work on, so there is not the huge worry that you
will find it broken when you get it home. If you do, you fix it.

And when you get it home, get on 3.885 AM and someone will come back to you,
someone usually with extremely good audio quality and a voice you can pick
out. The AM people are not gone; there are fewer of them but they are more
determined than ever.
Post by philo
Still recall working Ascension Island on 40 meter CW with a wire
vertical. Transmitter was a Johnson Adventurer 6AG7 feeding an 807.
Even then it was old technology.
It's even older today, and it still works just as well. And the Chinese
are making 807s that are pretty good; they are about the only current
production Chinese tubes I'd ever consider using.

I still need Ascension for DXCC, though.
--scott
--
"C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."
philo
2015-03-21 22:39:52 UTC
Permalink
On 03/21/2015 04:19 PM, Scott Dorsey wrote:



<snipped for brevity>
hear the unique voice of each operator.
Post by Scott Dorsey
Then go pick up a Viking at a hamfest.... there is not that much demand for
the AM gear, so you can find some really top notch equipment at very reasonable
prices. And they are easy to work on, so there is not the huge worry that you
will find it broken when you get it home. If you do, you fix it.
And when you get it home, get on 3.885 AM and someone will come back to you,
someone usually with extremely good audio quality and a voice you can pick
out. The AM people are not gone; there are fewer of them but they are more
determined than ever.
Post by philo
Still recall working Ascension Island on 40 meter CW with a wire
vertical. Transmitter was a Johnson Adventurer 6AG7 feeding an 807.
Even then it was old technology.
It's even older today, and it still works just as well. And the Chinese
are making 807s that are pretty good; they are about the only current
production Chinese tubes I'd ever consider using.
I still need Ascension for DXCC, though.
--scott
DXCC ???

Heck...


50 years later and I still don't have my WAS
Scott Dorsey
2015-03-22 11:54:34 UTC
Permalink
Post by philo
DXCC ???
Heck...
50 years later and I still don't have my WAS
Get on the radio! I got mine with the power of a single 6AQ5!
You can too! It beats working.
--scott
--
"C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."
philo
2015-03-22 13:56:25 UTC
Permalink
Post by Scott Dorsey
Post by philo
DXCC ???
Heck...
50 years later and I still don't have my WAS
Get on the radio! I got mine with the power of a single 6AQ5!
You can too! It beats working.
--scott
At the present time all I have is that ten meter xmtr


Besides, for me...Usenet seems to have take the place of radio.
sctvguy1
2015-03-28 22:14:49 UTC
Permalink
Post by philo
Yeah, I bought that TR-3 back in 1966 or so.Loved it.
When I started college I needed the money so sold it to my cousin. He
had one already but was going to take mine to France and sell it to a
friend there.
I also had a Drake 2A that I sold about 20 years ago for next to nothing.
Hard to believe I've been licensed for over 50 years.
The only equipment I have now is an HQ-140-X and a ten meter CW
transmitter I made from a junked CB set.
philo,
Didn't know that you were into boatanchors? Linux and OSX and tube
radios!
I had an HQ-145XC that was totally restored, I moved to Texas and gave it
to a local ham in FL.
I kept my restored Lafayette HE-10, a great old 8 tube receiver! It
looks like an S-38 on steroids!
philo
2015-03-29 03:03:38 UTC
Permalink
Post by sctvguy1
philo,
Didn't know that you were into boatanchors? Linux and OSX and tube
radios!
I had an HQ-145XC that was totally restored, I moved to Texas and gave it
to a local ham in FL.
I kept my restored Lafayette HE-10, a great old 8 tube receiver! It
looks like an S-38 on steroids!
My collection has been thinned out a bit, but still have plenty of tube
equipment here. I recall seeing the HE-10 in Lafayette catalogs. I might
still have a catalog left somewhere.


Speaking of boat anchors, I just saw a wonderful essay in the New Yorker
and discovered photos by Evgenia Bugaeva


Check out the Weather Man and the radio he uses:


http://www.evgeniaarbugaeva.com/
sctvguy1
2015-03-29 06:04:31 UTC
Permalink
Post by philo
Post by sctvguy1
philo,
Didn't know that you were into boatanchors? Linux and OSX and tube
radios!
I had an HQ-145XC that was totally restored, I moved to Texas and gave
it to a local ham in FL.
I kept my restored Lafayette HE-10, a great old 8 tube receiver! It
looks like an S-38 on steroids!
My collection has been thinned out a bit, but still have plenty of tube
equipment here. I recall seeing the HE-10 in Lafayette catalogs. I might
still have a catalog left somewhere.
Speaking of boat anchors, I just saw a wonderful essay in the New Yorker
and discovered photos by Evgenia Bugaeva
http://www.evgeniaarbugaeva.com/
Wow, that is some serious looking old military-spec gear! If you can find
a picture of the HE-10 in an old Lafayette catalog, could you post it in
a link that I can use to download? I remember all those old Lafayette,
Allied and RS catalogs from the 60's that I used to drool over. I have
always wanted and still want, an HQ-180, the King of tube radios! I used
to have an old ex-USAF RS-390 that made my mothers house lights dim when
I turned it on. Needless to say, that thing had to go!
philo
2015-03-29 10:31:08 UTC
Permalink
Post by sctvguy1
Post by philo
Post by sctvguy1
philo,
Didn't know that you were into boatanchors? Linux and OSX and tube
radios!
I had an HQ-145XC that was totally restored, I moved to Texas and gave
it to a local ham in FL.
I kept my restored Lafayette HE-10, a great old 8 tube receiver! It
looks like an S-38 on steroids!
My collection has been thinned out a bit, but still have plenty of tube
equipment here. I recall seeing the HE-10 in Lafayette catalogs. I might
still have a catalog left somewhere.
Speaking of boat anchors, I just saw a wonderful essay in the New Yorker
and discovered photos by Evgenia Bugaeva
http://www.evgeniaarbugaeva.com/
Wow, that is some serious looking old military-spec gear! If you can find
a picture of the HE-10 in an old Lafayette catalog, could you post it in
a link that I can use to download? I remember all those old Lafayette,
Allied and RS catalogs from the 60's that I used to drool over. I have
always wanted and still want, an HQ-180, the King of tube radios! I used
to have an old ex-USAF RS-390 that made my mothers house lights dim when
I turned it on. Needless to say, that thing had to go!
I don't know where the catalog is but I did find this:

http://www.eham.net/reviews/detail/6349



When I was in my High School radio club, we had the use of an HQ-180.
Everyone really liked it. The transmitter we used was a Viking-1

The transmitter could not be used any time the school was having an
event that used the PA system!


Sure wish I would have gotten any type of military surplus receiver.
They were available back then for almost nothing.


I don't even recall what it was now, but I did get to try a receiver
that still was using the dynamoter ...it was a little noisy but quieter
than I had expected.
philo
2015-03-29 13:37:45 UTC
Permalink
Found my catalog but it was from 1976 , so no HE-10 listed.
I am sure my older catalogs from the 60's are long gone.


Did find these though:


http://www.ohio.edu/people/postr/bapix/kt200.htm




https://www.google.com/search?q=lafayette++HE-10+photo&biw=1672&bih=802&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=CAAYVYLLHYu2oQT0xYLoDg&ved=0CB0QsAQ
sctvguy1
2015-03-29 15:04:30 UTC
Permalink
Post by philo
Found my catalog but it was from 1976 , so no HE-10 listed.
I am sure my older catalogs from the 60's are long gone.
http://www.ohio.edu/people/postr/bapix/kt200.htm
https://www.google.com/search?q=lafayette++HE-10
+photo&biw=1672&bih=802&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=CAAYVYLLHYu2oQT0xYLoDg&ved=0CB0QsAQ

I had a ham friend take an old Heathkit Q Multiplier and wire it into my
HE-10, using RCA leads so that I could connect/disconnect it as needed.
I got the Q Multiplier off of ebay, it was built a long time ago, and
uses one miniature tube! Hey, that stuff still works!
I just ordered a "new to me" iMac, a 2010 model to replace my old 2002
G4, which of course I am still keeping! I just have a hard time letting
go of old stuff, PS/2s, old radios, my home built AMD K6, my OS/2 Warp 3/
Connect/4. Probably a sickness!
philo
2015-03-29 15:53:22 UTC
Permalink
On 03/29/2015 10:04 AM, sctvguy1 wrote:
X


<snip>
Post by sctvguy1
I had a ham friend take an old Heathkit Q Multiplier and wire it into my
HE-10, using RCA leads so that I could connect/disconnect it as needed.
I got the Q Multiplier off of ebay, it was built a long time ago, and
uses one miniature tube! Hey, that stuff still works!
I just ordered a "new to me" iMac, a 2010 model to replace my old 2002
G4, which of course I am still keeping! I just have a hard time letting
go of old stuff, PS/2s, old radios, my home built AMD K6, my OS/2 Warp 3/
Connect/4. Probably a sickness!
Yep I still have my AMD-450 built in an old Gateway tower.

I have a bunch of removable drives running something like 20 different
obsolete operating systems including OS/2 Warp 3


I have no G4's here but did set up a few for a friend using a PPC port
of Ubuntu.


The only PPC machine I have at all is an old eMac.


I figure that if you can still walk through your house, collecting
relics is not a sickness. I keep most of my collection in the attic or
basement...so my wife does not complain.


OTOH: The woman who used to live across the street from me...collected
to many antiques, that she neglected to pay her property taxes for
several years and was kicked out of her house.


It took her weeks and weeks and many large trucks to get all the stuff
out. I have no idea where she went with it.


When you lose your house, now that is an illness.
Michael Black
2015-03-29 16:58:05 UTC
Permalink
Post by sctvguy1
Post by philo
Post by sctvguy1
philo,
Didn't know that you were into boatanchors? Linux and OSX and tube
radios!
I had an HQ-145XC that was totally restored, I moved to Texas and gave
it to a local ham in FL.
I kept my restored Lafayette HE-10, a great old 8 tube receiver! It
looks like an S-38 on steroids!
My collection has been thinned out a bit, but still have plenty of tube
equipment here. I recall seeing the HE-10 in Lafayette catalogs. I might
still have a catalog left somewhere.
Speaking of boat anchors, I just saw a wonderful essay in the New Yorker
and discovered photos by Evgenia Bugaeva
http://www.evgeniaarbugaeva.com/
Wow, that is some serious looking old military-spec gear! If you can find
a picture of the HE-10 in an old Lafayette catalog, could you post it in
a link that I can use to download? I remember all those old Lafayette,
Allied and RS catalogs from the 60's that I used to drool over. I have
always wanted and still want, an HQ-180, the King of tube radios! I used
to have an old ex-USAF RS-390 that made my mothers house lights dim when
I turned it on. Needless to say, that thing had to go!
If you had an R390. you'd never need another radio. Even today, you can't
get much better than that.

Of coruse, one reason I had the use of an SP-600 for a decade from shortly
before I got my ham license was because someone at the ham club had one as
well as an R388. Like others, he liked the SP-600 for easy bandscanning,
since the R388 only tunes in 500KHz segments. The R390 has to be worse in
that respect, though infinitely better for tuning specific frequencies.

Michael
sctvguy1
2015-03-29 20:08:41 UTC
Permalink
Post by Michael Black
If you had an R390. you'd never need another radio. Even today, you
can't get much better than that.
Of coruse, one reason I had the use of an SP-600 for a decade from
shortly before I got my ham license was because someone at the ham club
had one as well as an R388. Like others, he liked the SP-600 for easy
bandscanning, since the R388 only tunes in 500KHz segments. The R390
has to be worse in that respect, though infinitely better for tuning
specific frequencies.
Michael
The reason it had to go, was it came from an aircraft, it had the 28v DC
to AC converter, which made the lights in the house dim when I turned it
on! It also left huge lines in my mother's carpet where it was located.
The receiver almost broke my cheap little desk in my room, which only had
an S-120 on it!
Plus, it was not restored and needed work, and OMG, all those tubes if I
had had to replace them.
Scott Dorsey
2015-03-30 14:26:34 UTC
Permalink
Post by sctvguy1
The reason it had to go, was it came from an aircraft, it had the 28v DC
to AC converter, which made the lights in the house dim when I turned it
on! It also left huge lines in my mother's carpet where it was located.
The receiver almost broke my cheap little desk in my room, which only had
an S-120 on it!
Plus, it was not restored and needed work, and OMG, all those tubes if I
had had to replace them.
Sure that wasn't an R-392?
--scott
--
"C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."
Scott Dorsey
2015-03-30 14:25:24 UTC
Permalink
Post by Michael Black
Of coruse, one reason I had the use of an SP-600 for a decade from shortly
before I got my ham license was because someone at the ham club had one as
well as an R388. Like others, he liked the SP-600 for easy bandscanning,
since the R388 only tunes in 500KHz segments. The R390 has to be worse in
that respect, though infinitely better for tuning specific frequencies.
I had a 388 in the eighties before I upgraded to a 390A (which I still have
and which I was using in the contest this weekend). The 388 gives only
500kc span before you have to change bands, but some of the bands are reversed
so when you are tuning up, get to the end and go up to the next band, you
are at the bottom of the next band. In other cases, you find yourself at
the top, which is indeed annoying but not a dealbreaker.

The 390A has all the bands going in the same direction, and the bands are
1 MHz from end to end which does make scanning a lot easier.

But really, band scanning isn't that bad with either one. Now, the
Racal Syncal-30.... that was absolute hell to use on field day...
--scott
--
"C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."
Scott Dorsey
2015-03-30 14:20:30 UTC
Permalink
Post by philo
Speaking of boat anchors, I just saw a wonderful essay in the New Yorker
and discovered photos by Evgenia Bugaeva
http://www.evgeniaarbugaeva.com/
On the left of the stack is a Volna-K marine receiver, standard issue on a
lot of ships... 12 KHz up through HF but generally considered unreliable.

I can't identify the crystal-controlled transmit/receive pair on the right.
--scott
--
"C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."
philo
2015-03-30 15:55:21 UTC
Permalink
Post by Scott Dorsey
Post by philo
Speaking of boat anchors, I just saw a wonderful essay in the New Yorker
and discovered photos by Evgenia Bugaeva
http://www.evgeniaarbugaeva.com/
On the left of the stack is a Volna-K marine receiver, standard issue on a
lot of ships... 12 KHz up through HF but generally considered unreliable.
I can't identify the crystal-controlled transmit/receive pair on the right.
--scott
Thanks for the ID The tuning wheel puzzled me until I saw this video



a***@gmail.com
2020-05-19 20:56:09 UTC
Permalink
Post by vu2nan
Drake TR-4C - receive problem
http://tinyurl.com/qanh6t7
73,
Nandu.
--
vu2nan
I have a drake tr4c and need to know how to set the bias. my manual doesn't show how to set it, all I see is it needs to be between -40 to -60 volts.
Jason Evans
2020-05-21 19:03:53 UTC
Permalink
Post by a***@gmail.com
I have a drake tr4c and need to know how to set the bias. my manual
doesn't show how to set it, all I see is it needs to be between -40 to
-60 volts.
I used to have one but never did much with it, sadly. Maybe one if these
will help?

https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=drake+tr4c+bias

KI4GMX

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