Subject: glowbugs V1 #161
glowbugs Sunday, November 23 1997 Volume 01 : Number 161
Date: Sat, 22 Nov 1997 16:30:33 EST
From: ne1s@juno.com (Larry Szendrei)
Subject: Re: Old Tubes - Help!
The VT-4C (AKA 211), T-40, 201A, and VT-25 (AKA '10), all triodes,
would all do FB in Hartley service, in different power classes, of
course. The VT-4C leads the pack at 100W plate dissipation, and the 201A
would be useful in a peanut-whistle oscillator (<<1 W out), or regen
receiver. The '10 is the quintessential tube for use in a low power
self-excited Hartley, TPTG, or TNT rig. It has a plate dissipation of
15W. The '81's are half-wave rectifiers. Nice collection of tubes!!
73 es GL,
Larry (NE1S)
On Thu, 20 Nov 1997 01:01:09 -0600 w5hvv@aeneas.net (Roderick M.
Fitz-Randolph) writes:
>I have recently accumulated the following tubes:
>
>1 ea. VT-4-C
>
>1 ea. T40
>
>1 ea. 201A
>
>1 ea. VT-25
>
>1 ea. UX-281 (Radiotron)
>
>1 ea. CX-381 (Cunningham)
>
>3 ea. T55
>
>Could someone that has the information please pass along to me
>the general specifications on these? I would greatly appreciate it!
>
>Are any of these suitable for a Hartley oscillator? Apparently the
>811As I have are not!
>
>Rod, N5HV
>w5hvv@aeneas.net
>
>
>
Date: Sat, 22 Nov 1997 19:27:49 -0500 (EST)
From: lee1@digital.net
Subject: need grid dip meter
Hi Gang
Just wondering if anybody out there has a grid dip meter they
want to part with for a reasonable sum, have a solid state HEATH
scope to trade that works fairly good, or will pay cash.
Thank the good LORD for all that you have!!!
67yr old semi disabled senior trying to get code speed to 13wpm
(stroke got my eyesight, balance & coordination) SO ONLY BA'S NO SOLID STATE
Leon (lee) Wiltsey 4600 Lake Haven blvd Sebring fl. 33872 KF4RCL TECK+
Date: Sat, 22 Nov 1997 14:44:54 -0800 (PST)
From: "Tom R. Rice" <tomrice@netcom.com>
Subject: CB-to-Ten AM QRGs?
All this talk of 10-meter openings impels me to
get out my old Maxwell, a tube-type single channel
CB (shudder) for which I would like to order the
appropriate xtal(s) soonest.
Please refresh my volatile meat RAM with the favorite
AM frequencies; I remember 29.00 mc, but wanna be sure
before I pungle up the bread.
73 de WB6BYH
Be Alert! America Needs More Lerts!
- --
"Start off every day with a smile and get it over with." --W.C.Fields
Tom R. Rice
tomrice@netcom.com
Date: Sat, 22 Nov 1997 10:18:46 -1000
From: Peter Demmer <ampruss@hits.net>
Subject: Re: Another coil form
Jeffrey Herman wrote:
>
> For the homebrewers out there (or restorers):
> I think I might have run across the perfect coil form to wind
> coils on: Plastic hair curlers. ("Honey, I'm missing
> some hair curlers!" "Oh, the cat was chewing on a few of them
> so I threw them out...")
>
> 73,
> Jeff KH2PZ / KH6
>
> P.S. ("Honey, we don't own a cat.")
Cat nip snip; Jeff; The way it worked at my house, we had a cat, He
actually chewed up my sister's hair curlers. Probably swollowed some of
the stuff. Any how, he unwillingly gave me my first semi-conductive
flexiable cat wisker. What the heck, as a kid, cat whiskers were... How
was I supposed to know any better. Have a safe and fulfilling Thanks
giving. Aloha, Peter KH6CTQ
Date: Sun, 23 Nov 1997 03:07:19 +0000
From: Sandy W5TVW <ebjr@worldnet.att.net>
Subject: 40 meter band change?
Hello Gang,
This is, although a regulatory matter, directly related to all of
us who love, restore and use "boat anchor" gear!
I have seen several messages about, and heard from other sources
about the Broadcast industry wanting a change in the Amateur allocation
from 7.0-7.3 to 6.9-7.2 Mhz. This supposedly to alleviate the interference
bewteen amateur and SW broadcast in the 7.2-7.3 region.
This might sound nice to the "rice box" crowd, but could mean
disaster to the owners of "BA" gear! How many hamband only receivers
or transmitters do you know of whose VFO's are calibrated lower than
7 Mhz?
If anyone knows of persons or organizations that can kill this idea,
we need to start working on it now! I gather it's been shelved for WARC '99
but this may be a ruse to cause us to drop our guards! Whether its
WARC '99 or the next one, the SWBC bunch will no doubt try to push us
down or "buy" the spectrum space, as they are doing in the VHF/UHF range!
Comments please?
73,
E. V. Sandy Blaize, W5TVW
"Boat Anchors collected, restored, repaired, traded and used!"
417 Ridgewood Drive
Metairie, LA., 70001
**860 Hartley 'ECO' under construction****
*** Looking for a TRC-10 transceiver ******
*** looking for an RAL receiver ***********
Date: Sat, 22 Nov 1997 22:24:37 -0800
From: "Ronny G. Merkel" <rgmerkel@deltanet.com>
Subject: Re: 40 meter band change?
Sandy W5TVW wrote:
> ... If anyone knows of persons or organizations that can kill this
> idea,
> we need to start working on it now! I gather it's been shelved for
> WARC '99
> but this may be a ruse to cause us to drop our guards!...
I would think the ARRL, no?
- --
See Ya,
Ron Merkel
KF6NTM
NAR# 68952
(rgmerkel@deltanet.com)
Someone said:
"Keep an open mind - but not so open your brain falls out"
Date: Sun, 23 Nov 1997 11:04:13 +0100
From: Jan Axing <janax@algonet.se>
Subject: Re: 40 meter band change?
Sandy W5TVW wrote:
> If anyone knows of persons or organizations that can kill this idea,
> we need to start working on it now! I gather it's been shelved for WARC '99
> but this may be a ruse to cause us to drop our guards! Whether its
> WARC '99 or the next one, the SWBC bunch will no doubt try to push us
> down or "buy" the spectrum space, as they are doing in the VHF/UHF range!
> Comments please?
Well, I'm not so sure the region 1 hams (Europe, Africa, west Asia) will be with
you, Sandy. With the band limited to 7000 to 7100 here, any extension no matter
where will be most welcome. Personally I would like to see the SWBC leave the 7100
to 7300 segment but that will probably never happen. Killing the whole idea is
not good, reg 1 will oppose that. I would welcome an extension downwards rather
than nothing at all, even if some of my rigs will be left out.
So please don't try to kill it, even if the idea is bad, it's better than nothing.
Jan, SM5GNN
Date: Sun, 23 Nov 1997 12:10:48 -0500 (EST)
From: EWoodman@aol.com
Subject: Hartley 811A Success
This morning I decided to test out some ideas that had been tossed around
about getting an 811A to reliably start up and run in a Hartley. 811A's are
the only large triodes that I have here in the junkbox so I have an interest
in finding a solution. Fortunately the first thing I tried seems to work. I
made up a homemade capacitor which measures 12pf on my meter. It was made
from a square of double-sided pc board with a lead soldered to each side.
Don't have any idea what the voltage rating would be on it. I put the cap
between the grid and the plate.
The rig I used was my 160m shunt-fed Hartley which normally uses a 6SN7. I
rigged up an 811A socket which was easily connected to the screw terminals on
the breadboard octal socket. I have a 6 amp dc supply which I used to light
it up and a 420v supply for the plate. I turned everything on, held my
breath, and keyed it up. It kicked right in the first time and reliably every
time thereafter. It's drawing about 50ma with a 12k grid resistor and center
tap on the coil. I haven't yet optimized the coil tap position, grid
resistor, or coupling. The main point of the excercise was just to get the
thing to oscillate reliably. I think next I'll build up a nice heavy 80 meter
rig with it, tweak it all up, and see how it performs.
There are lots of cheap 811A's out there. Mine are all Penta Labs Chinese
made tubes and I wouldn't trust them in a big amp so I might as well build
Hartleys with them. I'd all but given up using them but maybe there's hope.
How about using two of them in a push-pull TNT rig?
73 Eric KA1YRV
Date: Sun, 23 Nov 1997 10:19:41 -0800 (PST)
From: Ken Gordon <keng@uidaho.edu>
Subject: Re: Hartley 811A Success
> Don't have any idea what the voltage rating would be on it. I put the cap
> between the grid and the plate.
Easy enough to get a rough idea: sharpen two pieces of #12 copper wire to
a point, put one point on either side of a piece of the circuit board,
connect the copper wires to a variable powersupply in series with a 100 K
resistor and a fuse, crank it up until it arcs. I'll bet it is well above
1kv.
> it up and a 420v supply for the plate. I turned everything on, held my
> breath, and keyed it up. It kicked right in the first time and reliably every
> time thereafter. It's drawing about 50ma with a 12k grid resistor and center
About 20 watts input. Not bad for an unoptimized rig! Congrats!
>
> There are lots of cheap 811A's out there. Mine are all Penta Labs Chinese
> made tubes and I wouldn't trust them in a big amp so I might as well build
> Hartleys with them. I'd all but given up using them but maybe there's hope.
Sounds like you have led the way for many of us. I think we owe you a big
thank-you.
>
> How about using two of them in a push-pull TNT rig?
>
Sounds snazzy! I really like push-pull circuits. One of your caps on each
tube.
Are you going to try that soon?
I would certainly like to hear your Hartley. W1 land to W7 land might be
difficult though. What kind of antenna are you using on 160?
Ken W7EKB
Date: Sun, 23 Nov 1997 19:02:22 -0500 (EST)
From: EWoodman@aol.com
Subject: Re: Hartley 811A Success
In a message dated 97-11-23 14:40:00 EST, you write:
<< Sounds like you have led the way for many of us. I think we owe you a big
thank-you.
Well, I can't exactly take credit for it. Last time I tried one it would
only kick in when I waved my hand over it. I first started thinking about
using a cap after an email from Bob Keys a couple of months ago where he
mentioned it after I had told him of my hand waving experience. Several
others including yourself also mentioned it as a possible solution but I
don't know as anyone had tried it yet. I'd also like to try Barry Ornitz's
idea about a high value resistor to the grid from the pwr supply to give it a
bit of a kick start. I thought the experiments would be worthwhile if it
would give us a reasonably big, cheap triode for Hartley use.
<< I would certainly like to hear your Hartley. W1 land to W7 land might be
difficult though. What kind of antenna are you using on 160?
>>
Now that I've tried it, the 160 rig will go back to the way it was with a
6SN7. At least for now. That puts out a whopping 2.5 watts. Antenna is a
165ft end fed wire. Never make it to 7 land with that! I already have a
copper tubing coil mounted on a board for 80 meters so I think I'll stick an
811A in that and try to optimize the rig ( coil tap, grid resistor, coupling,
etc.) and make sure it will sound ok. After that maybe I'll rework the 160
rig in time for Straight Key Night. I'd love to work that on 80 and 160 with
just a couple Hartleys and the regen! A bit of New Year's cheer in one hand
and a straight key in the other. What a way to spend New Years Eve!!
73 Eric KA1YRV
End of glowbugs V1 #161
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