Visit these pages

Home Page                    My Station                  My Interest

My Old Stations

My first station

The receiver was a Hallicrafters S41w. This was a basic 5 tube radio with some short-wave bands, fine tuning control and a BFO for CW. The radio was intended to be an inexpensive short-wave listener radio, so the IF bandwidth was very wide (no IF filters).  I could almost copy the whole 40M Novice band by carefully setting up the fine tune control.   The transmitter was a home brew copy from QST. This 1 tube (6146) crystal controlled oscillator ran about 50 watts. I modified the design to accommodate the parts salvaged from TV sets.  The key was a J38 straight key. The antenna was a 40 meter dipole. Here are some pictures of similar equipment.

                        Hallicrafters S41w                                                      J38

 Crystal controlled CW transmitter

My second station 

When I upgraded my license, I also upgraded my equipment.  The new receiver was a National NC270.  This was a ham band (80 to 6 Meter) receiver with IF bandwidth controls for AM, SSB, and CW. The transmitter was a Johnson Viking Challenger purchased as a kit. This was a 75 watt, crystal controlled, AM/CW transmitter operating from 80 M through 6 M. It used screen grid modulation for AM. The antenna for 6 Meters was a Telrex 4 element beam on a 25 ft tower. I'm sure I succeeded in making my way into all the neighborhood TVs set to Channel 2.  The low frequency antenna (for MARS operation) was an 80 meter dipole.  

I also had a mobile setup using a Saturn 6 Halo antenna, horizontally polarized loop. The transceiver was a Heathkit SIXer.  This was one of 3 Heathkit lunchbox radios (10m, 6m, 2m), which ran about 10 watts (AM) and had a super-regen receiver. A super-regen receiver on VHF was helpful since it allowed you to hear large portions of the band at the same time (there weren't many stations on the air). Here are some pictures of similar equipment.

Johnson Viking Challenger                     National NC-270

The TWOer - 2 meter version of the SIXer

My third station

When Technician Class licenses were allowed to operate on 10 meters, I went shopping for some new (used) equipment. I eventually found a Hammerland HX500 transmitter and an army surplus R-390, both in non operating condition. With some time, skill and luck, I got both of these working.  The antenna was a 3 element 10 meter beam of unknown manufacture, mounted on the house chimney. I was "in the big league" now; even if the equipment was 20 to 25 years old. Here are some pictures of similar equipment.

R-390 Receiver                                                Hammerland  HX500