W8CS Amateur Radio Site

R.L. Drake R4C/T4XC  

Hi! My name is Craig Severson and I'm a Drakeaholic.  The picture above is the Drake C-Line which arrived at our house in early 1977. My Father (sk, ex-AB8P) had just received these radios and was as excited as I was. That hot smell of new components burning in for the first time is something I'll never forget.

Since then, rigs have come and gone in my station but nothing has really held the allure of radio like these rigs have.  Wierd?  Maybe.  You can have your stamp collecting, your fantasy football, your bridge club, etc etc etc.....but for me nothing beats hunkering down with a warm set of Drake Twins and a pair of headphones on the 40M CW band segment on a cold winter night.
 

I presently run the following equipment at my station:

• Drake TR7A + RV7 - A wonderful transceiver that is my contest workhorse. It has the 1.8Khz and 500 Hz filters in it, and is the best rig I've ever used at handling the pressure of a crowded band, especially CW. I've used it at field day in a 100 degree tent, as well as numerous ARRL DX and CQWW contests. My father purchased this rig in 1981.
• Drake R4C/T4XC - The radio in the picture above. When I took these radios over from my father in 1996, they were badly in need of some TLC. I've run them through the wringer and have added most of the Sherwood mods to the R4C, as well as the GUF-1 filter. The R4C is the first radio that I'll turn on when I'm in my shack just listening....it has a very warm sound with the MS4 and is a pleasure to listen to. I have a small stockpile of Sylvania 6JB6 final tubes so I should be able to keep the T4XC running for some time as well. The only disappointing thing about this rig is that it's generally not all that "hot" above 20M. I have owned other C-Lines that were much more sensitive on the higher bands. I have aligned that R4C to death trying to squeeze some more gain out of it......my Ameco preamplifier sure comes in handy!
• Drake L4B - The Beast. Again, this was my father's amp, and I believe that I'm still running the original 3-500Z's in there. Runs about 1300W output. I only use this dude when I have to break a pileup, as it plays hell with the other electronics in the house.....like shows that the kids are watching!
• Drake 2B/2BQ - For a receiver built in 1961, this dude is incredible. I can narrow in on one CW signal and peak the Q-multiplier until it "sings". This receiver makes music out of CW and it's really a treat to own. I left a book on top of this radio last year with it turned on, and it heated the filter cap up and dried it out....have some hummmmmm in the background. Tried to find a HV filter cap lately? Sounds like a winter project.
• Icom IC-706 MkII - Yes, I admit, I have a "ricebox". I ran this unit in my car in 1998/99 and it was a blast. Have been very impressed with the features, performance, and construction of this radio. Not using it for anything other than a 6M monitor right now.
• Yaesu Ft757Gx - presently in mothballs. There's some history behind this rig; it was the main door prize at Dayton somewhere around 1985 or so. I used this as my main radio between 1987 to 1996, before I got "Draked". Had a lot of bells & whistles for its time, and actually is an excellent QSK rig with no relay chatter. I have the matching FC757AT tuner with this, as well as the power supply. I will be selling this radio as soon as I can find the time to put all of the manuals and pieces together. Give me a yell at my email address and make me an offer. <g>

Drop me a line if you have any comments or questions to [email protected].

73 and keep those heaters on.

Craig/W8CS