Vintage Radio
In the late 1960 's the microwave gear we had was wideband 10GHz shown here. Gunn diodes and bare mixer diodes No LNA's or PA's!
Here it was a X guide coupler with a tunable Gunn LO into a 3 port circulator which, on its other port, had a "fixed" frequency Gunn running about 4mW. The IF was double conversion - 30MHz to 10.7MHz for FM detection
Here it was a X guide coupler with a tunable Gunn LO into a 3 port circulator which, on its other port, had a "fixed" frequency Gunn running about 4mW. The IF was double conversion - 30MHz to 10.7MHz for FM detection
Later things started getting sophisticated with the use of the G3JVL system shown here utilising homebrew waveguide filters on both receive and transmit.
On HF we were still in the land of valves using this old PCR receiver shown here. It didn't cover much above about 15MHz from memory so a crystal controlled converter for 20, 15 and 10m was used shown sitting on the PCR.
Shown in front is a 3 valve 4m crystal controlled converter with a 6MHz IF!
Shown in front is a 3 valve 4m crystal controlled converter with a 6MHz IF!
In the 70's and 80's VHF/SHF PA's were still in their infancy and those that did exist were very expensive so valves still reigned supreme. On the right we have a single 4CX250B valve pa which was capable of running a few hundred watts on 432MHz with the right sort of high voltage supply. On 1296MHz a pair of 2C39BA triodes where used, one driving the other to get about 50watts on that band, air cooled of course!
On the right is a single QQVO6-40A valve pa which is capable of running about 60 watts on 70MHz. A "modern" screen regulator supply is mounted on a piece of Veroboard, as semiconductors make their appearance.
And here they are! A couple of the first Mullard transistors which were put into general use - straight out of my junk box!
Ediswan got in on the act too and produced the "top hat" types no doubt specified to work up to several tens of MHZ if you were lucky?
Licensed circa 1968 in GM Land I was active first of all on VHF only. My first Tx was a homebrew crystal controlled 60W 70MHz AM TX tx with a valve PA. The valve converter ran into a PCR receiver as a 6MHz IF! The antenna was a dipole in the loft!
Spurred on by 70MHz the 144MHz activity commenced with a transistorised AM tx running a few hundred milliwatts and then I graduated on to a howbrew xtal controlled AM rig like the 70MHz TX. I then made the DJ9ZR SSB radio from VHF Comms magazine which drove a PA to about 60W output using a QQVO6-40 valve amplifier. I started dabbling with 70cms AM TV again using kit built from VHF Comms. Later I used the 70cms RF sections to access Oscar 7 satellite with a 70cms uplink and 2m downlink. Great fun as some real DX! Since those early days I then tried the other Oscars 8 through to AO 100.
On the way I have also sampled HF coming late to that in ham radio, but still my passion is for howbrew and microwaves where you can still almost homebrew better kit than commercially available equipment...just!
I've sampled most of the special modes too, such as PSK31, SSTV, Packet, FT8 and FT4 etc on the various bands. The purchase of a very noisy, smelly and heavy Creed 7B teleprinter also lead me into the RTTY scene.
Rigs I have owned in the past have been a Liner 2, FR500DX, Icom 2E and Yaseu rigs, FT221R, FT290, FT480 and FT780 plus an FT77 and FTDX300 for HF.
Spurred on by 70MHz the 144MHz activity commenced with a transistorised AM tx running a few hundred milliwatts and then I graduated on to a howbrew xtal controlled AM rig like the 70MHz TX. I then made the DJ9ZR SSB radio from VHF Comms magazine which drove a PA to about 60W output using a QQVO6-40 valve amplifier. I started dabbling with 70cms AM TV again using kit built from VHF Comms. Later I used the 70cms RF sections to access Oscar 7 satellite with a 70cms uplink and 2m downlink. Great fun as some real DX! Since those early days I then tried the other Oscars 8 through to AO 100.
On the way I have also sampled HF coming late to that in ham radio, but still my passion is for howbrew and microwaves where you can still almost homebrew better kit than commercially available equipment...just!
I've sampled most of the special modes too, such as PSK31, SSTV, Packet, FT8 and FT4 etc on the various bands. The purchase of a very noisy, smelly and heavy Creed 7B teleprinter also lead me into the RTTY scene.
Rigs I have owned in the past have been a Liner 2, FR500DX, Icom 2E and Yaseu rigs, FT221R, FT290, FT480 and FT780 plus an FT77 and FTDX300 for HF.
I got into VHF 2m mobile during commuting and started off with a converted Pye Ranger (hard on the battery as all valved!) and then an AM Pye Cambridge which I eventually converted to FM as the Japanese FM rigs came on to the market. I also played with Pye PF1 pocket phones and other Pye ex commercial gear including the Pye Bantam which I still have! Pye have a lot to answer for!
I'd always been an opposer of buying commercial gear until I eventually purchased a great little Icom IC 22A FM rig which had 22 xtal controlled channels requiring a total of 44 xtals if you were feeling flushed!
I then become interested in 70cms mobile and used this rig to drive a 2m to 70cms transverter by Microwave Modules...remember them?
The mobile set up was useful for my sorties into the microwave scene performing useful 2m talk back from high portable sites The microwaves was seen as a way to continue my passion for homebrew leading to 23cms systems using 2C39BA valve PA's and then upwards and on onward through 13 cms right up to the present day with 134GHz
I'd always been an opposer of buying commercial gear until I eventually purchased a great little Icom IC 22A FM rig which had 22 xtal controlled channels requiring a total of 44 xtals if you were feeling flushed!
I then become interested in 70cms mobile and used this rig to drive a 2m to 70cms transverter by Microwave Modules...remember them?
The mobile set up was useful for my sorties into the microwave scene performing useful 2m talk back from high portable sites The microwaves was seen as a way to continue my passion for homebrew leading to 23cms systems using 2C39BA valve PA's and then upwards and on onward through 13 cms right up to the present day with 134GHz