The following pictures show some of the equipment I currently operate on the air. You might call me a boatanchor affectiado, that is, one who likes and appreciates the older, larger, and heavier equipment used in years past that is largely neglected by the majority and passed on by technology these days. One common item in all this equipment is that they generally use tubes. Yes, tubes, those glass or metal bottles of long ago that light up, consume power, and generate heat, sometimes so much that a blower is needed to keep them from melting. It's not that I'm uncomfortable with the newer technology...some of my favorite toys are dual gate mosfets and dds frequency generators. But compared to these little 'bugs' there's nothing like seeing a 4-1000A lit up with its plate glowing a cherry red and feeling the heat from its forced air cooling to give you a sense of real RF power. And if you happen to live where the winters put a chill into the ham shack, that residual heat can really make it a comfortable place. Of course, here I have to crank open the windows to let it all out.
My main receiver and transmitter now consists of a Collins S-line: a 75S-3 receiver and a 32S-3 transmitter. Both units have been extensively renovated and rebuilt from being long neglected and unused. These units came into being after I rebuilt the pair used on the USS Missouri. Those turned out so well that I decided to get a pair for myself. Obtaining and rebuilding these took place over about a 3 year timespan. If you want to learn equipment inside out, go through a complete rebuild.
Prior to the S-line coming on-line early in 2005, my station consisted of a Collins 51S-1 receiver and a Hallicrafters HT-37 transmitter. This pair served me for something like 20 years and they both are still operating just fine. The 51S-1 was literally fished out of a dumpster many years ago and many hours were spent putting it back together again. Fortunately the bottom covers were left on and the front-end RF circuitry wasn't damaged. The hallicrafters was a toss out from the Navy MARS program and except for a few repairs over the years has served me faithfully. I picked up a replacement front panel from a parts unit in good condition a while back and some day I'll replace the current one and dress it up considerably.
This mighty beast is used when the atmospherics aren't behaving properly and I need a little more power to be heard by others. This is a Henry Radio model 3K-A amplifier. It uses a pair of 3-500Z tubes and is capable of 2000 watts PEP output.
Most all of the control, RF inputs and outputs, and antennas for my receivers and transmitters are wired to this patch panel. From this panel using jumpers I can patch the different equipments around to select whatever operating station I want at the moment. This panel looks a little like a rats nest but it gives me a flexibility to change things without having to pull equipment out or get behind the operating table to rewire. The unit on the top is my T-R relay (Dow Key type) and its power supply.
Some of the accessories used around the station:
I normally use the Telex headset and boom mike combo on the left but also have a Turner 254C mike available. I recently picked up an Astatic Silver Eagle 'lollypop' mike to go along with the S-line someday. The power supply / speaker on the right is a homebrew equal to a Collins 516F-2 type which powers the 32S-3 transmitter. You can read what I went thru building it in my 'technical' section of the website.
Above is a digital clock I use in the shack. The day/id section of the clock has been modified to count from 1 to 18 in 10-second steps. This allows me to follow accurately the NCCXF/IARU Beacon Transmission Schedule. This is a world-wide set of beacons that can be monitored to determine band openings to the different areas of the world. Do a google search on NCCXF/IARU to get details on this great propagation aid. Sitting on top of the clock is a Radio Shack model 21-527 digital SWR and Power Meter. I think this is one of the better items RS has ever put out. Works just great.
Although I operate SSB on HF, almost 70% of my operation is on CW. Somehow I just prefer it and am more confortable with it. Above on the left is a recently re-built CW keyer I use. It previously used some old transistor flip-flops and did a fair job. I rebuilt it using a PIC controlled keyer and it works great. You can read details of it in my 'technical' section. In the middle is my straight key which I still use a lot...probably more than the keyer. I've had this one since day one of my Novice license. On the right is a field strength meter I have connected to a small rod on the roof. That meter scale is just relative but the units are just perfect.
Well, that pretty well finishes up the current operating equipment that keeps me on the air.
