I

I
I
I
I

,,,

,.

- MOBILETTE 61, Intern ational's neu. improred all transistor, crystal controlled converter prov ides a "quick and easy" way to convert your car
radio for short wave reception. MOBILETTE 61, units cover a specific
band of frequencies providing a broad tuning range. Mobilerte units are
miniature size and quickly interchangeable.
Check these all N ew fea tures ... N ew and improved circuit for increased
gain . . . N ew internal jumper for positive and negative grounds . . .
New RF amplifier, mixer/oscillator ... N ew separate input for broadcast
and short wave antennas ... Mounting bracket for under dash install ation.

MOBILETTE 61, is available in a wide choice of frequencies covering

the Amateur bands 75 through 6 meters, Citizens band, Civil Air Patrol

. with improved circuit

for mobile short wave reception

low band frequencies, W/W/V time and frequency standards. Any frequency
in the range 2 MC to 50 MC available on special order. *
Designed for 12 VDC ,
MOBILETTE 61 will operate on 6 VDC at reduced
. output. Power connector
plugs into cigarette lighter
socket.
See the MOBILETTE 61
at Your Dealer Today.

Mobilelte 61 units cover these short wave frequencies.

Catalog No.

630 630 630 630 630 -

110
111
112
113
114

630 - 115
630 - 116
630 -117
630 - 118
630 - 119

Frequency

6 mete rs (Amateur) 50 - 51 MC
10 meters (Amate u r) 28.5 - 29.5 MC
11 mete rs (Citi zens ) 26.9 - 27.3 MC
15 mete rs (Ama teu r) 21 - 21.6 MC
20 meters (Amate u r) 14 - 14.4 MC
15 MC
(WWV)
40 meters (Amate ur) 7 - 7.4 MC
75 meters (Amateur) 3.8-4 Me
10 MC
(WWV)
CAP
(Low Band)
Special Frequen ci es 2 MC - 50 MC

Complete, ready to plug in and operate . . . . only $22.95

* Special
JANUARY 1961

frequencies 2 Me -50 MC-..

only $25 .95

73 MAGAZINE

fromiG__ I

z'~ .. a comp'ete'y';n:e~w~~:::;;_l
that meets. '"
FCC regulations

CITIZENS BAND
TRANSCEIVER

pre mounts, prewires, pretunes, and seals the ENTIRE

transmitter oscillator circuit to conform with FCC regulations

EICO

(Section 19.71 SUbdivision d). EICO thus gives you the transceiver in kit form that you can build and put on the air without
the supervision of a Commercial Radio-Telephone Licensee!

Kit

#761: 117 VAC & 6 VDC

#762: 117 VAC & 12 VDC
incl. mtg. bracket (Pat. Pend.)

$69.95

NEW! 6o-WATT CW

COLOR .. MONO DC5MC LAB ..

TV 5 ~ OSCILLOSCOPE # 460
Kit $79.95
Wired $129.50
5 ~ PUSHPULL OSCILLOSCOPE
-#425 Kit $44.95 Wired $79.95

TRANSMlnER # 723

Kit $49.95

Wired $79.95

Ideal fo r novice or advanced ham

needing tow-power, stand-by ri g.

6QW CW I SOW external plate modulat ion. 80 through 10 meters.

gO-WATT CW TRANSMITTER

PEAKTO-PEAK
VlYM # 232 .. UNIPROBE@
Kit $29.95
Wired $49.95
U. S. Pat. No. 2,190.051
VACUUM TUBE VOLTMETER # 221
Wired $39.95
Kit $25.95

# 720 Kit $79.95 Wi red $119.95

U . S. Pat. No. 0. 184,776

" Top Dual ity " ELECTRONIC
KITS GU IDE. Ideal for vete ran or
novice. 90W CW, 65W exte rnal
plat e modulation. 80 through 10
meters.

HIGH-LEVEl UNIVERSAL
MODULATORDRIVER -#730
Kit $49.95
Wired $79.95
Delivers SOW und istorted audi o.
Modu lates tran smitters having
RF Inputs up to loOW. Un ique
cver-mceutetten indicator. Cover
E-S $4.50.

"';ilJ....

GRID DIP METER # 710

Wi red $49.95
Kit $29.95
Includes complete set of coils
for full band coverage. Continuo
ous cove rage 400 kc to 250 me.
500 ua meter.

RF SIGNAL GENERATOR # 324

(150kc.43smc)
Kit $26.95
Wired $39.95
fYrM SWEEP GENERATOR
It MARKER # 368
Wired $119.95
Kit $&9.95
DYNAMIC CONDUCTANCE TUBE
.. TRANSISTOR TESTER # 666
Kit $69.95
Wired $109.95
TUBE TESTER # 625
Kit $34.95
Wired $49.95

EICO, 33-00 N, Blvd.,LI.C. 1, N.Y.

~hO~~I~eo~ oro ~?q~r~)'~o~ O ~1~

~ro ge:3~~~;sJ~~~eC'~r~

rd;

~~vl~~dli~:~See . 0~e~~I:h1~r:~~

Name
Address
Cib'

_
Zone

State

73.1 -=
-~

iI

EI C~I~b:!:~~~e~~.~I~I~O~~~o~~p~a~~~:r_..:1
2

73 MAGAZINE

JANUARY 1961

73

January, 1961
Vol. I, No.4

Magazine

/379 East 15th Street

Brooklyn 30, N. Y.

Table of Contents
Nuvistor Converters for Six and Two

......... . . . . . Tom Lamb K8ERV . . ...

417A per fo r ma nce wi thout 417 A cost.

Down With Drift . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

12

Don Smith W3UZN . . . . . . . . . . .

14

Jim Kyle K5JKX/6 . . . . . - . . . . .

S tep by s t ep !!ot a bi li za t io n of xcur receiver,

6N2 Completed

Eico, H ea t h a nd J ohnson k its a d d up to 100 wa tts o n S ix a nd Two.

1296mc

. . . . . . . . . . . . . Bill Ashby K2TKN . . . . . . . . . . . . .

16

... . . . . . . . . .

18

Jim Kyle K5JKX/6 . . . . . . . . . . . .

20

Secret co n felill i o n s o f a U HF a ddic t,

Goblin Patrol

Bill Lester W8UCY

H ams team up wit h cops to louse u p H a ll o w ee n lo r th e k id s .

Lost in a Tunnel
Ploneer tng fru st ration s o f a diode epeiluu ke r,

8 me Crystal Modification Kit

. ... Don Smith W3UZN

... .... Howard Pyle W70E

24

26

Fee thee who a rt lon g o n 8 m e r oc ks ,

Transistorized Frequency Standard

Think o f all the edve n tages.

Paul Barlon W6JAT

Suction or Whoosh

28

30

One is better, but you' ll ne ve r kno w which un less you read t he a r tic le.

Transistorized Communications Receiver

Hans Rasmusen OZ7BQ

J us t to s ho w yo u what you cun d o if you reufIy want to.

Vertical Radiator

. . . . . . . .. .

Howard Pyle W70E .

. .

. .. .. .. .

36

To warm the ether, not y ou r s hac k .

A-M Deteclors

Staff

40

51

.. .. .. .

52

Our big t echnic al article for t he month . Gua ran teed both interesting a nd Informetive

Switch from the T-17

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Roy Paffenberg . . .. .

The fin e art o f s u rp l us acave ngi ng.

Propagation Forecast
W ha t banda what t ime t o w he re

Dave

Brown K21GY . . .

. .

p robabl y.

Spot Frequency Operation of VHF Nets . . . . .

54

. . Bob Kuehn WpHKF

H o w t o her d everybody on to t he s a m e channe l.

See-Saw Bleeder

. . Pat Miller KV4CI

56

S ave power li nd g et bette r reg u la t io n t his a way .

Stoll:

Misc.:
Feble o f C o nte nts
de W2NSD, Editoria l
New Prod ucts
_
letters to Editor
E:ttremely Importa nt Noti ce
MA RS Technice ] Net Broedce sts
Other H e m Publlceticns
Ad ve rt ising Ind e x
Cut Out and Send In O uestion noire

3
4
35, 50
49, 57, 61

58
55
63
62
50

ed itor. publisher
publication s manager
e ssoclete ed it or
a sso ciate ed it or _
e ssoclete ed it or .. " ' "

soles representetive
subscription s
fre nsportetlo n

Wayne Green W2NSD

David Fish
Jim Kyle KSJKX/b
Don Smith W3UZN
Marvin Lipton VE3DQX
Jim Morrissett WAbEXU
see December cover
Persehe

COVER: W2M UM 's Mosley beam as photoqrephed by Joe Schimmel W2Q DM .

,3 ) [aK~7.JlIe Is p uu ltehed mont hly lJy ,\ ll1 all'ur l h d lo l' ulJ IIsh lnll. Int'. 116 )I a ln Htn'l't. :\"orw aI k, Conneetlcut. Busl nes s Offi ce , 1379 l':ast
l :il h S tr.... t . B rook I)'n :l O. xew York . T e lephone : I:\" g er soll !H l!I;J 7. SulJscri pllon r atee : U. S. A. and pOli N I JOnl , APO. }<'I'O, C.nada
and )l u Iro; one )'ea r $3.00 ; t wo )'ea~ $5.00; urree yea n $7.00. l" orelllll: 0111' year $4.00 ; two )'ea n $7.00. Applica ti on fQl" ent ry I I
s....<{lnd cJ.1I matte r II po>n dIll 1I a t :-ior.ul k , ('OIl Il ~t1 ('Ut. Prt nted III I he U.S.A. E nUre con to>nll co p)'rlllh t 1961 by A m ateur R ad io Publ bb lnll,
l ac. l'oJit m asler : P ielaI' lend fQl"m 3579 to 73 )lI l( lZ lne, 1379 E alt 151h Street, U rooll l)'n 30, :\"e~ York.

JANUARY 1961

73 MAGAZINE

de W2NSD
(Never Say Die)

E'RE st ill completely embroiled in the

mechanics of sta ying alive, worrying in

turn about subscriptions, articles, advertisers,
printing the next issue and (gulp) paying our
bills. T here are a few unavoidable diversion s
such a s a chap who wanted us to help him get
an FL8 li ce nse (he got it). a chap go ing to
Zanzibar and wanted some gear ( he got it),
going to conventions (Miami on J a n uary 14th,
P hoe nix in May, etc.) , talking to local clubs,
fighting the flu (and losing), and trying to
beat down a growing mountain of mail with
my recalcitrant typewriter.

Fearless Survey

H elping Hands
A f ew fellows have really gone all out to
let people know about 73 and to try to get
everyone they knew or worked to subscr ibe.
One of the most energeti c is Ralph Morri s,
' VI QU E of New Bedford, Ma ssachusetts.
Ralph sent in list after li st of subscr ibers and
put up hi s own money for the subscriptions,
collecting it later from the other chaps.
Another bundle of energy is Don Smith,
W 3 U ZN, our Associate Editor down in
H a g er st own , Maryla nd. There are many others
t hat ha ve helped tremendously too. Believe
me we appreciate it and possibly m ight have
not been able to get th e magazine properly
started without it.
If you are more interested in 73 and seeing it
grow than perhaps just reading it over every
month and then forgetting about it, then you
can help. You can show it to your club members and talk them into subscr ibing . You can
discuss our articles over the air and pass along
our address to the interested. Maybe you'd
like a sa m ple copy sent to someone. . . just
send us the name and address (we're printing
a few extra these days for thi s) . Perhaps you
know one of the manufacturers who should be
adverti sing in 73 and can pa ss a long some
enthus iasm. You might be writi ng to a posi:m 111l1111l1111l1111l1111l1111l1111l1111l1111l11111111l11 111111l1111l1111l1111l1111l1111I1111II111I1111 11111 11I 111lliiii"1II111 11111 11111 1111111111 11IIIU<

Old Call Books

Few DX ope rato rs ce n efford to buy a C" II - =

book. If you have one t be t is less t ha n t hree -veers old t hat you would like t o send to e OX
he m then d rop " card to Cliff Evan s K6BX
e nd he will send you a letter from e OX
h"m that would like to heve your Cellbook.
K6BX. Box 385. Bonita . Ca lifornia. We think
~ this is a wonderful service and exte nd our best =
req erd s to C liff for his work.
~

13

M A G AZINE

stble advertiser for some infonnation and you

could suggest that you'd like to see him supporting 73.
) Iost important of all are the advertisers
who are presently supporting 73. They should
be made rich and fat as a lesson to others.
They will be very contented if you drop them
a card a sking for further information about
their products . Before you shrug off the res ponsibilit y of th is you should consider whether
you like 73, w hether you like the basic ideas
which it represents, and if you t hink they
are important enough you should take the
time to hel p a bit. Please r ememb er t hat
th ough Br a nd X ha s five times our circul a t ion
the advertisers expect t he same results . . .
wh ich mean s that the intrep id ban d of 73-ite s
has to be five times as active just to b r ea k
even. Ra ll y to the post cards, men.

Look ing through the December issues

of some of the more prominent ham
magazines we find that the number of
pages devoted to technical and construetion articles run s about like this:
73 Magazine
33 pages
Brand X
28 pages
Br a nd Y
23 pages

Pacifists
Magazi ne re ad ing is a pretty pass ive pastime and I su ppose this ha s a lot to do with
the t remendous inertia that I sense every time
I suggest "doing" something. Like getting you
to pepper the adverti sers with encouragement
or cast a monthly vote for the articles you like
best.
How about taking an active interest? There
are lots of things you can do. w hen you find
a ham parts di stributor that does not have
any copies of 73 on the counter you could tell
him about the magazine, suggest he order
some counter copies, or drop me a card with
his name and addre ss so I can hound him about
it. If you forget the address of t he magazi ne
just look up \V2 NS D in a ny Callbook .
P e r h a ps you know of some compa ny t hat
would do well to advertise in 73. If they have
been a dverti sing in othe r ham m a g a zines you
may be su re t ha t I a m after t hem . . . if not ,
t hen drop me a card with th ei r name so I
can sen d them information.
Now t ha t home-brewing has dropped off to
a shadow of its previous self we see few ads
fr om component manufacturers. For that
matter we see that many ham di stributors
have just about dropped their parts department. I hope that we can change the tide on
this and revive a ~~weeping interest in home
JA N U A R Y

1961

THE MULTIPHASE MODEL MM.2

RFANALYZER

h.!M - 2 Kit

(less IF adaptor ). $ 119. 50

Wired
(less IF adaptor) . $ 149 . 50
Plug- in IF adaptors (wi red only)
.
RM-50 (50 KC I. RM - 80 (60-80 KC ).
RM -4 55 (450 -500 KC) . . . ea . . . $ 12 .50

Monitors the RECEIVED and TRANSMITTED s Ignals .

Shows flat -topping, over modulation, para sitic s. key ed
wave shape etc.
Silent e lec tronic switching keyed by
transmitted RF .
No tuning requir ed , Broadband response flat 1 MC to
55 MC at power l evel s of 5 watts to 5 KYV.
New va riable s weep control for trans mit an d receive.
RF allenuator control s height of patt ern.
Calibrat ed in
3 DB steps .
Function selector for ENVELOP E, TRAPEZOID and
BOW ~ TIE patterns on tr an sm it. For SSB , DSB, AM
and CW .
Built-in 1 KC audio os c illator , le s s than 0 .5%distortion.
With 3" scope, i s ideal for co mplete ali gnme nt of SSB
excit er s .
Fo r us c in s e ries with 52-72 ohm coax line s . A s hort
pickup antenna may be us ed with o ther systems .
Plug-in adaptors availabl e to ma tch 50 KC , 60 KC , 80 KC
or 455 KC r eceiver IF systems. Only one simple
connec tion to receiver .
T HE RE IS NO SUBS TI TU T E F OR A SCOPE I F YOU WANT
T HE C L EA NEST ,
MOST P ERF ECTLY MODULATED
SIGNAL YOUR TRANS MIT TE R CAN PROVIDE. THE MM-2
IS BY FA R T HE MOST DEPENDA BLE a nd EASIEST T O
USE. SINC E IT WAS DESIGNED ST RICT LY FOR TRIS
P URPOSE .

ENVELOPE

R F TRAPEZOID

[J
AM TOKE

SSB TONE

AM VOICE

o ,

R~

'l'IKC
SSDAM

SSB VOICE

MM - 2
L INEAR

FLAT TOPPING

IKC RF RF
RF OUT IN EX CTR.0VER BIAS

PARASITICS

A M TRAPEZOID

A F TRAPEZOI D
f7

MM-2
AM 100%

AM
OVER MOD .

MM - 2

75%

100%
o
o

RF AF IKC
LO-LEVE L MOD.

IKC

AM 75%

NON-LINEAR

RF A F
RI-LEVEL MOD.

REGEN.

OVER MOD.

OTHER FINE C.E. PRODUCTS

Model
Mod el
Model
Mod el
Model

600L
20A
lOB
GC-l
B

Broad -Band Linear Amplifi er

Bandswit ching SSB Excit er
Multiband SSB Excit er
Gated-Compress ion Amplifi er... . .. . .. . .. ......
Sideband Slice r with Q Multiplier
Als o avail able in kit form
AND MANY OTHERS.,. WRITE FOR LIT ERA TURE

$495.00
$299 . 50
$ 193. 50
$ 66 .50
$104 .50

THE

SSB
PIONEER
JANUARY 1961

73 MAGAZINE

, :i

'1

STRENGTH

Which Do You Li ke Best?

o
z

THREE REASONS WHY

YOUR BEST BUY IS...

...

I-

EZ

,,

le:(

:e
e:(
1&1

lIl:I

WAY

AERO-D YNAMIC

d e sign d ec rea s e s wi nd loa d

and. pr ov ide-s
te l e s c o ping
action that per mit , ' rai s in g
and lowering of t ower sectio ns .

CRANK UP TO 6 0 FEET.
DOWN TO 2S FEET and
TIL TS OVER FOR ACCESS
TO ROTOR OR BEAM.

The votes are in for the November issue and

aga in we find t hat every article in the book
received some first place votes (by other than
their authors). The winner t his month is Tom
Sowers W3BUL and his Transistorized 10
Met er Converter. A check has been sent as
t he winn ing prize. I n second place by only a
couple of votes was Jim Kyle K5JKX /6 with
his $5 Frequency Cou nter. Our technical article for t he month on noise limiters placed
t h ird. Tied f or fo urth p lace were Bill H a mli n
WI MCA 's Improving the Performance of the
Gonset III and John Wonsowicz W9DUT's
VH F Tri-Mode Receiver.
them to be of int er est . Five articles will do.
The winning author gets extra pay, see'?

" ;~

TRENGTH
b u il t in to
every E Z Wo.f T ow er . H e a v y
w tl! 1 steel t'U bin g l egs, c on.
ti nl,lou s d i, gona l br a c in g o f
so l~ s:te e f rod a nd e le ctr ic .
ee II)" we !~ e d thr o ug h out. . .. n o
lo o s e bo1ts or nu ts he re. E -Z
Way
si g n on d s t re ng th a re
yo ur Oss urance of DEPENDABILIT Y that you can co u nt
on year a fte r yea r. See yo ur
ne ar e st d is tr i b ut or t oda y or
w rite f o r free l it eratu re.

The SATELlITE

Mod el R BX 6 0-3~ ( Po int ed)

$335 .00
Mode l RBX603G (Ga lvo ni::ted) $4 10.00

e:(
lIl:I

MOUNTING KITS,
G~K X603 (Grou nd Post)
BA K X (Wa ll Broc ket)

construction. Whoops, there I go dreaming

aga in . Why do I always try to make t he world
over the way I want it, including stiff b attles
with City Hall. If I had a ny brains I'd see t hat
old handwriting on the wall and pri nt what
everybody wants : a magazine full of tests of
commercial equ ip ment which tell you how
g reat each it em is. Get away from me with t hat
straight-jacket.

5125.00
$17.00

Freight Prepa id a nywhere in (48) U.S.A.

A Letter From Mama

Char lie Weaver (C liff Arkett), frequently
seen on t he J ack Paar television show, was
active on ten met er phone in t he late 1930's
as W 6S GP (Sweet Grand P a l , engaging in
long QS O's in the high, quavering voice of
an old man.
. .WflH[(F

Long Live 50 Cycles

Much electr ical equipment, including amateur commu nication gear appears on the
market today still bearing the notation "for
50-60 cycles" despite the fact t hat the la st
part of t he country of any consequence having
50 cycle ac wa s the Boulder Dam area, including Southern Californ ia. Through 1941 many
W 6 CW stations cou ld be iden tifi ed by t he
peculiar buzz on their notes resulting from
t he lower efficiency of t heir power supply
filt er s at that f r equ ency. The 50 cycle st uff
di d serve adm irably a s a st an da r d reference
for calibrating au dio osc illators and freque ncy
standards.
. .. WflH[(F

Lowering C rystals
If you're looking for different ways to lower

P.O. BOX 5767

6

73 MAGAZINE

TAMPA 5, FLORIDA

t he f requency of a crysta l try sodium sil ica te,

someti mes k nown a s 'l iqu id glass.' Available in
drug stor es and h ardwa r e stor es at very small
cost, successive coats can be brushed on or
was hed off as the case demands.
. .WflH[(F
JANUARY 1961

FREEl LAFAYETTE

Mailthe
coupon

324-PAGE 1961 CATALOG

today

America's "Electronics Shopping Center"

for your

SATISfACTION GUARANTEED OR MONEY REfUNDED

fREE copy

EASY PAY PlAN-the slmplest, and quickest way to get what you want
when you want it As little as $2 down . up to 24 months to pay.

NEW! LAFAYETTE HE-20 DELUXE CITIZENS BAND TRANSCEIVER

- 99050
$5.00 OOWN

HE20WX
Completely Wired

NEW! LAFAYETTE HE-2S"VOYAGER"

6 TO 80 METER TRANSMITTER
A Sensational Value Jar Your Ham Shack

o Builtin 12 Volt P.wer Supply

o 14 Tube Performance
o 4 CrystalC.ntrolied Transmit Positi.ns plus 4

CrystalC.ntrolied Receive Positions

o Tuneable Receiver over all 23 Channels

LAFAYEITE PROFESSIONAL QUALITY

COMMUNICATIONS RECEIVERENGINEEREO FOR THE AMATEUR

Completely
Wired HE-25WX

KT200WX

109.50

64.50

5.00 Down

in Kit Form
Imported

Superhet Circuit

Util~ing

8 Tubes and

Rectifier Tube

IMPORTED

Single Knob Bandswitching-110 Through 6 Meters

Full 120 Watts CW, 70 Watts Phone
High Q Pi Network Output Circuit Matches Anten
nas From 40-600 Ohms
Filtered and Shielded for TVI Suppression
Clean Keying-Minimum of Clicks or Chirps

5.00 Down

HEl0WX
Wired
and Tested

Built.in "S" Meter with Adjustment

Control
Full Coverage 8010 Meters
Covers 455kc t. 31 mc

79.95
5.00 Down

Variable BFO and RF 6ain Controls

Swnchabl. AVC and Automatic H.ise
Limiter

The perfect Transmitter for Novice, Technician or

The Communications Receiver that meets every

General. Completely self contained with efficient

Class C Final amplifier operation on all bands.
Tubes: 6AU6 crystal oscillator. 6DQ6A multiplierbuffer, 2~DQ6A final amplifier beam tetrodes,
l2I\X7 dual triode audio amplifier and a 6AQ5 clamp
tube modulator. Shpg. wi. 38 Ibs.

amateur need _ available in easy-to-assemble kit

form or factory wired and tested. Sign-al to noise
ratio is 10 db at 3.5 MC with 1.25 microvolt signal.

oft

~.A.:Y"ETTE

B. .A. :J:> X

Selectivity is -60 db at lOke, image reflection is

-40 db at 3 MC. 7'-0".15".9". Shpg. wi. 22 Ibs.

165-08 LIBERTY AVIHUE, JAMAICA 33. H. Y.

011lEl LOCAT~'S - - - -

HEW YORK, H. Y.I HEWARK, H. J. I BRoHX, H. Y. IPARAMUS. H. J'1 BOSTON. MAss. I PLAIHflD.O, H. J.
100 6th Avenue 24 Central Avenue 542 E. Fordham Rd. 182 Route 17 110 Federal Street 139 W. 2nd Street
----------------~-------------------------------------"l""!!:;;;.
I lafayette Radio Dept 73Al P.O. Box 190
Jamaica 31, N. Y.
FREE 324-Page: 0 $
Enclosed. Send Stock # ........................ 0 Rush FREE 324 Page Catalog 61D
1961
I 0 $
Down Payment Enclosed for Stock #
.

Catalog No. 610!

--

Cut Out & Paste

on Post Card

.. _ ---

JANUARY 1961

Lafayette Easy Pay Application Will Be Forwarded Upon Receipt of Down Payment

Him.

Addt...

~i

Cltl

Zone

Stlt

73 MAGAZINE

Nuvistor Converters
for
Six & Two
Tom l omb K8ERV
10 66 La rchwood Rood
Ma nsfi eld . Ohio

recent article on N uvistors by Tilton'

has created a great deal of excitement on
the two meter band. \ Vithin a month of publication there were at least five low-noise Nuvtstor p reamps on 2 in Ohio, with their owners
giving glowing reports of performance.
A small group" of Ohio ama teurs interested
in low-noise conversion recentl y met to check
the performance of the 6C\V4 N uv istor on 144
me. Th is group used three noise generators
and three receivers ( HQ- l lO, 75A-4, 2A) to
check several 60\V4. 417-A. and commercial
converters. The result was that the 6C\ V4
is as good, or slightly bet ter than , the very
best 4 17-A ' 5, a nd is a considerably easier
t ube to use.
HE

1. Tilton, " T he Nuvtetoe as an rf Amplifier at 1440 me;'

Q ST, September. 1960, p. 38.

2. Those attending : WgSFG , W 8LCA , W 8WNM, W 8QVK,

K 8Mf'Z. K 8ERV.

73 MAGAZINE

JANUARY 1961

(Here are a pa ir of compact converters that will give Meteor Scatter

performan ce without hanging a mo rtgage o n the roof. The heart
of the circuit is a new tube desi gned for VH F service.)
COIL TABLE

PARTS LIST

L 1- 5+ # 26 en em e l o n '/4" polysty re ne form , wi nd

ebcut %" long. Te p 2t from grou nd e nd . Adi ust
b y ap reedin q t urns.
L 2-N e utrll lizina co il. Ab out 20t # 30 on 5/3 2" d ill .
high velue re sistor. C lose wound . Ad just b y
spreed inq turns.
L 3-Some es 1I but no top.
L 4-lt li n~ ove r L3.
L 5-6t top lit 2 t, otherwise es 1I.
L b-26t # 32 enamel on II"," slug t uned fo rm. c lose
wou nd. {CTC PLSb form with gree n slug}
L 7-2t lin]; ove r Lb.
L B-51/2 t # 24 enem el close wound on C 8.
L 9-1 9t # 32 e nem el close wo und o n C9.
Ll D-16t # 28 en amel top 51/2t fr om grou nd . Slime
fo rm <'I S L6.
Ltl -c-N e ut relhi nq coil. About SOt # 36 e ne mel wound
<'I S L2 .
L12- 19t #2 8 enem el on Slime fo rm es Lb.
L1l-1 t l in~ ove ; 1I 2.
L1 4-lt l in~ ove r LIS.
1I 5--17t <'IS L12.
II b-SlIme es Lb.
L1 7- Some es L7.
LI B-25t # 32 o n sli me form es Lb.
1I9-2t li n ~ ove r LIB.
Note: In ple ce o f Silver-Mice b utto n cond e nse rs,
whic h li re ret her expensive . .00 1 d iscs moun ted with
sho rt le eds o n 1I stand-off lug con b e used will wo rk
just es we ll.

c r. C2,

C S, CI I, e 12, Cl 4-500mm fd ceramic ( Erie

G P- SOO)
c s. C 6. C7. C IO. c u. C IS, C16, Cl9- 1000mmfd
si lve r-mice b utto ns (Erie FA - IOaO)
C 4-lmmfd o r twisted wire

ca,

C9 , CI7-1 -5mmfd tubulM trimmer

(Surpl us-

Borry # G C -35, IO)

C l8 -12mmfd NPO ce re mic [Centee leb Tel-121
C 20. C 2 1, e 22, C23-IOOOmmfd d isc ce ra mic

C2 4 'l 0mfd 250 volt electrolytic

C25, C2b-20m fd 250 vol t electrolytic
RI. RS- 47k Ij, w
R2 , R6-220k 'j, w
Rl , R7-100 k 'j, w
R4, R8-470 'lhw
R 9-500 2w
RID-3k l Ow (depend s o n TI)
RI I- IOO I w
R12 , RI3 - IOk 2w (depends on Ti l
VI . V4--6CW4 RCA Nuvisto r (Socket C inch-J o nes)
133 -65-10-001)
V2, vs, V5, V6-6AKS
V7-Q B2

5 1, S2-DPST togg le switch

DI-Silic on Diode, 600 PI V [Iexe s Instrume nt 2071)

TI -See Text
XI - Third overtone crvstel. 38.66666 me
X2-Third overtone crystal, 22 me
vz

vr
6CW4

"

"

"

6Ak5

6Ak5

<11K

t.e

Ei

cs

T IOOO

28-5 01llC
OUTPUT

""""
."

to

.;r

'"
'"

'-.-'

"

6AK5

5.O-52 "C

JANUARY 1961

.-,

-e-

TO OSCILL ATOR

U'3QIolC
OUTPUT

eq

'"

T ~o
~

6Ak5

1';"

"
n"

ve

ve

6CW4

CI5

000

to

--r
~

TO Iol lkE R

wtrl

-----
'"
'"
'
'!I"
-'"
"'''
""'" "
~
no
"
'"
~

...--.

1000

73 M A GAZINE

started backwards, with the oscillator-multiplier first.

The if
A 28-30 me if was chosen for the two me
coverage found on most In-meter receivers.
Th e high intermedi ate frequency eliminates
all image problems, and allows a simple broadband output coil to replace the usual cathode
follower matching stage.
The lower transconductance of the 6CW4
( 12500 umhos vs 25000 umhos for the 417-A )
makes it more stable, with a small sacrifice
in gain. \Vhile a high transconductance is
usually thought to be essential in a low noise
tube, actually it is the ratio of transconductance to plate current (among other
things ) that determines the noise figure of a
tube. The very low plate current of the Nuvistor gives it a slight edge on the 417-A in
the GmjIp ratio. The 6CW4 is probably the
best tube presently available for stable, low
noise amplification in a grounded cathode circuit. It is a thimble-sized, budget-priced

The O scillator
A 38l; me third overtone crystal oscillates
in a conventional turn ed plate circuit, using
the 6AK5 screen as a triode plate. The plate
circuit triples to 116 m e. This very simple
circuit generates a stable signal and sufficient
mixer injection with a low tube dissipation

paragon.
The group's very careful measurements gave
the 6CW4 converters a noise figure of 3.2
.4 db. This is not a startling value when com-

pared with the claims of some of the 417-A

jobs. However, the accurate measurement of
noise is difficult at best and can be very easily
(and unknowingly) "helped out" several db
by improper measuring techniques. A true
figure of 3 db is quite good and is probably
exceede d only by the exotic 416-B.

C onve rte r Desig n

The converters were designed for low noise.

compactness, and low cost. While the 6CW4
could be used throughout, the lower cost
(surplus) 6AK5 serves just as well in the
mixer and oscillator sections. The design was
10

73 MAGAZINE

and a B+ of only 105 volts. Initial adiustment: tune C9 for maximum negative grid
voltage as indicated hy a VTV~I at pin 1 of
V3. The plate circuit will be tuned later.

The Mixer
The mixer stage is conventional. A triode
connected 6AK5 with grid leak bias gives low
noise mixing in a simple circuit. The output
coil is self-resonant for broad-band coupling
into the receiver. If a full 4 me bandpass is
required, it may be necessary to load L6 with
a resistor or by increasing the turns on L7.
Capacity coupling from the oscillator develops
about two volts of bias. Adjustment: Disconnect the B+ lead from the 6CW4 at point
X, and co nnect a 28 me receiver to the converter. With a VTV~I on the mixer grid
(pin 1 of V2) , adjust C8 for maximum negative voltage. This should ru n about two volts,
but isn't too critical. Now adjust L6 for maximum receiver noise, being sure you don't tune
to the receiver's image frequency. If the receiver isn't sensitive enough to pick up mixer
noise, L6 can be tuned later.
JANUARY 1961

The rf stage is a "steal" from the KllJB

design. F or all Ye D oubters, it can be sho wn
both mathematicall y and by experiment that
a single rf stage with a gain of 20 db or
better is sufficient to swamp out the noise of
even a moderately good mixer stage. Additional rf stages may in crease the converter
gain and bandwidth, but will not noticeably
improve the noise figure, and may lead to
overload problems. Any n eeded gain sho uld
be placed ahead of the receiver, not the converter. Wlth anything less than a 2-meter
lew in your block, th e single rf stage should
not produce cross-mod ulation in the converter.
The rf stage from LI throu gh L4 may be
built as a separa te preamp for an existing
converter. Several have been built with close
duplica tion of coils and performance.

Adjustment
\Vith all previous adjustments roughed in,
the rf stage is read y for alignment. W ith the
BCW4 B+ still off, connect an antenna and
receiver to the converter and tun e in a strong
local signal. (A GOO may not work due to
d irect pick up in L3 or 1.5. ) Roughly peak
L3, 1.5, and LB. Now carefully sp read L2 for
a minimum received signal. The neutralization point will be a sharp and almost com-

If a no ise genera tor is available, the input

tap and Ll tuning can be further improved,
but a 4 db noise figure was obtained with the
a bove procedure.

The 6-Meter Section

The six-meter converter started out with
the circuit of the first two stages identical to
the two-meter unit. The triode mixer immediately developed a few bugs. First, it was
difficult to obtain enough injection coupling
a 22 me signal into a 50 me tuned circuit.
Cathode injection was tried with excellent results. Next, the mixer oscillated when L 16
was tuned to 29 me. Apparently the broadly
tuned grid and plate coils caused some feedback at a common frequency. Changing to a
pentode mixer solved this p roblem . The overall noise figure on six is 3 db, so the pentode
connection does not contribute too much noise
at this frequency.
The adjustments and operation of the six
and two meter converters arc identical. One
ca ution-be sure to use iron slugs in the sixmeter coils that are intended for use at high
frequencies. The Cambridge Thermionic
green and white slugs are rated for use in
the 50 me ra nge.

The Common Power Supply

"'"

plete null. A few turns may have to be

changed , b ut in all cases neutralization has
been reached very qui ckly and easily.
Now reconnect the B+ lead and tu ne in a
weak signa l near the center of th e desired tunin g range. Peak L3, L5 and LB. Ll will t une
so broadl y th at it may not seem to be effected
b y adjustment. Itechcck the neutralization
and secure L2 wit h Q dope. As a final stab ility test, insert an 0 -10 ma meter at X. The
6C\ V4 cu rre nt should run close to 8 ma and
sho uld not drop when the antenna is disconnected at th e converter jack. An y drop
indicates oscillation of the rf stage.
JANUARY 19b1

The p ower supply is conventional and will

be described only briefly. The requirements
of each converter are 60-70 volts at 10 rna
for the rf and mixer stages, and 105 volts at
5 rna for th e oscillato r. The VR tube sho uld
be set to draw an additional 15 rna, for a
total of 30 rna. A TV booster type of supply will power one converter, especially if the
V B tube is omitted. For operating both converters at the same time a larger transformer
is needed.
(Continued on page 50)

73 MAGAZINE

II

Down
With Drift!
Jim Kyle KSJ KX/b

These graphs show before-and-after performance of a BC-779

(Vintage Super-Pro) which wa s modified as explained in the text. Note
th at prior to modification, drift wa s measured in kilocycles, while
after, overall drift was less th an 50 cycles.

H ow's

the stability of your receiver? Does

it stay rock-l ike and stea dy wh ere you
tune it, or does it have a tendency to wobble
and drift, thu s necessitating retuning every
few minutes for the first hour or so that you're
on the air?
Chances are. unless you have a recent m odel
of receiver-and one of the t op-pri ce models
at that-that the rig could u se some improvement in the sta bili t y department.
And if you s hould chance to a sk. "Why
bother? I ca n retune u ntil it warms up," here
are three good r ea sons for making that improvement:
In the first place, it's much more convenient
to be a ble to tune once and sta y there than it is
to be con ti n ually touching up the adju stment.
Secondly, if )r ou intend to utilize ultra-selective receiving techniques such a s crystal filters, Q-multipliers, low-frequency if adapters,
or audio filters, frequency st a bilit y is a mu st.
The s uper -select ive gadgets are a dist inct
hindrance if the received sig na l is wandering
over the dial, even though they are a great
help wh en the si gna l st a ys put.
Finally, in case you're interested in sideband, you wil l find that signals must at a y put
to be readable. Just 50 cycles drift wh en listening to a sideba nd st a t ion will make the voice
sou nd unnatural, and very much more than
this will make it unreadabl e.
12

73 MAGAZINE

Convinced? Ready to go out and trade off

the old r ig for a new s uper -st able receiver at
a cost of half a kilobuck? Relax-you don't
have to. Here are seven gimmicks to improve
the st a bilit y of any existing receiver. Any of
them can be used alone, or all can be combined.
Naturally, the more you use the more improvement you'll get-but don't jump off the deep
end too soon. Ju st three of them managed to
tame a drifting Super-Pro down to an overall
40 cycles in the fir st ho ur!
T he first two tricks involve no circu it
cha nges in the receiver, so you might like to
try them at the st art.
Number One is an old ie. Since most frequency drift is ca used by hea t trapped in the r eceiver circuits, added ventilati on will r educe
t he heat and therefore will al so r educe the
drift. The s imp lest method of getting more
ventilation is s imply t o open the lid of the receiver cabin et!
Pu r ists may not like t he appearance of a
receiver s itt ing in the shack, its ca binet lid
open. They can place a sma ll bl ower on the
side or r ear of the cabinet to ach ieve the same
r esult at a much greater cost.
Trick Number Two isn't so basic or so elementary, but it can be a g reat help in taming
an olde r Driftmaster.
I n most of the better-class r eceivers, there
is a centering-adjustment scr ew on the tuning
JANUARY 1961

capacitor rotor sh a ft. Thi s sc rew adju sts pressu r e at the s ha ft's rear bearing.
P r ope r adju stment of thi s scr e w will result
in decid edly-lower drift. The obj ect of the adjust ment is to g et the ca pacitor r otor plate.
in t he e xact center of t heir a rea between the
stator plates. Expan si on of t he plates {cause-"
by heat) will then have a much sma ll er effect
on frequ ency of the local oscilla tor , since t he
di stance from rotor t o stator plate will be at
its greatest.
To make t he adju stment, t une t he receiver
to a stea dy ca r r ier of known stable frequency
( such a s a broad cast st a t ion or \VWV ). Tur n
on t he B FO and adju s t for comfortable pitch .
Now, w ithout touch ing the tun ing knob or
BFO adju stment, ad just th e sc rew for t he lowest beat note. T hat's all th ere is to it.
The other five gimmi cks a ll r equire som e circuit modifications in the set ; fin ish r eading the
a r t icle, t hen heat up th e old solde r ing iron a nd
prep are to dig beneath the chass is.
Number Three is also based on th e h eat-drift
re lations hip and applies on ly to older sets
wh ich use metal or g lass-octa l tubes.
These large tubes have larg e elements, a nd
a re t hemselves a hea t sou rce. The large tube
elements e xpand and change position a s the
ca t hode h eat s. This expansion r esult s in freque ncy dri ft when t he t ube involved happen s
to be the oscill a tor .
The r emedy is th is : replace t h at big bottle
w ith a m iniature t ube. Th e 6C4 is r ecommended as a r eplacement for a n y triode, tri ode-connected pentode, or st r a pped-g ri d converter
tube such a s t he 6SA 7 when u sed in the osci lla tor st age of a r eceiver. Except for chang i ng
th e socket, no circuit modifi ca t ions are necessa r y since all r eceivers oper a te this tube at
r a t ings sa t isf a ctory for t he 6C4.
Th e s mall elements of t he 6C4 st ill ch a nge
posit ion with heat, but t he a mount of change
is s maller and so is the r esulti ng s ignal drift.
T r ick N u mbe r F our is really a sw itch on
Number Three, bu t is highly r ecommended f or
both old and new sets si nce it com bi nes all the
sma ll-tube advantages w ith th e additional
bonu s of a buffer s ta ge.
Number Four is the t win-tri ode cathodecou pled oscillator. First described some two
years ago by Leonard Gei sl er (wh o u sed a t ype
6S L7 and thus m issed some advantages), this
circuit may be subst it uted for the oscillator
s t a ge of al most any com munic ation s r eceiver .
\Vir in g of t he st a ge is sh ow n in F ig. 1. N one
of t he parts values is particularly critical, but
make su r e that all lead s are a s sh or t a s possible and that all bypass capacitors are secu r ely grounded.
If you don't happen to have a 12AT7 around,
use a 12AX7, a 12AU7, or with modification
of the heater connection s, any of the cascodetype TV twin triodes. They all work nicely.
Number F ive d iffers fr om all its f orerunners. So far, we've been approaching the stayJANUA RY 19b1

put probl em by trying to el iminate or minimize t he effects of heat. Now, we're making
a t urnabout. \Ve 'r e going t o u se t hem.
Of course, it's not quite a complete turna bout, s ince we're going to be u sing them t o
cou nter a ct ot her heat effects.
\Vha t we're g oing to do it this: In stall temperature-compensating ca pacitors a t st r a teg ic
points in the oscillator circuit to make heat
effects cancel ou t a s much a s pos sible.
Since ever y r eceiver reacts to heat differe nt ly, no ha r d-a nd-fa st form ula can be given
to help you find th ose st r a teg ic spots. A good
place to st a r t is right at t he t uni ng ca pacitor
f r a me. U se type N75D capacitor s, and don' t
ad d more than 5 microm icrofarad s if you can
keep from it. In other word s, if 5 mmfd doesn't
do the trick, look f or an other place to put the
ca pacitor .
Naturally, t he capa citor's electrical con necti cn will always be t he same-in parallel w ith
t he osci llato r section of t he ma in t u n ing gang.
On ly its physi cal locat ion ma y d iffe r .
Closely alli ed t o N umber Five is Number
S ix. H owev er , it u ses no specia l component
such a s t he t emp-com pensatin g capacitor. It is
t his :
Di sconnect the leads fro m the ca t hode termina l of the oscill a tor t ube. Then, be tween the
cathode and a n y or all lead s which were at the
socket termi nal, conn ect a 1,80D-ohm com position resistor.

..

l:i K

.r .

2200

!n
O'

l.Ir -rw .
0

12 AT7 IS E TEXlI

-- -

---

10 MIXER

TOOL[;
CIRClHT

11'I
~
~IOO

1M

2200

100

Fig . I- This circuit, substituted for yo ur rece iver's present oscillator shge, will subste ntia ll y red uce fr equ e ncy d rift . Parts val ues a re
non-c ritica l, but lead d ress must be d irect li nd
sho rt . Use of a Vecto r 6-N -6T socket or a n
A mphe nol t yp e 59-369 soc ket will simplify wiring a nd insta llatio n of the stage.

The reason ing beh ind thi s gimmick is somewhat involved technic ally. Researchers at
R CA Laboratories di scovered it while investigating stabili t y of TV oscill ators in the UHF
r egi on. They r eport t h at ch a n ges in "cathode
interface resistance" occu r when su pply vol(Continued on page 61 )

73 MAGAZINE

13

..

.t

Combining Kits
for 100 Watts on 6 & 2
H owcontrolled
does a 100 watt G and 2 meter, crystal
transmitter complete with
power supply and plate modulator for $200.00
sound to you? Good, eh? Using kit equipment
manufactured by E. F. Johnson, Heath Company and Eico, you can build such a rig. These
three pieces of equipment go together a s if
they were made for one another.
The transmitter section of the complete rig
is the Johnson Viking 6N2. It uses the pentode half of a 6U8 tube as oscillator-doubler,
the triode half as a tripler to 48-54 me. A
6360 is used as a driver on 6 meters and a
tr-iplet- on 2, driving the final amplifier which
is a 5834 tube. The 5834 is an excellent choice
for these two bands, running 100 watts input
AM on both 6 and 2. A 6AQ5 is used a s a
clam per to protect the final. Efficiency is very
good on two meters (where losses are g enerally very high), du e to the use of silver plated
t u ned lines in the final The rig u ses the common 8-9 me crystals f or both bands and has
provisions for the addition of an exter nal
VFO. An 8 prong f emale socket is mounted on
the r ear panel for this purpose and has filament and proper B availabl e from it. (This
voltage comes from the su pply furnishing voltages to the rig.) The 8-9 me output from
the VFO is also connected to thi s socket. The
Viking does not contain its own power supply
or modulator and requires 600 volts at 200
mils., 300 volts at 70 mila., plus 6.3 vac at 3.5
amperes. 50 watts of a udio is necessary to
plate modulate the rig at 100 watts input.
As mentioned above, the rig has provisions
for an external VFO. J ohnson makes a unit
especially f or thi s purpose. It does not have
a built-in power supply and requires the sup14

73 l.4A6AZINE

DOMld A. Smith W3UZN

Associete Editor

ply voltages brought ou t to the VFO plug.

It covers 6 & 2 m eters and sells f or $34.95 in
kit form and 54.95 wired. The National Company also make s a VFO for both bands which
they call model VFO-62. It is available only
in wired form and sells for $49.95. (This is
a reduction of $20.00 a s t he unit originally
sold for $69.95 .) Another VFO is the Globe
model 6-2, selling f or 49.95 in kit f orm and
59.95 wired. I have used the John son and
National VFO's with the 6N 2, both wi th excellen t results.
Your "Ca t alog Sea r ch er" f ound t he perfect
answer t o t he power supply problem in
Heath's UT-l U t ilit y P ower Supply kit. The
sup ply is r ated at 600 volts at 250 mils. or
600 volts at 200 mils. and 300 volts at 100
mtl s., which is just what t he rig requ ires! The
su pply also furni shes 6.3 volts at 8 amperes
for filaments. The circuit u sed in the su pply
is the well known voltage doubl er with large
value input a nd output filter capacitors. Ext ensive filtering is used in the primary of the
power tran sformer to reduce TV!. This filtering includes two line chokes and four bypass
capacitor s ! A neon lamp is mounted on the
front panel to indicate when the su pply is on
and both sides of th e ac line are fused with 3
ampere fu ses.
Catalog sea rch ing also turned up a 50 watt
pl at e modulator kit manufactured by Eico
(model 730.) The modulator is conservatively
rated and cont ai ns t he f ollowing t ube line up.
An ECC83 (12AX7) is used as a two stag e
JANUARY 1961

speech ampli fier, a GAL5 a s a speech clipper,

a 6AN8 a s amplifier-driver feed ing two EL34
power amplifiers in push-pull. An El\l84 tube
is used a s an overmodulation ind icator and
a s low warm up, heavy duty GZ34 is u sed for
full wave r ectification, elim ina t ing t he need for
an external power s up ply for t he modu lator.
The modulator ha s sever al desirable f eatures. One is the clipper circuit (6A L5). This
is a ser ies type clipping circuit with adjustable clipping level. A filter is included in thi s
circuit to su pp ress high or der harmonics gener ated by the peak clipping. It is possible with
thi s circuit to raise the speech level of the
sig na l 8-12 db. Another f eature is the out put transformer which is multi-tapped. providing a number of output impedances, one
of which is 3000 oh ms, perfect f or feedi ng
the final of the 6N2. The over modulation indicator ind icates ove r modulat ion when the
modulator out p ut s ig nal exceeds the plate voltage of the rf amplifier. In this condtion, a
negative voltage will appear at the grid of the
indicator tube causing th e indicator bars to
overlap. The fr ont panel of the modulator contains both gain and clipping level controls.
The Hea t h power s u pply mu st be modified,
a s it has only an off-on s wit ch for ac power.
A 6.3 vac, DPDT P otter & Brumfield relay is
installed on the chassi s of the su pply in front
of the large wire-wound resistor, a s can be
seen in the photo. A S PST toggle switch is
also inst a lled on the fro nt pa nel, next to t he
ac off-on swit ch. T hi s switch wiII connect 6.3
vac to t he field of the relay whe n on, t h us
acting a s the transm itting switch. T he neg at ive ( B-), lead of t he power s u pply is connected to one of t he movable contacts on t he
relay. Bot h lower contacts are grou nded. The
B- from th e modulator will also be connected
to the relay (the ot he r movable contact), so
that when the r elay is energized both the
power sup ply and modulator will be on.
,..-

-+
~

+
,
,

RI! IoDPDT 6 .3 YAC RELAY

{POTTE R 1Io 8RUWUD
aKAIIAYIl.S

,,'e,

'" 0

NDTE:UP'PtR fl:E
CC*TACTS REMOY'

SEE TEXT.

"
"

....
,

Fig. 2

s u pply when closed. F or sa fet y this lead is removed from ground and the wire from the
center tap of the plate transformer connected
to pin 8 of the modulator output jack is also
disconnected. A lead is then run from this
s ide of the s witch to pin 8 of the output jack.
A wire in the ca ble run from the modulator
to the Heath su p ply permits the relay to control the plate s u pply of the modulator. The old
plate switch of t he modulator is now in series
and must be left to the on position. If cw is
de sired, s im ply turn this swit ch to off and
the relay on the Heath su pply will only apply
plate voltage to the rig and the modulator
wiII be ina ct ive. (See drawings.)

GHO-SMIELD IN lOIlTTfA CABLE

. . 6.3 FIL-BLACK LEAD

r-:

M(lIX.LATED MY' RED LEAD

~----+ LOWYOl.TAGE~

Sl-SPST TOGGl.. E SWI TCH

(TRANSMIT SWITCH )

:s

L EAD

..,

.. ':T"-_
,,~

Fig. I

The modulat or has an off-on swit ch for the

plate s up ply, located on the front panel of
the unit. One s ide of thi s s witch is ground so
that the switch wiII ground the B - of the
JANUA RY 1961

Power supply showing re lay installed and extra

(tra nsmit) switch.

Note that a heavy ground s tr ap ('A to ..

inch), should be run from unit to unit and
then t o a g ood ground. This will prevent any
of t he u ni t s from being "Hot" and will provide
a common ground r eturn f or all of the units.
Operating the complete r ig is a real pleasure. The 6N2 is provided with a "tune" s witch,
permitting tune up without the final being in
ope r a tion. This of cou rse protects the final
amplifier tube until there is drive available.
Aft er tune up, the proper modulation can be
obta ined by r edu cing the clipping level to zero
and increasing the gain control until the indicator shows the two bars overlapping sligh tly
when talking into the mike in a normal tone.
(Conti nued on page 59 )
73 MAGAZINE

15

1296 Megacycles
Bill Ashby
K2TKN-AFA2TKN
B Oll

on equipment for 1::>96 me star ted

here four years ago. It was im med iately
apparent th at years of experience on 432 me
w ere not going to help mu ch . Those circ uits
and techniques that had been found to work
well on 432 me would opera te, but the effi ciency on 1296 me was terrible. There is as
much difference between 432 me and 1296 me
as between the BC band an d two meters!
OHK

For Instance
L ink co upling from one resonate circui t to
another will result in at least 3 d b loss.
Solid dielectric co-ax of any type. size, or
cost is useless. Elim inate a ll plans to use any
amount, even a few inches for a flexible.
twister section to the antenna or receiver. T he
losses at 1296 me are horrible , and even a few
w atts will melt the line. M any have th ou ght
that with RG-17 or 19 and a short run , that
they could keep their losses to about 2dbactual practice shows th at true loss is about 3
times published figures, plus 3d b of co upling
loss. They end up with well over 6db loss ill
transmission-less th an ~ of th e very hard to
get watts from the Xmtr get into the ante nnaand 6dh of loss in receivi ng is a disaster. "G"
line makes sense, but the lowest loss method is
to moun t all 1296 me equipment at the feed point of the antenna. Use of 3" x 6" co pper
clad down-spouting is a wave-guide p ossibility.
16

73 MAGAZINE

97. Pluckemin. N. J.

UH F te levision tran smitting tubes look interestin g:, but don 't pl an on results til you
have seen th e amount of rf output comp ared
to th e input! It is uppnrant that th e 1200 to
1300 me region is th e dumping ground for odd
resonances, sneak circuits, and resonant grid
structures . 2.15 inches of metal or less from a
low impedance point is infinity-sand you cannot get rf from one point to the other. I have
Il CA-BI B!'s and IlCA 61 81 's operating on
1296 me, but not at full power, or in circuits
that an amateur would care to build. Both
have good possibilities and can be obtained b y
trad ing your grandmother, for they are used
in U H F television transmitters. The 2C39A is
excellent, so are other planar triodes that have
the grid st ructure straight across the grid ring.
G rounded grid operation is a necessity, and
stage gain is very low. Figu re on at least four
stages of tri odes to get from the 10 watts output from a 3C39A doubl er to the 300 watt s of
rf necessa ry to d rive a K\V input final! 2C39's
need air, p lenty of it, not only on the p late,
but the glass to metal seals must h e cooled , if
reasonable life is to be expected. I have four
2C39A's in parall el in a barrel structure that
w ill ta ke 500 wa tts input and b etter than 30%
efficie ncy. The blowers and cooling syste m are
four times the siz- of the rf section.
The tremendous advantage of 1296 me over
any other frequency known is the possib ility
of hea ring weak signals. The noise out put of a
good amate ur-built receiver on 1296 me will
d rop more than 15db when switched from a
good 5 2 ohm resistor load at room te mperature
t o an ante nna looking at a cold p ortion of outer
space. This means you can hear a signal that
is more than 20db weaker than you can on 432
m e. Cosmic noi se is low here, and amate urbuilt paramps can be made to work. Aft er
ma ny hund reds of hours, acres of Hashing co pp er, and weak eyes from re-reading every
available article writ te n on paramps, I am certain I kn ow less now than ever about th ese
machines of Mephistopheles. D on't even
bother trying a 2K25 etc., Klystron for 3 ern
pum ping at 129B. At least 300 milliwatts of
available power is needed from a 3 em pump.
30 milliwatt klyst rons work in well designed
JANUARY 1961

paramps using a 3X Freq, pump, but the extremel y important problem of keeping the
pump signa l ou t of the mixer circuit is increased. A stable, controlled amp lit ude, pulsed
test signal on 1296 me is an absolute necessity
for test and tuning a parump! Dis-regard your
p et circuits-b uild a transistor crystal oscilla tor
- bu ffer on 7.8148 me and bury it at lea st 3
feet in the ground; build a multiplier string that
gives 162X the osc. frequency (3x3x3x3x2),
and the resultant 1266 me signal is the LO for
your p et mixer circuit. Coup le the crystal mi xer
thru a hi-filar coil tuned to 30 me directly
across the cathode of a 6AN4 grounded grid
1st if. and a reasonably stab le, low noise 30
me signal is available from the p late circuit of
the 6AN4 . Usc of Vaructcrs for the last two
multipliers in the LO allows use of transistors
thru out th e oscillator-mu ltip lier string, with
plenty of injection signal at 1266 m e.
Ant ennas-be m y guest! As a result of 4
months of hard la bor by K2Y UD, master
welder; K2HIA, welder - owner; \\r2"IHK,
scrounger - deluxe; K2TK~, contributor of
materials, elbow grease a nd design info ; a 20
ft. steel parabola, of weld ed cond uit tubin g
and covered with solid # 24 gauge shee t iron
takes up most of my back ya rd . It is st ill on
the temp ora ry mount, but by means of a 30
foot tower a nd a winch it ca n be pointed at
any in teresting portion of the sky and with
much labor ca n be tracked on the moon as
long as the beer h old s out! \Vhen the weather
is bad and give n abou t 2 feet of snow, work
may begin on the polar, motorized mounting.
With Kraus handbook on antennas, 300 sq uare

TRANSISTOR OSC1LLATOl't
BUFf ER
1.8148MC HAL f REO

1.8148111C

$AX:; - 6CU-6CL6- 6MiO

21lMC 6 360 AM P

1266 101 <TO

XTAL MIXER
IN REC ElVER

211MC

2C39-2C39

" '"
1266Me

,,,.

2.C39~9

IIIC S S B,

e...rrs

IiIIlKEIl-AW

orrwt

",..,

"''''
SS.B.

feet of chicken wire, and a wooden frame,

you will be in business. Yagis are impossiblebed-spring and sq uare corner a rrays work, and
a slotted sheet hold s possib ilities.
\ Vhen are you read y to start holding aurora
and moon sched ules? Wh en pointi ng your antenna arra y at the Sun gives at least 6db raise
in noise output from th e tail-end of your receive r a nd you can burn large brown spots on
your fingers wi th rf off of the a ntenna feed
du ring Xmi t.
(Continued o n pag e 55)

Fram ework for 20-foot dish at K2TKN.

JANUARY 1961

73 MAGAZINE

17

Operation
Berna rd D. Ross
394 t Eestwev Rood
South Euclid 18 , Oh io

of the Cuyahoga County Amateur Radio Emergen cy Corps made

local news when they tcamed up with Olmsted
F alls police officers to put the d amper on
malicious Hallo ween ers. Led by Police Chief
Don Shirer ( \ \'8Q BF) , the comb ined forces
put three police cruisers and seven hamequipped cars on the road to p atrol specific
areas and to cruise th e community. "A kid
can' t even sp it out of a window toni ght without the p olice knowing about it," observed
one high ranking city official, a twinkle in
his eye.
Hams served for the fift h year to augme nt
the police normally serving that and two
neighboring communities with a total population of 15,000. In the Olmsted F alls police
sta tion, the ama te ur master control station was
located in th e same room as th e police master
control. This arrangeme nt allowed th e desk
officer to h ear ama teur communications and
to relay the information immediately to one
of the police cars on tour du ty.
A police offi cer rod e in each ama teur's car,
ready to serve as legal authority if required.
Special emphasis was placed on p oints re-

E:-.IUEUS

Rudy to roll are (from left ) Walt Erme r,

W8AEU . AI Dolgosh. K8 EUR , Ed. Schweikert,
K8BUl. Ed Posey. K8KKO ; (second row) Ahti
Wahter, W8 LHX. Art Cever. K8J HZ. Bo b MocLeren, SWL, AI H oll a r. K8 DPA; (third rowl
C huch J in o, W8 NZI, Glenn Bod e ke r, KB SBZ,
and Pre ntis Drew. KBSP L.

Cobiln Patrol
garded as vulnerable; schools, a housing development with 400 homes under construction,
shopping center, lumber company, and farmer's exchange. Not regarded as vulnerable
and in need of no special attention on Halloween or the several days preceding was the
graveyard. "It's never b een bothered," said
the Chief.
Last year a group of teen-agcrs set fire to
kerosene-soaked corn shocks. Afterwards someone armed with a fire wrench opened a fire
hydrant, and b y th e tim e the police arrived
to close one hydrant, h ad opened three more
elsewhere in town . An estima ted 100,000
gallons of water were lost to the community
that night.

Briefin g the forc e is O lm sted Falls Police Chief

Don Shirer {WBO BF}. Front row, from left , are
th e c hief, Sergeant H ar ry Powers. Policewo man
Mary Powers. a nd Captain Ferb Bowe n. In
second row a re Patrolmon l ee Wurstn er. Bob
Fend e rbosch, Fra ncis Anderer. and Lester
Sellers.

A ch illy d ay and early rain seemed to

dampen the normall y rambunctiou s sp irits on
Halloween this yea r, although p olice had reason to suspect trouble. Several sources reported that teen-agers were plan ning to start
a fi re, d rawi ng the nrc depa rtmen t and several police cars to the scene.
T heil they expected to have free reign
throu gh the center of town, The report indiIS

7J MAGAZINE

JANUARY 1961

ca ted the youngsters intended to break

windows of people th ey didn 't like. destro y
signs, and possibly damage the city hall,
which hou ses both the fire and police d epartments.
Scouting around , a police sergeant found
wha t appeared to be a pil e of brush and
d ebris, ready to he saturated with ke rosene
and set a fire. According to the report. the
fire was sched uled to he st arted between 10
and 11 P.~1. Fortu nat ely, and for some unknown reason , t he rumored fire and later
events never did materialize.
At a bridge repa ir site. youngs ters stole 34
lanterns and more than 40 oil pots.

Thre e t een-a gers. obse rved from p atrol car ,

loung e ca sua lly in fr on t of drugstore. a p pa re ntly with ou t a ca re in t he wo rld. A few minute s
e arlie r, polic e ca me up on barricad ed ro adwa y
to tra iler part leu than ha lf a b l o c ~ a way .
sa w yo ungsters r u n ni n~ in d irection of dru3
sto re.

Three I S-year old girls from a nearb y communit y we re app rehended with a ca~fu l of
pumpkins ta ken from outdoor d ispl ays.
The road way to a large-scale tra iler park
was blocked off by p yra mids of cinder blocks,
top ped by signs read ing, "S peed Limit-IO
MPH," and "Ped dlers and Agents-Keep O ut."
Included in the p atrol was W nlter Ermer.
\ V8AE U. Ed ison Awa rd wi nner in 1959 for
his organiza tion and lead ersh ip of the A HEC
in C uyahoga County. Sa id W nlt , "We all enjoy it and the amateur acq uires a much
better knowledge of what ou r law enforcement officers contend with and vice versa. I
think that only when th e ha m gro up is aro und
on Halloween , do th e officers have a really
good time. \ V e all have fu n , a nd this type
of activity helps train the a mateur for th e
real emergencies whe n th ey arise."
Ahti ("O ttie"') W ah ter, W8LHX, opera ted
the 6-meter master control OTI Halloween. On
preceding evenings , the pa trol opera ted 0 11 10
JANUARY 1961

me ters. Ahti is one of two amateurs who reports to th e U. S. W eather Bu reau for the
th underh ead net in time of threatened severe
thunderstorms of tornados.
Another outsta nd ing ham in the patrol was
E d Pose y, K8KKO , renowned for his rescue
of ] 6 Valle y View, O hio, famili es in Janu ary
of 1959. E d volunteered and p iloted his boat
eq uipped with a 30-hp outboard motor to
buck the current of th e ragin g Cuyahoga
River.
The amateurs on "Goblin Patrol" found
much in the police group to appreciate and
admire. Mrs. Dorothv, Wurstner, wife of
Pat rolman Lee \\'urstne r. su pplied and prepa red an urn of coffee and th ree frosted cakes
each of the four nights of patrol for th e coffee
break. E ach of the police officers seemed
more gen ial th an th e next, the geniality changing to fi rm tone and manner when it came
to cond uc ting police work.
During the coffee b reak on Halloween,
when th e ca rs had returned to the station,
someone managed to p lace a kitchen stove in
the middle of Olmsted Falls' main street.
Cou ld he have had a receiver?
The 1960 Goblin Pa trol ended at 12: 30
A . ~ 1. I t h ad been a qu iet and relatively uneven tful Halloween. Partin g remark of one
a mateur as he turn ed to C hief Shirer: "Thanks.
Chief. Invite me to your p arty again next
73
year.

Ahti W ahte r, W81H X, o pe ra tes his 6-meter

tre seelv ee a ma te ur ma ster co nt ro l in the Olmsted Fall s Police Sta tion.

73 MAGAZI NE

19

Lost

In A Tunnel
Jim Kyle KSJKX/b

1851 Ste nfc rd Ave.

Santo Suse ne, Calif

Fig. I

OFthe

many new devices introduced into

the electronics world within the past few
years, none has captured the fancy of engineers, experimenters, and of course hams like
the tunnel d iode- that interesting little chunk
of theoreticall y-impossible negative resistance
which has nearly rewri tt en the book on semiconductor physics.
Shortl y after the idea for 73" was born,
this writer ( half-humorously) suggested to
\ Vayne that an article on "How To Build a

He ad on view of front of riQ . Box is 4 x 4 I 2.

20

13 MAGAZINE

JAN UA RY 1961

Tunnel-Diode Transmitter" might he in line

wit h the magazine's policy of bringing into
focus th e frontiers of amateur rad io.
"Creat!" was the answer from \V2 NSD .
"Hop to it!"
The writer hopped. The only thing wrong
was th at this p articular frontier seems determin ed to remain a soft-focus image. Whatever
laws of classical ph ysics fail to hold with the
tunn el diode, at least one is proved truer than
ever before: Mu rph y's Law No. I -If in any
p roject, any conceivable factor can cause the
wrong res ult, it will!

lnhnior shambles. Messy loo ~ is du e to short

lee ds necessary for functi oning of gadg et.

Before going into the long story of how we

got lost in the tunnel, let's say right h ere that
this is a construction article. Before it's
through, it will tell you how to build a tunnel
diode transmitter that works. H owever, that's
only a small part of the story, and if you
want to stay out of trouble with the F C C,
you'd better read it all.
As in the famed recipe for rabbit stew
which begins, "First, yo u catch a rabbit," this
instruction must begin with "First, get a tunnel diod e." This isn't so hard as yo u might
beli eve. Most m ajor electronics parts h ouses
catering to th e industrial trade stock a few,
and almos t every manufacturer of sem iconductors has at least one tunnel di ode in th e
line.
JANUARY 196 1

r-

~_y;,50

...0".

10

TO CIRCUIT

Fig. 2

One of the least expensive is the Ceneral

Elect ric IN2941, a 50-milliwatt, 5 -milliamp
unit wh ich sells for $6.50 each in unit lots.
You can buy 100 of them for $450, if you want
yo ur troubles in large doses. O thers available
for less than $ 15 include the T exas Instruments I N653 a nd the Sony Esaki Diode ( no
type number ) which sells for $10. The G E
unit was used in this effort.
For a bit of background on the use of the
gadget, see th e July, 1960, issue of RadioElectronics in w hich two CE researchers show
how the negative resistance is ach ieved. A
more scholarly treatment of th e action appeared in the Ju ly, 1959, issue of the Proceedings of the I. R.E.
If you happen to read both these articles,
you will discover that there are a t least two
ways to go abou t build ing a tunnel-diode
oscillator, in theory at least. F or convenience,
we called th ese "Type A " a nd "Type B" circuits. They're show n in Figure 1.
Looking a t th e circu its, you see that the
source of bias voltage-necessary for operat ion
of the device-is specified as a 100-millivolt
battery with zero internal resistance. N atu rally, such a varmint doesn't exist. Obtaining
such a power source (or at least, something
which would look just like it to the diode)
proved to he somewhat of a problem.
F ortunat ely, following th e lead of the GE
researchers, a circu it was developed which
provides from 10 millivolts to 1.5 volts, with
an effec tive 10-ohm internal impedance. It's
shown in Figure 2. This bias-source circuit,
witho ut change, was used in both T ype A and
T yp e B oscillators and produced p erfect results . H owever. there's a d isad vantage-due to
the heavy drain of the two resistors, the battery on ly lasts about a week. Be sure to disconnect it when the rig isn't in u se to keep
the battery a live longer.
Now to the long story. The first ci rcu it
tried was the T ype A, followin g the lead of
th e GE p eople. \Vith various inductance
values in serted in the tank circuit- and omittin g a ll lumped capaci tance-fi ne osci llations
were produced at severa l points between 12
a nd 20 megacycles. Modulation was accom73 MAGAZtNE

21

I I( HEADSET UNIT

10

TO DIODE

,,,

Sensitivitv? Hardlv!
Pro ject B] went ~lown the drain and the
writer went to sec the engineers.
After several weeks' study, during which a
number of ot her versions were constructed,
tested, adj us ted, retes ted, and lorn down ,
Project A-9 wns p ut togeth er. It was d ifferent
from all its pred ecessors. It worked.

Fig. 3

plished as shown in Figure 3A, and the resulting F~ I-A~I combination was copinhle on
a Super-Pro in the 2.5-kc bandwidth position
although quality was defin itely poor.
Th is original attempt might have res ulted in
the art icle in itself, except for one item:
M urph y's Law. The inanimat e objects proved
their perversit y, for the blam e thing ahsolu tel y refu sed to oscillate within th e borders
of any ama te ur band. At 13.7 me, yes. At
14.7 m e, yes. But between 14.2 and 14.35
me, no indeedyl After a week's effort, project A- I was abandoned and the Type B circuit
was tried .
The Type B circuit evolves from experiments carried out in RCA 's David Sarnoff Research Center. \ Vhile the T ype A arrangement places the ta nk in series with th e diode ,
the Type B circuit places th e tank uud th e
diode in parallel. This mak es them more
tractable at SHF, although it has little effec t
at lower frequencies.
T he target th is trip was a 432mc converte r
consisting only of a tank, a diode, and the bias
circuit. An 8-inch strip of twin-lead was
used for the tank, and the l O-ohm resistor of
the bias supply was used to provide the short
at the shorted end of the line. The diode
was located an inch out from the resistor, and
bias leads were ru n from the res istor through
l -uh rf chokes.
Like th e preceding circuit, this one oscillated nicely with ap prox imately 100 millivo lts app lied . \ Vhen the Super-P ro's antenna
lead was connected to the loading resistor
(a zero-voltage point for the rf with in the
oscillator) any number of TV carriers cou ld
be obtained. Varying bias voltage between
70 and 150 millivolts tuned the oscillator
across many, many megacycles. However, the
signal from the grid-dipper which was sim ulating an incoming 432mc signal eluded capture. After nearly 40 hours of searching with
th e receiver se t in Sckc band width position,
the sig na l was spotted-but promptly faded
out when the d ip per was moved more than six
inches from the tuned line .
22

13 MAGAZINE

Ma in subasse mbly shown sepa ra te ly. Di od e a nd

th o se resisto rs not part of power sup ply are
shown.

Since its circuitry also differs, drastically,

it's shown in Fi gu re 4. Note that no tank
circ uit exists, in th e normal sense of the word.
The engi neers deduced that irregular performan ce of earlier models w as due to excessive ind ucta nce which forced them to operate in the switc hing mode rather than as true
oscillators, so the 20-ohm composition resistor
was substituted. Its inductance is sufficient,
in conjunction with that of the pigtails and
the capacitance of the trimmer. to make the
device operate in the range from 50 to 150 me.
Modulation in this one is somewhat d ifferent, also, as shown in F igure 3 8 and 4. D C
resistance of th e headphone un it is high
enough not to upset the biasing arrangement, and ac output is great eno ugh to
give a swing of nearly a megacycle in the
5 0-me region-far too great to be used below 525.5 mc.
H you want to build one of these. d uplication of the Figure 4 circuit is recommended
as a starting point. It's far from perfect, but
it can he used to amaze your fr iends, at least.
\ Vith a few months more work, it ca n probab ly he developed in to a reliable hand-carried
portabl e good for up to a mile or so, su itable
for C D and transmitter-hunt usage .
A sta ndard 4x4x2 Minibox makes a good
chassis, with a subchnssis of ligh t aluminum
inside to hold the tunnel-diode socket and the
JANUARY 1961

and the like are out-every movemen t within

15 feet sh ifts th e opera ting frequency a megacycle or m ore.

.0
SET TO 4 0 .1\

"

\II
tN2 9 4 1.

T:~

'0

'0

,,!.
Fig . 4

The t ank circuit (also sho wn in No.4). Cepecltor is visib le, resistor is partiall y hidden behind
ph enolic board. Incid entally, ph enol ic board
was scrounged from old RCA printed circuit ;
this is reason for stencilled numbers on it which
may d raw questions.

switch. Wi rin g is stra igh tforwa rd, wit h one

exception : DOX'T C UT H E SIST O R L EADS SHOI\T!
while component lead s should usually he
short in VHF work, this rig uses their inductance for a tank circuit, and if you dress
them in p roper approved fashion , it p robably
won 't work at all.
The big problem with thi s gad get is
coupling of the antenna. If you have a perfectly-matched line which is actually a true
resistance, it ca n probably be sh unted across
the 20-ohm resistor without effect. H owever,
a ny reacta nce reflect ed into th e circu it will
be ruinous to its p erformance. Whip ant enna

" M e cha niz.ed Hole Cutting "

Roy E. Pe fe nberq

The problem of cutti ng large r ound holes

in heavy st eel rack panels h a s long plagued
t he amateur who u ses this method of construction. Hole sa ws and Gree nlee knockout punches
have been used with va rying degrees of success. Of cou rse the hard way of drilling a circle of sma ll holes an d chewing out t he r ema ining metal is used by ma ny but this is ext remely
laborious and the results leave m uch t o be
desired.
Electr ic impact tool s, or wrenches as they
JANUARY 1961

This may sound as if the gad get is still

far from p erfected. You're right-it is. The
only claim mad e for this gadget at the present time is that it produces modulated rfabout 1 volt of it p eak-to-peak into a I -megohm load. Location of this rf in the frequency spectru m is not guaranteed. If it fa lls
wit hin th e hound s of any ham band, you're
not just lucky, you must be the seventh son
of a seve nth son of a sev . . The gadget, as
hinted earlier, is notoriously unstable so long
as a ny reactance whatsoever is in the vicinity
-and this includes the va ria tion in capacitance
caused by the breathing of the opera tor. However, it does show promise, and that's why
it's here.
Mean while, h ack at the madhouse, experimentation continues. Someday soon, model
C-293 may produce more useable results. If
not, you can still say you read about the
battle first in . . .
73

are commo nly kn own, are becoming more and

more popu lar a nd are a va ila ble with a wide
range of attachments. The Greenlee hole punch
becomes a f ormidable tool when powered by
one of these labor s aving devices. The comparatively light , r ap id impacts of t he tool
drives the pu nc h through the th ickest metal
with great rapid ity. T he wear and tear on the
punch and drive scr ew is much less and the
familiar problem of twi sting off the drive
scre w is virtually eliminated.
T hese handy tools have many ot he r u ses
a nd any number of drilling, tapping and
threading operations may be accomplished in
addition to that of nut driving. U se one and
yo u will not be ha ppy u ntil you own one.
73 MAGAZINE

23

8 MC
Crysta I Modification
Donald A. Smith W3UZN
Associa te Ed itor

very popular Heath 6 meter transceiver

can now he modified for 8 me crystals,
with Heaths new Modification kit, HWM-29-1.
Following Heath's policy of improvement for
existing kits, this modification has been released to all previous purchasers of the 6

HE

meter transceiver for $4.95. This includes all

parts, even the necessary hardware! All new
H\V-29's purchased will be shipped with this
modification kit and the customer billed for
$4.95 . Kits shipped after the first of the year
will incorporate this change in the main

Close up of oscillator a nd xial before modifi cation.

{) o

"

~~

Another view
of completed chassis.

...

...
-~

\\

Parts fur nished with H WM -29.1 Mod ification

kit.
24

73 MAGAZINE

chassis and no modification will be required .

The advantages of this modification are
numerous. Probably most important is f requency stability, which is improved for two
reasons. First, the fundamental Quartz crystal s are inherently more st a ble than the fifth
overtone types and secondly because the crystal oscillator is isolated from the final amplifier. Other advantages include ; 8 me crystals
are much cheaper and more readily available
than the overtone type. Power output is al so
increased, a s the final amplifier operates
straight through and ha s more drive than
with the old circuit.
A modified P ier ce oscillator circuit is u sed
for the oscillator st ag e, employing a 6AK5
tube. 8.333 to 9 mc crystals are used in the
grid circuit and the plate is tuned to the
JANUARY 1961

third harmonic of the crystal. The output of

the new oscillator is fed to the grid of the old
oscillator st ag e, which now becomes a doubler
stage. The new circuitry does not overload
the ac power s up ply and one Hea t h vibrator
supply is still ample to operate the unit while
mobile.

\V
(t~~

--

ORIGINAL TR /l ,.. SMI TTER 61.OCK

O!lCLATOR:
TRIP\.ER

,.....

,"U8
{TRlOOEI
OQUlll.ER

....

{PEHTOOEl

Me

\V

",.
Me

8333 . 9111C

Me

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.." M"2
e
-L

,.'"

!)TH OVERTONE

T
Me

'0

IP NTOO)

Me

esc.

z...

'0

XTAL

Block di agram of t ransmitte r before a nd after

modification .

I
Close up of tr ansceiver with new circ uit inshlled.

. One of the photos shows the parts included

In t he mod ification kit. Note that a min iature
chassis is furnished and all new parts are
mounted and wired on it. The new crystal
socket for the 8 me xtals is mounted on one
end of this chassis and takes the common F T
243 s ize. Comp lete instructions for wiring the
n~w oscillator circuit a r e incl uded , as t hey are
with all H eat h kits. It is necessary to drill two
holes in t h e f r ont panel of th e tra nsceiver to
mo u nt th e new chassis. A tem plate in the
ma nu al si mp lifies the la you t of these holes. The
p hotos s~ow . the u n it completely wired before
installation In the un it so that you may see
the wiring.
TO

fO~MER

XfA.L

IOO~

6.3 \\1.e

NSCE IVER

<

.ocr

>

THE " S I X E R "

6\1AC

12VAC

Circ uit diagr am of ne w, adde d circuit.

No di fficulties were encou ntered in t he building or installi ng of the modification k it and

it 1 equ ired about an h ou r or so to com plete
the job. T he real enjoyment began when a n
8.4 me xtal was installed, 6AK5 placed in its
JAN UA RY 1961

F or an investment of $4.95 a great deal

more pleasure and reliability can be h ad fro m
your little H\V-29.
73

of FM.

SOG ~ET

'0'"

socket a nd the rig t urned on. Tune up was

t hen like a ny other r ig. The oscillator slug
was tu ned to 25.2 me, t he doubler to 50.4 and
t he same for the fi nal. No parasitics cou ld be
found and the circuits would n ot double t une.
Air trials were most encouraging. Stations
worked in York, P a. , approximately 100 miles
over the mountains a sked if I had increased
power! Frequency stability was terrific. I had
a station in York zero beat my signal with
h is BF O. Then I cut my carrier for 60 seconds
or so and then t urned back on . H e said that
I was still zero beat ing with h is BFO ! All in
alI, signa l reports were somewh a t better t han
before, plus f requency stabili t y and a lack

~---*

5/32 "MOUNT~G HOLES

'j\\~:!:::

POWER

OUTPUT

Tem pl ate for locating two holes t o be drilled

in front pan el of th e transceive r.
73 MAGAZINE

25

Bu ild a
Transistorized Crystal Frequency Standard

Howard S. Pyle, "YB" W 70E

3434-74+1'1 Ave nu e, S. E.
M er c er Island , W " shington

some time I had been debating construction of a tran sistorized crystal frequency
standard. A number of crystal aut horit ies
whom I consulted warned me t hat n ot only
would the crystal and the tran sistor be rather
critical but that lead length and routing of
the wiring would affect the frequency of even
the . best . crystals. All suggested procuring a
baSIC umt. s ub-assembly, wired and tested by
an established factory specializing in precision crystal/transistor work. I could then
build around it with the assurance that performan ce would equal expectations.
. Their. arguments, seemed logical, although it
did begm to look hke a rather expensive proced ure. At a ny rate, I commenced shoppi ng
around. I didn't want a frequency sta ndard for
which I had to use a compensation curve : I
wanted 'on-the-nose' accuracy without a 'lot
of namby-pamby, although I had visions of
the greatest J?art of a fifty dollar bill going
down the dram! That it didn't. continues to
amaze me. You know what? I came out with
8 . total cost. ~or the basic unit including tranSIStOI', precraron ground crystal, cabinet, battery a~d toggle switch for around fifte en dolla1's, grve or take a few cents!
After poring over several excellent 'dope
sheets' sent me by various manufactur-era, I
fina lly selected the I n terna tional Crystal
Manufacturing Company" Type TR O-l basic
sub-assembly. This was the complete osc illator unit, miniaturized and completely assembled, wired and tested. It measured but
1
square by 2" high with the crystal in
place. The wiring wa s of the printed circuit
type insuring against any change in routing
due to vibration or other causes. External
wiring required consisted only of the battery
leads and the rf output feeder . This little
unit was capable of oscillation within the
frequency range of 100-300 k ilocycles or 2005000 k ilocycles, with t he proper crystal ! Their
T RO-2 sub-assembly will covel' 3000-20,000
OR

*"

-19 North Lee. Oklahoma City. Okla .

26

73 MAGAZINE

.~,

....n u ...

kc an d the TR O-3, 15 to 60 megacycles, in

fi ve ranges! Anyo ne of the three basic u nits
will cost exactly four dollars; the first surprise! The precision ground crystal is. of
course, the greatest cost; $8.50. Several manufacturers offer precision crystals for frequency standard use at from $6.00 to $10.00,
but it is recommended that the crystal which
the manufacturer ha s used to calibrate the
oscillator be p urchased with the basic unit to
insu re complete accuracy. The same would
h old should you elect to p urchase a sub-assembly of another make.
This li ttle unit ca n be mounted ri ght on t he
chass is of your receiver if you li ke; practically a ll modern receivers still have a bit of
space available for such a tiny item, in spite
of their many components. Or, you can do as
I did so that you have a really flexible piece
of equipment available for bench testing as
well as checking your receiver; mount it in
its own se par ate cabinet.
The accompanying photograph illustrates
t he treatment which I used. As its power requirements are only 9 volts de at 2 rna, I
chose a B ur g ess type D6 batter y an d used a
convention al. b at-handled t oggle switc h with
which to turn t he power on an d off. I wired
t his into t he negative battery lead ; note t hat
the positive lead is grounded. Actually, with
JA NUARY 1961

this small current drain, such a battery will

last f or many months without turning it off,
but for complete flexibility. particularly when
installed in your receiver, use a swit ch.
For t he r f output I used a st a nda r d phono
pick-up j ack available at any ha m radio st ore.
A s ho rt leng t h (6" in my case) of flexible,
s t r a nded hook -u p wire fi tted with an a lligator
clip at on e end a nd t he p lug of the phono
j ack a t t he othe r per mitted fee ding the rf
out put of t he osc illator into my receiver or
a ny other device as requ ired .
T he enclosing cabinet which I used wa s an
LM B chassis box which is al so a stock item
with most ham di stributors. The one I chose
was Ll\I B's #140 of hammartone grey fini sh
and which readily accommodated all components includi ng the battery. I fitted thi s with
small rubber feet and bent u p 8 sma ll alumin um su b-ch assis on whi ch to mou nt conde nse r C. Th is is merely a s mall trimmer condense r of 7-45 mmf d ; t he one I used was an E rie,
N-500 (most distribut ors ); any equivale nt
will do. It perm its compen sati ng for an y
minor variation in freq uency which ma y be
introduced by the cab inet an d the in te rnal
wiring therein; though you may not need it,
put it in, just in case. A % t , hole in the cabin et
top, insulated by a rubber grommet, permits
adju stment of this condenser externally, if and
when requ ired .
To put you r frequency st a nda r d into operation, set you r receiver init ia lly on one of
t he on-the-nose freque ncies of WWV, WWVH
or some other k nown acc ur ate fr equ ency tra nsmission of t he fun dam en tal 01' ha rmonic fre quencies of your st a nda r d. Cli p the rf ou t pu t
of you r freq uency s ta nd a r d on your receiver
antenna post in place of your regular antenna,
and turn th e s witch on the frequency sta n da r d
to the 'on' position. If you don't hear the C' V
tone fr om t he frequency s ta nda r d , adju st C

slightly ; it should bring yo u right on with a

minute fraction of a turn . Set for zero beat
and you've got it made . .. that's all there is
to it!

..

- ~# ~

~ 3 0l(

. ~ TRA NS ISTO R

APPl'IOX,2200
OHMS LOAD 1'011
85T RESULTS

o
o

eo

C O

"'"" 'iT'
o n

,,, ' ,,,

,,
,,

co

~.

Te.'

~-~

-90

:
L..

--'I

6~

c/ SWIT~
'

--~
IIIATTERY

If you st ill feci that you'd li ke to bu ild 'From

scr a tch ' without benefit of a basic unit and

make your own calibration (it may prove
tricky !). the I nt er nat ion a l Crystal Manufacturing Company has been kind enough to
give permission to reproduce the circuit which
they use on their TROI L s ub-assembly. together with component values. Like the trimmer conden ser C. the fixed conde nser C5 is a n
acce sso ry item, not s u pplied with the TH O-IL
su b-assembly a nd wh ich yo u mayor may not
want to add . It m er el y ser ves t o improve th e
wave sha pe of the output which wa s of no concern to me, therefore I Ignored addi ng it .
Go to it but remember that j ust any old
crystal, tran si stor a nd circuit are lia ble to
cause you heada ches! A fr equency sta nd a r d is
moo
a precision device; bet ter play it sa fe !

Polarity Test Paper

Bob Rooney , W 2Q Cl

One of the simp lest ways to find the polarity

of current is through the use of polarity test
paper. From two com mo n chem icals whi ch
can b e obtained at the neighborhood pharma cy. it is possible to make an a lmost unlimited supply of this paper quickly and econom ically.
111 lise, th e paper is slightly moistened an d
p laced ill conta ct w ith th e two term in als of
the cu rren t su p p ly so that the term inals a rc
separated fro m each other by ouo or two
JANUARY 1961

inch es. In th e case of d irect curren t a bright

red sta in will appear on the test p a p er near
the nega tive termina l. W h en a lternating cur ren t is used the red stain w ill appear at both
terminals.
T o prepare th e test paper we can take any
fairly absorbent paper (t'Slick" paper such as
that w hich 7:-1 is prin ted on is not recommended ) and b riefl y soak it in the sol ution d escrib ed h e low. Allow the p aper to dry and
merely m oist en w ith wa ter b efore usc.
The solu tiou is p re p ared h y m ixin g on e p art
p henolp h th alein solu tion to three p arts o f 10%
p ota ssium ch loride solu tion.

13 MAGAZINE

27

------ ...

Suction
vs

Whooosh
Fig. I
Pe ul M. Borton W6JAT
J en nings Re dic
P. O . Box 1278

So n J ose 8, Col.

A ssn

Linear Amplifier using a

tube was set up in Jennings
struction, but with provisions for
cooling air either from th e bottom,
of the tube in severa l w ays.

4CXIOOO
type consupplying
or th e top

Fixed b ias batteries and a variable screen

supply were used to set th e pl ate current
where desired. 35 00 volts of plate voltage
was used. As there was no rf power involved,
all th e de plate input was being dissipated
28

73 MAGAZINE

JANUARY 1961

b y the plate. With d iffe rent types of blower

syste ms, and for several amo unts of de plate
input, th e resulting plat e temperatu re was
measured wi th a th ermocouple a nd a lternately with tem perature indicat ing waxes.
F irst, th e chassis was press ur ized in th e

more common manner. by blowing directly

into the chass is, as in Fig. 2, but w ith the
bottom plate removed, rotated 180 0 and replaced. This places th e blower to one side of
the tube socke t instead of d irectly under the
tube socket. \Vith 700 watts p late input, th e
anode tempera ture ca me up to 260 F. All
tes ts were run until the resulting temperature
stabilized.
It is generally ass umed th at this simple
method of pressurizing the chassis is inefficient
du e to turbulence, so the blower was plumbed
into th e b ottom of the tube socket with a carefully fitted short d irect duet (Fig. 2 ). The
resulting plate temperature was the same,
small increase with two blowers instead of
one should be expected as two blowers in
Fig. 2

series only yield a small increase in air

through the tube.
Now a glass chimney was placed over the
tube plate fin s and a blower was set on top
of this chimney so th e blower drew its air
through th e tube, and blew it out into free
air (F ig. 3). With 700 watts plate input,
the an od e ca me up to 230 F , compared to
260F with th e same blower acting as a
blower instead of a sucker.
The asump tion here is that th e sucker arran gement is ab le to draw more air through
th e radiators due to less losses in the tube
socket, as considerable air will be drawn
through the tube radiators that did not h ave
to go th rough the socket at all (the tube base
and filament seal still remain ed cool eno ugh,
however ) .
Now the p ower was increased, using the
sucking arran gement, until the plate temperature came back to 260F. This required 825
watts, an increase of 18% over the blow
system.
As an adeq uate blower for air cooled tubes
is quite expensive, this apparen t 18% increase
in effectiveness, is well worthwh ile. It is not
held that sucking air through the tubes is
more effective, but th at it is possible to plumb
to the tube more efficiently by sucking.
This system has been used in a number of
1 kw amateur amp lifiers with excellent re~
suIts. The rig pictured belongs to Elvin F eige,
W6TT , the well-known dx hound and boating
enthusiast.
73
Fig . 3

however. The assumption now is th at the

tube socket itself makes so much air losses
that the chassis turbulence is of minor importance (Fig. 1 ) .
Next, the above two tests were repeated
but with two blowers in series, the first blowing into the second, and the second blowing
into the chassis or tube base. Now the tempera ture only came up to 220 F, as one might
expect.
Now the plate input was increased slowly
until the plate temperatu re came back up to
what it h as been with only one blower
(260 F). One hlower required 700 watts to
bring the plate up to 2600 F, and two blowers in series required 940 watts for the same
temperature. This is an increase of 29%. This
JANUARY 1961

73 MAGAZINE

29

HM S

AN

Joe rgen K. Resmusen. OZ7BO

3 1 Bcrqevej Lyngby
Denmerk

ALL TRANSISTOR
COMMUNICATIONS RECEIVER
LTHOUGU transi stors h a ve been available

A fo r

sever a l yea rs , t hey are not as widely

used in ama teur equi pment as one might expect. Amateurs tend to believe they are difficult to work with and troublesome. The
transi stori zed commun ications receiver to be
described sho uld prove that this is not the
case.
The r eceiver uses 14 tran si stors and covers
all bands between 80 and 10 meters. To obtain
the best stab ili t y, the main receiver covers 3.5
to 4.1 me. Other frequencies are obtained by
30

13 MAGAZINE

us ing a band switched convert er. Selectivity is

obtained with two sect ions of a h alf-lattice
filter on 480 kc.
The Converter

The "front end " u ses 3 transi stors as the

rf amplifi er, mixer, and crystal oscillator. AI.
though the first if is r ather high ( 3.5-4.1 m e),
and images are no probl em, it is necessary to
use high "Q" coils in the rf section to prevent
JANU A RY 1961

if and s pu r ious signa ls from feed ing through.

T he antenna coil is tun ed with a 4- 40 mmfd.
trimmer. T he collecto r coil is tuned broadly to
t he center of the ba nd. T he crystal osc illator
works di r ectly on the cr yst al fr equency and
harmonics are used for th e inj ection voltag e.
On 7 mc there is a problem in choosing the
osci llator f r eque ncy. T o obta in 7 me, we must
add 3.5 and 3.5 me (cryst al osc illator and variable if) , but since the r eceiver will tune t o 3.5
me a "hirdie" will be heard. Actually the
"bird ie" will be a n eagle, it blocks t he receiver
20 kc on either side of 3.5 me. A practical solu tion is obt a ined when th e 40 meter crystal
osc ill ator oper ates on 3.3 me. The r eceiver wiII
then tun e 6.8 to 7.4 mc.
Since the osci llator oper ates on the crysta l
frequ ency, no coils are r equired, a nd ou t p ut is
appli ed to the mi xer through a 10 mmfd . capacitor, Signa l m ix ing takes place in the ba se
circuit of t he tran si stor.
The collector of the mi xer is not r esonated
at the va riable if bu t u ses a n r f choke to obta in
a broad ba ndwidth, and easily covers the 600
kc ran ge.

F T -241 crystals. T he two filter sections must

be well sh ielded to preven t stray cou p ling bet ween the input and ou t put leads. The fi lter is
foll owed by t wo amplifi er stag es a nd a diode ~
detect or. A bea t fr equen cy osci llat or is a lso ;~
cou pled to t he d iod e, and its f requency is cont rolled by a v a r ia ble capacity pitch cont rol.
T he transformers a re sta nda r d vacuu m tube
types to which 50 turn base wind ings have \
been ad ded .

The Audio Amplifier

T he audio amplifier con si st s of fi ve tran si stors, in cludin g a class B , push-pull, ou t put
stage. Bet ween t he first and second amplifier
will be found an FL-8A wa r s urp lus a ud io
fll t er t o increase C\V selec tivity. The t hird
tran si stor is a dri ver f or t he outpu t stage.
The tran sformers are s t an da r d impedan ces
and Am eri can equ ivale nts will make excellent
s ubs t itutions. The s idetone connect ion is wired
to a neon bu lb oscillator and is keyed by the
C\V transmitter.

The Variable IF
The first, or variable, if tunes between 3.5
a nd 4.1 m e, and a lso uses three tran si stor s. The
oper a tion of t his circuit is qu ite sim ilar to the
conver te r bu t , of course , is tuned to the lower
fr equen cy.
I np ut to the vif mi xer ba se arr ives fro m
the antenna on 80 meters and fr om th e con ver ter on the other bands. T o avoid tracking
p roblem s t he mixer base and collector tuning
ca pacitor is not ganged to t he oscillator . These
two a dj ust ment s are set n ea r opposite ends of
the band fo r a fla t response across the variable

l
FREO
CORECTOR-_

C3

cz __
osc

SECTION

06-BASE
VOLTAGE
A!>JUST

if

The variable osc illato r is the heart of t he

r eceiver for it mu st be very st a ble. This is n ot
d ifficult f or the transistors are low voltage and
current devices a nd t herefore are not able t o
hea t t he adjacent components. Th e coils a nd
capacitors sho uld be of r ugged construction
a nd solidl y mounted to the chassis. F or the
most part stab ility will be determined by the
de st ab ili zation and, to a certain ex ten t, t he
room t emperature.
To provide the cor rect impedan ce match t o
t he osc illator coil, t he collector is t apped % r d
f rom t he hot end a nd t he em itter abou t }'bt h
f rom t he cold end . The output is taken f r om a
link wound over t he cold end of the coil. One
en d of the link is soldered to the emitter of
the m ixer tr a ns istor, a n d t he othe r end is connected to ground. T he osc illator and sig n al f'requencies mix t o produce a secon d if of 480 kc.

The Second IF Amplifier

In t he second if selectivit y is obtained by
means of two section half-lattice filter using
JANUA RY 196 1

FIRST HALF
LATTICE
FILTER

B'O-_

The Transistors
The tr an sist or s used in the r ecei ver were
made by Ph ilips of H olland, but ar e ava ilable
in t he U nited States u nde r the name Amperex.
If yo u r distributor does not car ry t hem, Radio
Cor po r ation of America makes an in terchan geable series. Tb e OC 170 and OC l 71 t ypes may
be replaced with th e R CA 21\ 384. T he OC44
is a junction tran sist or wit h a cut-off fr e73 MAGAZINE

31

I
I
I
I

--

-1

I
I
I
I

l.. ..........

'.

.
H-I

Fig. I-Schematic diagram for the transistorized receiver. All 0.01 capacitors are

1I-40 meters. 4.05 ,uh, IS t ur ns. tap 3 t urns up from

cold end . Link is 3 turn s tit col d e nd .
20 meters, 1.0 1 p.h, 5 turns, tap I turn up from
cold end. link I turn .
15 meters. 0.77 p.h , 4 turn s, tap 12 t urn up f rom
co ld end. lin k I t urn.

On 40 wi nd 2 t urns per g roove , othe rs I turn

per groove.
13-40 turns. 12.65 ,uh, tap 10 turns up from cold end, ~

link 5 turns.
l 4-Sorne es L3, but no tap.
l 5-36 t urns, 12 ;,th, collecto r tep 12 turns from hot

10 me ters, O.77,uh , same as 15. Spaci ng- I t urn

covers two grooves o n 10 and 15 meters.
12--4Q meters. 16.9 ,uh , 35 tu rns, lin k 5 turn s.
20 meters, 4.2 ,uh, IS turn s, lin k 3 turns.
15 meters , 1.9 ph , 8 t urns. link 2 t urns.
10 meters, 1.05 p.h , 4 turns, lin k I turn .

end, emitter tap 6 turns from cold end , lin k 5

turns ot co ld e nd. l3, L4, L5 wou nd two turns
per groove.
Ci a , b-V<'.lriob le if peaking, duel 5-60 mmfd.
C2- JOO mmfd o n 40, 20, e nd 15, noneon 10 meters.
C3- 50 mmfd o n 0511 bends.

quency of approximately 7 me, and the 2N113,

2Nl14, or 2N137 should make an excelle nt
s ubst it u t ion. The OC45 is a junction tran sistor
and has a cut-off frequ ency of 3 me. The
2N140 will replace thi s transistor. The OC70
and OC71 may be r eplaced with any general
purpose PNP t ype. The OC72 is a medium
power transi stor and has a maximum di ssipation of 165 mw a t 25 C. The 2NI09 can be
used in place of this transi stor.
To prevent tran si stors fr om burning out at
high temperatures i t is necessary to Incorpo-

rate de st abili zation. This ca n be obtained in

one of two ways. One method uses a resistor in
the collector and one in the base. T his cir cuit is
employed in circuits where constant base voltage is not essential, such as the audio amplifiers in t h is receiver. The best method uses
four r esi stances. One is in the collector , one
in the emitter and two (a s a voltage divider)
in the base. This system provides excellent
st abili zat ion and therefore is used in variable
oscillators and rf amplifiers, as in th is receiver.
To m ake base bias adj ust ment easier, potentd-

32

73 MAGAZINE

JANUARY 1961

li' ~ ~ " ~

_.

!f
I

~'~J .~
~

'"

..

rrr:

>

j~

"~

'"

"

~11:_o

l"

-,"" +- .-

'"

l e'~ .~ I ~'e
r:

-_._-....-

iT-

.. _-

... .

'"

-. oM

jf:m"
.. t

~'f
ceramic

capacitors. Coil data is given in the accompanying chart (Fi3 ' 2) .

0 1. 02. 0 3. 04-0 CI 70, 2N J84.

OS, 06, 0 7. 08-0 CH [see text ],
09-OC45. 2N140.
010. 011. 012-OC70. OC7I [see te d) .
013. OI4-0C72. 2N 109. 2N2 17.
RFC I, 2. 3-2.5 mh rf choke.
$1 --6 pol e, b po siti o n wofe r switc h.
TI, T2- Permel'J bility t un ed if mod ified by re plocing
one cepe cltor with two serie s con necte d
capa citors pr ovid ing the sa me tota l co p"city.
T4- Pe rme o bility t uned if mod ified by winding 50

n.

omet ers are u sed as the bias divider.

Adjustments
After the wiring ha s been completed and
chec ked , it is time t o adju st the receiver.
Measure and set the drain of the transistors,
using the potentiometers, at one milliampere.
Set the push-pu ll stage to draw 5 to 7 mao
Next, remove the transistors fr om the rf
amplifier, mixer, oscillator, and 1st if mixer
a nd oscillator socket s. wttb a grid dip meter,
J AN UA RY 1961

t urns o f fi ne

W i fe

ove r one winding (bo se

li nk ) .
TS- Pe rme obility t uned if Ill -TS may be mod ified
M;lIe, # 9 IJ-C I) .
Tb- IOK to 2K et (Triad TY-56X ) .
T7- S00 oh ms to 8 ohms (Trio:l d TY.45X) .
YI - 3.3 me.
Y2- I O.5 me.
Y3- 8.75 me.
Y4- 12.25 me.
Y5. Yb- FT24I surplus, Ch a nnel 57.
Y7, Y8--FT24 I surpl us, Ch enn el 58.

adju st the frequency of each coil to its normal

reso nant f requency. I nsert the variable oscillutor transi stor in its sock et a nd listen for oscillation on another receiver. T he oscillator
sho u ld tune between 3.01 and 3.61 me. An
osc ill at ion will also be indicated by a change
in collector current when you touch the hot
end of the coil. If the circuit is worki ng properly, the current will r ise. Use t he sa me procedure with the beat oscillator and crystal
oscilla to r. Replace the filter crystals with 10
mmfd. capacitors and connect a s ig na l genera73 MAGAZINE

33

CONVERTER
SECTION

o,,- -\-'
C4 -~
CIAR!" AMP

07
74

Connect an audio s ign al to the second af

st age and adju st the collector current of the
pu sh-pull st a ge for the best waveshape as
viewed on an oscilloscope.
Insert the remaining transistors and connect
an antenna to the receiver. Set the receiver on
80 meters and connec t an rf signal generator
which tunes 3.5 to 4.0 me. Set the generator
at 3.5 me and adjust the coil slugs (L3, L4)
for maximum gain with CIa, C1b, near maximum capacity. Next tune the generator to 4.0
me and retune C1 for maximum gain. The
s ig na l st re ng t h sho uld be about the same at
both ends of the band.
The la st st ep is set t ing up the converter
sect ion. Switch to 40 meters and adju st the 40
meter LI, L2 coils for flat response across the
ham portion of the band. Repeat this process
on the r emaining ham bands. The receiver
shou ld now be r eady f or use.

TO
SfCOND HALF'
LAT1lC f'l...TER

OETECltlR

tor (at 480 ke) to the base of the 2nd mixer.

Connect a voltmeter across t he diode load
(10K) and adjust the if transformers for maximum ga in (keep reducing the sign al so that
t he diode voltage reads less than one volt. Insert the crysta ls and repeak t he transformers
on each s ide of the filter for t he strongest
sig n al, consistent with flat response.

L5

Transmitting

SlOE-TONE lNPlIT

34

73 MAGAZINE

Since transistors are voltage sens itive, it is

necessary to protect the rf amplifier tran si st or
with some f orm of switch or relay in the line.
At OZ7BQ a TR swit ch of the cathode follower
type (connected to voltage divider on tr-ansmi ttel' tank) is used. This syst em gives good
prot ection on a 100 watt transmitter and the
final ampli fier tank does n ot fun ction a s a
trap. The final tube (s) must be run cut-off in
receiving periods so that noise is not generated.
Several method s of receiver blocking have been
tried. The smoothest break-in was obtained
when the variable oscillator was keyed off with
a positive base bias.
JAN UA RY 1961

Layout
The chassis layout is somewh a t unconventi onal. E a ch sta ge is mou nted in a sm a ll box .
Thi s provid es excelle nt sh iel di ng a nd permits
each st a g e to be removed for circu it cha nges.
The boxes are made of t inned metal from coffee
cans. The boxes are solde r ed in such a manner
that you can reach the parts when t hey are
moun ted on the fr ont pa nel. F or rigid con struct ion, t hese boxes are mou nted to t he fr ont
panel with sever a l screws. The oscillator variable capacitor is mounted directly on the front
panel. Even w hen t he r eceiver is given quite a
blow it shows no s igns of f requency ins tabili t y.
La you t of t he compo nents is not cr itica l if t he
rules of tube construction tech nique are fol Jawed . P hotos of the receiver, which mea sures
7" x 8" x 12" , show t he a ssembly a nd layout.

ceivers a nd is eq ua l to them on a ll b ands. Th e

max imum volume, of cou r se, is somew ha t
lower, and reception is best with headphones.
The power could be increased from 200 mw to
mo re t han one- ha lf watt by using- a 12 vol t
s upp ly on t he cl a ss B st a g e.

W ith no s ig na l the cu r r e nt drai n is 15 to 20

rna, and it kicks up to 140 rna on aud io peaks.
The u se of a 6 volt su p ply permits the receiver
to be used at home, in a n a utomobile (new or
old), or port abl e w ith t he sa me excelle nt resu lts.
73
Fig. 2-T he coils with the " L" p refi x are wound
o n this t ype of f orm . An y slug tun ed form of
this a p proxima te diam eter a nd length sho uld
be sa ti sfa ctory, atl ho ug h the grooves mak e
wind ing ea sie r. Numbe r 26 e na m. is used f or a ll
co ils.

Conclusions
Many th ings have been learned by const r uct ing a nd operat ing t he t r ansist orized commu nication s receiver. The osc illator drift is
less than 1 kc in warmup. T he sen sitivity has
been compared with modern American re-

/
IRO N CORE:

New Products
Grounded Grid Kilowatt

- -- " :"0 - -

Hea th is at it aga in. H ere is a neef li ttle line a r

running four 81 1A' s fo r 1000 watt s PEP, 1000 watts
C W or 400 watts A M ph one. It requi res 50-75 watts
d rive a nd mev be driven by any e xci te r of up to 125
watts witho ut an y swa mpi ng ne two rk being ne eded .
Built in power sup ply. TVI suppressed and a ll that.
80-40 -20 -15-10 meters. 90 Ibs . $229.95. You d o we nt
to kn ow more e b o ut this be au . . . ho ly smokes! Did
you see thet price? Unbe lie va b le . Quick, b efo re they
di sco ve r thei r miste ke, write for info. He at h Be nton
H a rb o r, Mic hiq e n. A nd if you forget to me nti on 73
whe n yo u writ e p lea se ce nc el your subs c rip t ion

Two Meter Transmirter-Recelver

The H ea t h " Pawnee" is a co mp le te t wo me ter
tren smitter with VFO o r crystal co ntrol a nd 10 wa tts
rf o ut pu t to the enten ne throu g h a low pa ss filter
t o e liminate TV!. The re cei ver is d ouble conversion
and of high sta b ility. A three -way p owe r sup ply is
bu ilt in: 11 7 vee . 6 o r 12 vdc. C omes co mp le te wit h
b uilt in spe a ker, moun t ing b racket and ce ra mic mi ke.
MM sures 6" x 12" wide x 10" deep, 34 [bs. Price in
kit fo rm : $ 199.95 fr om the fa ctory, The re are a lot
more juicy d eta ils you ' ll want to know about on th is
so dro p He a t h a line at Be nto n Ha rbo r, Mic hig a n so
t hey ca n fill you in.

JANUARY 1961

73 MAGAZINE

35

A
Novel,
Light-Weight,
Low-Cost

ANTENNA SUPPORT MAST

and Vertical Radiator

This unique design results in a sturdy, easily handled and effective

suppo rt fo r a horizontal wire a ntenna as well as 'doubling ' as a ve rtical radiato r. Weight is less than 35 pounds and the cost is under
$15.00!
Hcwe rd S. Py le W70E

HH-74t h Ave., S.E.,

Mer cer lslend. Wesh .

ORE subst ant ial and less costly ccn atru cti on of both vertical and horizontal wire
ant ennas shou ld prove a welcome addition t o
amateur rad io design practice. Presented here
is an inn ovation in the way of a combination
a ntenna su pport mast f or wire antenn as which
can serve a s well a s a vertical radiator f or
those who desire to experiment wi th both antenn a types. Better st ill, it is so light in wei ght
t hat it ca n easily be er ected by two men, one
holdi ng down th e base while the ot her 'walks
it u p '. If more help is available, put a man on
each of t wo of t he center guy wires fo r added
insurance ag ain st bowing and swa ying duri ng
erect ion .
P art, Lilt
A-2" galvani:r.ed iron pipe

2" d iameter by I S" long

( 4 required)

D-Pulley block of your

c h oice
C-Dow n -h a u l rope o r cable
- a bou t 35 teet required
D-Shackle or auto tire
ebetn repair link
E--Gal\'an i:r.ed
eye a bolt"
JA" X 3" wit h nut (ineu la ted eye type)
F-#8 x %" galvanb.:ed
s heet m etal IlC r e W8 (42
requ ired)
G-Wood re-inforcing plug,

H - P o r c e la in
i nsu la t ed
IlCrew e}'es-(G requ ired)
I - .;;a solid galvanized
iron wire
J- 2" diameter gahani:r.ed
iro n ra i n pipe 14 ten
foot lengths r eq ui r ed )
K -2 " #1 2 b rass or &,a lvanleed iron rou n d -head
wood screw
(U nless otherwise specified.
only 1 each of above itt-rna
required.]

,a.

l6

13 MAGAZINE

JANUARY 1961

While some difference of opinion exists

among various authorit ies as to t he proper
heigh t of a vert ical r ad ia tor for amateur
usage, popular pra ti ce seems to favor 33 f eet ,
p lus or minus a f oot or so, depending u pon the
desired r esonant f requency of operation, calcu lated f rom existing fo r mulas. Such a h eig ht
is t he equivalent of a qu arter wave-le ngth in
the 40 meter ba nd, a half-wave on 20 and full
wave on 10 and works well on all. On 15 m eters , the efficiency is but slightly impaired and
is really a matter of no concern. In the 75/80
meter band , f unction ing as a vertical rad iator,
t he ma st is somew hat less effective than at
higher freque ncies, bu t as t he 75/ 80 meter
hand is not considered a 'DX' band, the excellent g r ound wave propagation of a vertical
of this h eigh t a ssures reli ab le commu nication
over sever al hundred and often a thou sand or
more miles, dependent upon transmitter power.
'Ve have therefore set tled on the mechani cally
practical height of between 32 and 34 f eet
which, in add ition to bei ng very effective a s a
vertical rad iator, also perm its a h orizon t al wire
a ntenna to be installed at a satisfac tory
height a bove grou nd level, if desi r ed .
T he mechanical st r uct u r e itself is somewha t
unique in that instead of usi ng a wooden mast
or pole, with copper tubing down the s ide and
topped with a 'whip' antenna, or using water
pipe, electrical conduit or irrigation pipin g,
rain-pipo of the 2 " galvanized, r ound type is
used. T hi s is available from hardware stor es,
builders supply hous es and pl umbing dealers
practi ca lly a nywher e and a t n om in al cost. In
the writ er's ar ea, it is p r ice d at 15c p er foot
and comes in ten foot st a nda r d lengths. This
means that you will need four of the ten f oot
sect ions and mu st necessarily di scard a portion of one if your ma st will 'doubl e' a s a vertical radiator and is cu t to r esonance. The few
feet you discard h owever, r epresent a very
s ma ll loss which can be disregarded in view
of the low over-all cost of the complete mast.

sn ips. Procure f r om your local lumber yard,

a six foot length of what is kn own a s "fullr ound" wooden s tock in the 2" size. Cut it into
four 18" length s. T hese will serve a s 'plugs'
or con nectors between sect ions a n d are shown
a t "G" in F ig. 1, a nd a s " A" in Fig. 3. U se
t hese to con nect the sections , drivi ng a bout
half of their length into each end of the ra in
pipe and sec uring them with sheet metal scr ews
as sho wn in the d rawings. Butt the ends of the
metal p ipe closely toget her and run a generou s
solde r bead com ple tely around th e metal joint
for elect r ica l contact between mast sections. Do
n ot depend on this however; mechanciaUy, the
woode n insert w ill be adequate. Electrically, a
Iltle w ind s wa y in th e ma st could conceivably
break t he solder seal a nd destroy t he electrical conductivity. So, make su re of th is by
st r a p ping the sect ions toget her with galvanized
plumbers t ape or ground st r a ps of cop per at
all three p oints (120 degrees apart) as shown
a t OlD" in Fig. 3. This ' t a pe ' or st r a p metal is
generally sold in t en foo t coil s and one roll of
ten feet will be suffi cien t for all joints. U se
sh eet metal scr ews a s in Fig. 3 to hold it in
place a nd then make it a good electrical j oint
by flowi ng a solder b ead a r ou nd it a s in "E"
of Fig. 3. Not only will these straps insu r e
good electrical cond uct ivit y for your rf, but the
mechanical streng t h of the joint will be greatly
enh a nced as well.
Your next s tep will be t o sa w, or cut with
t in s n ips, the excess length of t he initial 40
feet of ma st a ssembly. Determine the length
of the ma st fr om handbook for mu las a nd cut
the top sect ion to br ing t h e ove r -all length into

Mast Assembly

$ttTlOff THAU 0-0

As supplied, pipe sections are fluted at on e

end for a few inches to permit telescoping.
Cu t off the fluted end with a hack-saw or tin

"-/

P a r h Li st
A -2 " diameter g a lva nized
iron rain pi pe ( 4 t en
foot le n g t h s required )
R-Ba lsa wood s pace r s tri ps
[ see t ex t )
0 - 10-24 Ga l vanized or
bras s s tove bolt , 3" long
D-Woode n e r ose-a r m ins u lator pin (see tex t)
E--Solde r l Ull t o fit "C"
and " H"
F -Gah-ani1ed split lock
w ash e r to fi t " C "
G-Gah'ani1ed o r br a s s
10-24 nu t
H - Co-a x ia l c ab le (RG 8/U
o r RG58/U) (length a e

JANUARY 1961

requ ired)
[ -Braid from c o-axial enble t o g round damp o n
"J "
J -Fi ve o r s ix foot co ppe rclad steel g round r od
K -Ma stic o r roofin g pit ch
w ate rproofin g (see text)
L--Petticoat type o f pole
line insu la t or {see text)
M- % " x # 10 pan - headed
s h eet m e ta l screws (2 reoq u lr ed )
nVhe re n o q u anti ties specl fled, one o n ly o f i t em li s t ed.

~0,+ _

~-:
/

TO

TfIl.AMSWfTUI

CD

r equt red.]

. ,I ,
73 MA GAZINE

37

conformity with your calculat ions . Remember

to mea sure f r om th e point of fe eder connection a t the base (" C" in Fig. 2) to what will
be the top of t he mast.
In sert t he final plu g in to t he top of t he mast
and d rive it flu sh, secu r ing with sheet metal
screws as shown at "F" in Fig. 1. T o prevent
rain drip f r om going down the interior of the
ma st and r ottin g t he wooden plugs ca p the
top ei t her wi th a 2" galvan ized p ipe ca p (" A"
in F ig. 1) or a coffee ca n lid a nd a wooden,
rubber or pl astic ball, if you want to be r eally
decorative. Toilet ta nk floa t balls, either plastic
or metal will serve well here if you don't ca re
for t he fla t treatment of a pipe ca p .
Mast Hardware

Your assembly of the mast it self is now

complete. \Ve assume that you ha ve, of course,
paid pr ope r attent ion to su pporting it on sa w
horses or boxes so that it assu mes a perfectly
level fo r ma t ion which will in sure a plumb
and pleasin g appeara n ce when er ected. A sixteen or twen ty foot length of t,4" x 1 %" lattice
(rea l chea p at lumber yard s) makes a good
s tr aig ht edge, when u sed edgewise, to check
thi s. Your next ste p is installation of a f ew
hardware items on the ma st. First, let's mount
the guy wire anchors. If this were to ser ve only
a s a sup por t ing ma st for a horizontal wire
antenna we could g et by he r e with conventional
galvan ized iron screw eyes or eye-bolts. Howeve r , a s we might want t o u se this also a s a
vertical radiator, either in itially, or later, w hy
not make provision f or such use now? So, let's
use the ineula tcd type of scre w eye, commonly

- '--

.I

-,

,,

available in all TV and radio stores for a few

cents. By so doing you don't have small radial s
and poor rf conta cts to upset your theoretical
calculations f or antenna height vs. frequency.
And you'll find it a big help in avoiding TVI
which could result from microphonic contact
between guy wires and mast!
OK; mount three of these insulated screweyes about 16" down from the top of your mast,
s paced 120 degrees around the circumference.
Th ey will ser ve a s anchors f or your upper
ser ies of guy wires (see " H " in Fig. 1). Do
the sa me at eithe r t he ten or twenty f oot level
of t he ma st; they will anchor your second set
of g uys. J prefer the t we nty foot level but
do as you see fi t. You ca n even drive an additi onal wooden plug half-way into the second
(from bottom) sect ion of t he mast if you want
the lower gu ys at a point about half-way up;
the deci sion is you rs . Remember to ' stagger'
the scr ew-e yes a t least half an in ch in th e
vertical plane or their s ha nks will collide!
And now, the final hardware mount; the
eye-bolt at th e top of the ma st (a few inches
below ) which will receive the pull ey block for
the down-haul for t he wire antenna. Thi s eyebolt should also be in sulated and can be a galvani zed type, three inches long, going clear
through th e mast and wooden plug as shown in
F ig. 1 at "E". The pulley block itself can be
anything you choose; galvanized iron, bronze,
wood bloc k with metal shea ve, etc. Connect th e
eye of it to th e eye-bolt in t he ma st with a
conventional 'shack le' ( hardware st or es or
mar ine su p ply house s) or, if no local sour ce
for sh ackles, u se a n automobile tire chain r epair li nk , available at any automotive ser vice
st a t ion , tire sho p or auto su pply st or e.
Now, if you have your guy wires in place
and your down-haul riven through the pull ey
shea ve, you need only cut the guy wires ever y
fift een f ee t and insert a su ita ble insulator.
This shou ld preferably be of the compression
ty pe as, in the event of breakage, the guy
does not let go. The s ma ll , gl azed porcelain
type kn own a s 'airplane' st r a in in sulators, are
ideal; these sell for less than iOc each at
most r ad io sto res . \Vith their installation, w ork
on the mas t itself is now com plete, mechanieally. \Ve recommend t hat you now give it a t
least t wo thor ough coats of a lead base paint
in any color that su it s your f a ncy. Not only
w ill thi s act a s a preserva t ive against r ust , but
w ill conside ra bly im prove t he appearance of
your fi nal mast.

P arts List

I
I

38

.~

73 MAGAZINE

A-2"x1 8 " le ng t h of 'f u ll _

round' wooden pole (4
reouir-ed )
8 -2" diam E' tE' r gal vanizeod
iro n rain -pipe (4 tE'n foot
lE'nKths req uired]
e-II.:" x # 8 pan -head galvanize d s h e e t m e t a l
scr ews ( 12 ut eneh joint)

De-Perforated steet s t ra pabout t en f eel r eq uired

( see tex t}
E--Solder application
text]

(see

JAN UARY 19b I

Mast Base Mounting

Wh ile the paint on the ma st is drying (two
coa ts take sever a l days you know) it's a good
time to prepare th e base mounting. This isn't
too bad and involves only digging a hole in
t he ground abou t a foot sq ua r e and approximately t en inch es deep. Make a little form of
sc r a p lumber if you're meticulous, let it protrude about two inches above the ground level.
F ill the thing wi th concret e; you can g et
"ready-mix" sa nd, gravel and cemen t in a
convenient bag a t your lumber yard). Follow
the cons istency i nstru ctions on the sack a nd
you'll come out all r ight. After it sets up about
half hard, bevel t h e top fo u r edges if you like
for a mo re professional job. A t the s a me time,
sc oop a circu lar depressi on in the center of the
top of the conc r et e base to a ct as a ' socket' f or
t he base insul at or to be next described. Use a
tr-owel for t h is operat ion or you can use the
insulator it self in 'postal' fa shion to achieve
thi s. Now you ca n leave th e base al on e while
it sets up (about 24 hours) . The base insulator
should next be procured a nd mounted on the
mast. See th e 'outside line construction f oreman' of your local power or telephone company and s how him Fig. 2. He will immediately
r ecognize "L" and "0" a s a sta nda r d crossarm insulator ("L") and wooden mounting
pin ("n"). wh eedl e, cajole or buy su ch a
combination fr om him ... it will cost you little.
The insulator "L" can be either glazed porcelain or of blue /green bottle gla ss a s used by
the phone companies. E ither is more than adequate electrically and mechanically.
The end of t he wooden pin opposite the
thread s will be too s mall f or your 2" mast.
Build it up to th e 2" diam eter required w ith
shor t wood strips (4). nailed with small brads
to the pin itself. Balsa wood, u sually available
at mo st lumber yard s, variety stor es and hobby
shops, will work well here. Get something
about half an inch wid e and of a s uita ble
thickness to fill the gap when installed a s
shown in Fig. 2 at "B". A f oot of thi s stock
will be ad equate. 1\I oun t t he insulator and it's
pin a s in Fig. 3 and you've g ot a complet e
antenna mast a nd vert ica l antenna r eady f or
er ec t ion when the paint d r ies!

Your Co m plf't f'd Antf'nna Sup!tort :\Ias t/Vf'rtit":al Radiator

Should Look Like This!
A- Ho riwntal w ire an t en n a
D- In sula to r lor " A "
G--Down -haul rope or eable ( use a sash weight
a t lower- end or a nchor
to a ch'at or E'ye-bolt
near base o l m a s t )
D-Guy wi re ( .:t 14 g81v a n teed iron )
E--A irplllne t y pe o l "(COOlieee e " str a i n Insula to r
F-G lazed p o r c el ain or
' bottle-elass' pe tt i c o at

JANUARY 1961

pole _ line cros s - arm In;

su la t o r
G-Concrete base; about 1
cubic loot
H - Co-axia l cable feeder
(RG8/U or R G58/ U )
I-Ground rod ( 5 or 6 l oot ,
copper clad steel wit h
cla mp)
J -Porc e lai n
i n s u lated
sc r e w-eye insulator
K-Gu )' w ire a nc ho r

Again you don't have much of a problem in

tying your guy wires into the ground. You'll
need first three spots 120 degrees apart (appro ximately) and at a minimum of 7 % fe et
from th e center of the mast base. 10 feet is
better, bu t 7 % will do very well. \Vith a piece
of st r ing , ce ntered on the ma st base, you can
scr ibe a cir cle on t he ground and determine
your anchor points. Maybe you have a convenient tree a st um p or a build ing which will

ser ve, in the a pp roxi ma te area. If so, u se It,

If n ot, you have sever al choices f or guy
a ncho rs. You can buy convent ion al, drive-in cr
screw-in types of pole line a ncho rs from your
power compa ny ; t hey won't be cheap h owever . You can d ig a hole about two feet deep
and t hree feet squ a re , make a cros s of a couple
of 30" 2" x 4" ti mbers an d lay them in after
wr appin g so me stub lengths of guy wire
around th em to which you can tie your guy
wires above ground. Or, you can dig h oles
about a f oot squa r e and 18" deep, set a s ix
or 8 inch eyebolt ( g alva n ized of course) in the
a pproximate ce nte r , pour the hole full of concrete mi x and wait for it to set . Any of these
methods a re g ood ' you choose the one which
"
you lik e best. Even six foot lengths o.f 1
pipe, driven at about a 30 degree angle, WIll do
the trick.
And wi th all of the above done, you need
merel; r aise your ma st, t ie on the feed-line ~s
shown in Fig. 2 or rai se your wire antenna 10
place, or both, 'and you're "on the a ir" with
eit he r a wire an tenn a or a vertical or both at
will, a s you choose! Lay back now and take
it easy; th is is a ma st wh ich will la st you a
.
I
73
l-o-n-g 1-o-n-g ttme
l

---to.

"'

~
\

.... "

,
[
I

/
,.

\
,,

73 MAGAZIN E

39

The Diligent Detector

7] Stoff

far as most of us are concerned, the

detector is the "forgotten man" in a commun ications receiver. Ultra-simple circuitry,
tried and true over the years, tend s to make
us think of the detector ( when we bother
to thin k about it at all ) as one of the most
nearly perfected parts of the set.
The general impression that d etectors have
little room for improvement isn't correct. F or
a few cents worth of parts and a few minutes
time, yo u can reduce your set's detector distortion to a fraction of its previous value.
This will do a near-miraculous job of cleaning up formerl y-muddy signals whose only
actual fault was 100 percent modulation, and
ma y even restore broken fri endships if bad
signal reports caused th e breach!
You call take your choice of a number of
circuits to accomplish this end, thanks to the
audio fraternity which devotes much of its
tim e to reduction of distortion. Some are
nearly as simple as the conventional detector,
while others involve addition of one or more
tubes to th e set.
Each of th ese circuits has its own set of
advantages and disadvantages, making the
choice a bit more complicated than one of
mere tim e and complexity. The purpose of
this article is to list these circuits, together
with th eir pros and cons, to make it easy for
you to p ick th e one b est suited to your own
needs.
Before going into th e newer and moresoph istica ted detector circuits, a brief review
of the conventional detector is in order. To

Fig. I. This basic cir cuit, or slight vari,~ltions of

it, is the seeend -d etectee in use in nearly every
radio receiver on the market today. Except for
the filter, the circuit is identical to a half-wave
power supply but operates in a completely dif.
ferent fashion.

.,

..

OUTPUT

40

73 MAGAZINE

clarify the ap proach u sed in this review, you

know that an ordinary A~l signal may be visualized in e ither of tw o ways: It may be considered to be a single, steady carrier wave
varying in amplitude, or it may be thou gh t
of as a n un varyin g carr ier accompanied b y
sidebands of varying strength which are lat er
mixed wi th the carrier to produce sound .
\Vhile th e second visualization is more correct in the mathematical and physical sense,
th ere is no measu rable d ifferen ce between the
two. To avoid complicating this article with
exotic mathematics, the first (and older ) visualiza tion has been used in explaining dioded etector action.
Sinco the most common detector in use
today is th e diod e, let's look at it first. Most
diode detector circuits are similar to that
shown in Fi g. 1. You may find a cryst al diode
instead of th e tube in some receivers, but th e
principles of operation remain unchanged.
Similarity between thi s circuit and an ordinary half-wave power supply (less filter ) is
evident. However, the two circu its differ
d rastically in several important operational
details.
In a power supply, th e design factors are
chosen so that current will flow over as much
of th e cycle as possible without flowing during th e reverse half-cycle. This reduces ripple
voltage in the output to a minimum.
In th e detector, however, th e objective is
to mak e current flow through the diode in a
series of extremely short pulses. This is accomplished by makin g th e resistance of RI
very large compared to the diode's forward
resistance, and by making the applied signa l
voltage as large as possible without running
into overload .
Under these conditions, CI is cha rged by
the short pulses, and if the time consta nt is
properly chosen the ca pacitor voltage will rise
almost to the peak value of the applied signal.
The voltage will vary in a linear manner with
th e strength of th e applied signal as measured
at the p eak. F or thi s reason the circuit is
known to engineers as a "peak-linear" detector.
Note that the voltage impressed on CI will
follow th e signa l modulation envelope only if
the tube voltage drop is negligible compared
to applied voltage. At low signal levels, every
rectifier becomes a "sq uare-law" device whose
JANUARY 1961

voltage ou tpu t va ries with the sq ua re of input

voltage rather th an varying linearly. Squarelaw detectors produce excessive distortion of
A ~ I signals, but are useful as mixers.
Under normal condit ions, the output of an
ord ina ry diode d etector con tains about 5 percent harmonic distortion. \Vhile signals are
perfectly readable with this amou nt of distortion, reception can become extremely tiring
to the ea rs-as anyone who has ever opera ted
in a co ntest knows.
In ad ditio n to introd ucing distort ion, th e
peak-linear d etector plays another sneaky
trick 011 the signal-it cuts down the effective
mod ula tion percentage.
T his ca n happen b ecause the if amplifi er
feed ing th e detector has very poor voltage
regulation. Output of the if transformer, with
the same signal applied to the amplifier, is
considerably less und er load than it is w ith
no load- and the d iode detector represents a
very app reciable load.
W hat's more, th is load varies wit h strength
of the applied signal since the diode's impeda nce will vary with voltage applied. This
means that the if amplifie r is under a h ea vier
load for th e sidebands of a signal th an it is
for th e carrier. and the ra tio of sideband
power to carrier power as measured at the
detector is reduced.
Bad as this sou nds, it's actually no losssince a peak.linea r detector is not capable
of reprod uci ng a 100 percent modula ted signal wit hout severe d istortion. I n one typical
case, breakup of the signal became objectionable at 75 percent modulation. Other a uthorities clai m the effect is severe at 70 p ercent.
By red ucing effective modula tion percen tage.
the diode makes itself ab le to handle a moredeeply-modu lated signal than could otherwise
be accommodated.
Distortion in a p eak-lin ear detector is
caused by th ree major fac tors. One-curvature
of diode characteristics-is outside the control
of the designer or the set owner. The other
two ca n be con trolled to some degree, but
the control always represents a compro mise.
W henever th e de co mponent of the signal
and the ac component meet different load
lines, distortion is sure to result. This situation occurs if AVC is derived from the detector. if an S-meter is connected to th e
detector circuit, if a n automatic noise limiter
is incorporated, or if the detector feeds an
audio amplifier. The Jast condition is necessary if you're going to h ear a nything out of
the setl
This cond ition, known va riously to e ngiJANUARY 1961

neers as "clippi ng" and as di fferential distortion," is the major factor limitin g acceptab le
modulation percentage. Distortion in conventional circuits remains under 5 percent at
moderate modulat ion levels, but rises rapidly
to 12 to 20 percen t when modulation d epth
approaches 100 percent.
T he th ird fac tor introducing d istortion is
the He lime constan t of the detector load ( HI
and C I in Fig. 1 ) . ]f th e time constant is
too long, "bottomi ng" will occur on negative
half-cycles of th e inco ming signal, p rod ucing a raspy and most objectiona ble sound. ]f
it is too short, detector output will be low and
rf ripple will be too high. T his is not usually
a problem, since design values found in most
sets represent a hi gh ly accep ta ble comp romise
between output level and distortion.
W ith this background established, we're
ready to examine some low-distortion circuits
a nd to co mpa re them to existing detectors in
your recei ver.
One of the simplest of the low-distortion
circuits is the "diode integrator" described a
couple of years ago by Leonard Geisler. It's
shown in Fig. 2.
TO IF'
PLATE

.,

TO 8_

ca

'""'0
OUT

lO OK

.1

Fig. 2. The diod e inteq rator, so metimes called

a pe ek-to-pe ek d etector, provides a virtually
epen-cireult load to the il t ransformer sec'
o ndary. All d istortion re sulting fr om a ssym etri.
ca l tran sformer loa d ing is thereby eliminated,
a nd detector efficiency is increa sed .

Instead of b eing patterned after a halfwave rec tifi er, this circuit is an adap ta tion
of the fu ll-wave voltage doubler. Since it is
a ful l-wave device, it utilizes both halves of
the input-sig nal cycle rather than only one,
with resulting increase in efficiency.
The reduction in di stortion is b rou ght about
by the fact that one of the two d iodes is conducting at all times. and both diodes never
conduct simultaneo usly. \ Vith both C I and C2
se t at th e sa me value, the if transformer always sees a capacitive load- and under this
73 MAGAZINE

41

-,Le'
I'" 100

",. .~!!II~
,.00<
"' ""'"
'00"
.,

.,

ot

PUlE

C!JL

,r

,.

r .

-aeo

e'J(

eoo

'AVe

.,

;~

'"'

.,m,

"UOIO OUT

l'
-e-

.,
lNEG

.,

'70' '00'

.~

4.1"'EG

Fig. 3. Most complex of th e d etector circ uits

sho wn here is the " sinking di od e" arrangement
whic h incl ud es dela yed Ave a nd reduces dis.
t ortion. Crystal di od es ca n be substit ut e d for

oI

a nd 02 , but 03 must be a t ube to achieve

extre mel y high re ve rse resist ance.

condition, the capacitance can be trimmed out

by retuming the if transformer to resonance.
T his results in an effective load of nothing
a t all; a t one fell swoop you have eliminated
modulation cutt ing and have more than
doubled the efficiency of th e det ector.
Ad vantages of thi s circuit are the reducti on
of distortion and th e removal of loadin g from
the outp ut if transfor mer.
It s major disadvantage is the high outp ut
produced; in new-design eq uipment thi s is no
hand icap , but wh en you modify existing eq uipmen t the 35-volt peak-to-peak audio which
co mes out of the integrator and the 100 volts
of AVC both prove somewhat unhand y to
work wi th . \Vh ile vo ltage dividers can be
used to trim them back to more conve ntional
values, the d ividers will then introduce frequency d istortion and differential loading cfIects w hich may cancel out the advantages of
the circuit.
An other low-d istortion circuit is th e "sinki ng
diode" arrangemen t describ ed b y LangfordSmith and shown in Fi g. 3 . This circu it eliminates differential distortion and also produces
delayed AVe, at th e cost of several addition al
components . It has been applied in at least
one receiver-updating technique, and excellent results have been reported.
This ci rcuit is identical to the peak-lin ear
circuit insofa r as the detector itself is concerned. The only depart ure from conventional
techniques is use of a voltage divider and a
clampi ng d iode ( 03) to first apply a positive
42

13 MAGAZINE

hias to th e AVe line and then to cla mp the

lin e to ground .
The result is th at the AVC line must overcome the posi tive bias to become effect ive,
hu t can never go positive itself. The voltaged ivider circui try provides a constan t load for
the AVC diode, preven ting interaction w ith
th e detector diode coupled to the same transformer a nd thus eliminating differential distortion due to the AVC action.
The advantage of the circuit is its reduction
of d istortion , coupled with DAve provision.
Maj or disad vantage is the requirement for
added components. A secondary disadvantage
is the requirement for "cut-and-try" tailorin g
of compo nent values in the AVC circuitry.
Since much of the distortion in a p eaklinear detector is caused b y interaction with
associated circuits, use of some sort of isolation device appears to be a natural to eliminate the distort ion. One of th e simplest and
most popular such devices is the cathode
follower.
T wo circuits combining the diode detector
a nd the ca thode follower have been published,
and excellent resul ts are report ed with each .
The simpler of the two was developed by
W. T . Selsted a mi B. H. Smith in the Hadiation Laboratorv of the University of California , and a ppears in Langfcrd-Smuh's writings. In it, th e cathode follower follows the
det ector (see Fig:. 4 ) but p recedes th e load
capacitor and filter components.
Claimed di stortion reduction is from 12 percent to less th an 1 percent at total modulation. This is achieved because the isolation
presents an essentially resistive load to the
detector, completely eliminating all causes of
distortion except diode characteristic curvature. Curavturc effects are minimized by keepFig. 4. Leu th an I percent distortion a t 100
percent modulation is ihe claimed performance
of this cathode.follower p lus diode d etector
circuit. Shunt impedance is eliminated from
th e diode load (R 1) by the direct-coupled
cathode follower.
TOIF
PLATE
12AX7.ETC.

'---1- --

.,
"'"

---

. 02,,+_
15K <

+ AWO
OUT

".''--- --i

JANUARY 1961

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AVAILABLE
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Factory wired and tes le d

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Inductors . Plug-in Coi ls with fix ed and variable links . St raight type air wound coils in a variet y 01 dimensions.

JAN UA RY 196 1

73 MAGAZINE

43

ing appl ied signal voltage high-greater th an

10 volts in mos t receivers.
Ma jor disadvantage of the circuit is its req uirement for a n added t ube. However,
should your receiver use a GALS as detector,
it ca n be replaced with a 12AX7 w ith little
d ifficul ty. The 6116 can be replaced with a
6SL7.
T here is no hurd -and-Fast ru le that the isolation must be between the detector and its
load. Simi lar advantages may be ga ined by
isolati ng the detector fro m the if transfor mer
as described bv Snreda.
In thi s circuit ( Fig. 5 ), two major advantages appear. Loading of the output if transfor mer is subs tan tia lly redu ced , since it feeds
only the high -impedance input of the cathode follower. D ifferential distortion is also
slashed by an appreciable amount, since the
detector load res istor ( R2) is so much lower
than any ussociuted shunt impedance. This
means th at any variation of shunt impedan ce
with frequ en cy or modulation depth becomes
only a minut e fracti on of th e impedance of H2.
. 1SO -~

6C4.ETC.

---

~IIII
IF

AUDIO

II

OUT

C2

ea

,0041

10 '

as

""

"

S6MEG

",c

C3 033

T
Fig . 5. This cat hode-fo llower d etector c irc uit
provid es both a udio a nrt Ave fr om a single
diod e. It e liminates diffe rential d istortion by
keeping d iode loa d re sist an ce R2 at a low
va lue so th at a ll shunting impedances will have
minimum effe ct

Use of the lew-valu ed load resistor requires

th at a h igh-conductance crys tal diode be used
as detector. ]f a tube is employed, its forward resistan ce will be an appreciable fraction of the load resis ta nce an d distor tion will
skyrocke t.
No figures for distortion red uction have
been obtained for this circuit. H owever, it
appears that its performance should be comparable to tha t of the d iode integrator.
Major disadvantage of the circu it is its
complexity, requiring addition of one triode
44

13 MAGAZINE

stage and three other com ponen ts to the receiver. However, it should be a nat ural for
inclusion in a homebrew receiver.
Anoth er ap pro ach to detection, b asicall y
different from th e peak-lin ear diode circu it,
is th e "infinite-impedance" detect or. Frequentl y used In hi-f gear, it is seldo m seen
in communicat ions receivers because it make s
no provision for Ave voltage.

_ISO

~@~6AV6' IIZ IZAX7

--,-+-....

~11
;;~ gil

jll,-..,

CI
.000

AUOlO OUT

Rl

'"

Fig. 6. The lnflnlte-lmpede nce detector eppears simila r to a cath ode-follower amp lifier
but operates differently. It reduces distortio n
a nd incre ases selectivity, but can be e verleeded more easily than the conventional di ode
circuit.

A typical infi nite-impeda nce detector is

shown in Fig. 6. You can see that it appears
identical to a normal cathode follower type
amplifier-and so far as th e circuit goes , it
is identical. The difference lies in the tube's
operati ng point.
W hile circuit constan ts in the cathode Icllower are chosen so that the tube acts in a
linear manner, an infi nite-impedance detector
is biased almost to the cutoff point. This is
accomplished by the extremely large cathode
resistor, Rl.
With no signal, little plate curren t flows
and the voltage drop across Rl is small and
steady. When an rf signal is app lied, more
plate current lows at positive peaks, increasing voltage drop across HI. T he voltage across
H1 reproduces the signal's modulation envelope in th e same man ner that the envelope
is rep rodu ced in a p eak-linear diode d etector.
Sin ce th e tube is opera ted in cathode-follower configuration with a large amount of
feedback, its input impedance is high. As a
result, the if transformer is not heavil y loaded
and selectivity is increased. The large amount
of feedback prevents overload effects until th e
grid is driven far into th e positive region, a t
w hich time d istortion suddenly becomes extreme. Since this doesn't happen until input
nears 50 volts, its effec t is usually absent.
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JANUARY 19b 1

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Spe cs . a nd price s , u biect to chan 9. w ithout notice .

73 MAGAZINE

45

Distortion level of the typical infinite-impedance detector at 100 percent modulation is

in th e neighborhood of 3 percent. This is not
so low as some of th e more sophisticated diode
circuits, but apprecia hly lower than the 10
to 15 percent p rod uced by the conventiona l
diode.
Aside from circuit co mplexity, the m ajor
disadvan tage of this d etector is that it makes
no provision for AVC takeoff. \Vith the receivers using amplified AVC such as th e
Super-Pro and the SX-28, this poses no
problem.
The only other A ~ I detector still in anything like wide usc is the superregenerativc
circuit, developed by ~I aj . Armstrong. Helegated to the UHF hands before World W ar
II, it W ..L<; bronght hack fro m obscurity for
usc in Class D Ci tizens Band equipment and,
with some modificat ions, can find a pennanent place in ham eq uipme nt.
Too many superregen circuits exist for us
to list th em all here. One easily-hand led
version is shown in Fig. 7. Note its strong resemblance to a gro unded-cathode Hartley
oscillator. As a matter of fact, th e superregen
is an oscillator, with its grid-circuit tim e constant chosen to produce "squeggmg" at a
supersonic rat e. The ear d oesn't hear the
oscillation or th e squeggiug, and th e nearlyinfinite amplification produ ced when the circuit is oscillating mak es it pos sible to hear
even th e weakes t signals.
One major cha racteristic of the suporrcgen
is its cha racteristic hiss. At one time, th ey
were known as "hiss-boxes." This hiss is actuall y the noise produced by random movement of electrons in the coil and in the
antenna- ind icative of its great amplification
Fig. 7. This superrelJe ne rll t ive detector for use
in VHF mobile receivers co mbines AVe. no ise
rej ection . li nd extre me amplificlltion. R2 con trols req en eration lind R4 is the audio gain
ccntc ], The trllnsform er second ary must be
ce nterta pp ed.

...,
lOOK

",,,

112 6U8

'"OM
If

__-+

C2 IN IF

-Cr'M~l.:i?'::li~

--

"

0'

820K

4b

73 MAGAZINE

_"0

.....,
OUT

ability.
The superrcgcn has othe r advantages besides extreme a mp lifica tion . It automatically
limits its ow n output, making noise limiters
and AVC circuitry unnecessary.
However, in most applications its disadvant ages outweigh these advanta ges. The superregeu produces extreme noise output in
absence of signa l ( the hiss mentioned before ).
It radiates an interfering sign al, not only on
the frequenc y to whic h it is tuned but at all
integral multiples of its quench or squegging
frequency for several megacycles in either direction . It s sens itivity is low despite the gain
because of the high noise outp ut. And finally,
its distortion is high. The superregen is definitel y not a low-distortion detector.
\Vith a couple of modifications, though, it
can fill a major need as the second detector
in mobile sets design ed for VHF use. In this
application, its amplitude limiting and great
gain become major advantages. Use of superhet configuration for th e receiver eliminates
the low sensitivity, interfering radiation, and
broad-tuning characteristics of the superregcn
used alone.
Care must he taken to shield the detector
completely. Otherwise, signals at the if will
leak throu gh and he detected because of th e
great gain. The if frequen cy to be used must
also he chosen ca refully. Quench or sq ue ggtng
Frequen cy should b e approximately 1/1000
th e signal frequency for best results, but in
no case should it be in the audio range (or
even lower than twice the highest audio frequ ency desired in incoming sign als) . This
means that the if chosen should not be lower
than 10 rnc and can never b e lower than 5
me if goo d results are to be ob tained.
The circuit shown in Fig. 7 is d esigned for
use with an if of 17 me. It can b e used without cha nge th rou gh the ran ge from 10 me
upward. Should you desire to cha nge th e
quench fre quency, the components whi ch d etermine it are HI and C3.

Automatic Volume Control

While Ave circuits are rightfully a subject
un to themselves, they are so closely related to
detectors in so ma ny ways th at they will be
treat ed b riefl y here.
The basic Ave circuit is id entical to the
peak-linear d iode detector shown in Fig. I ,
except that th e AVC output line includes a
low-pass H-C filter to eliminate all aud io
compone nts and leave only the de voltage developed by the incoming carr ier.
The time constants of this filter determine

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4.95
IF STRIP AS ABOVE with t ubes . . .. . . . . . . 3.95

SIGNAL GENERATOR
Hidok crystal controlled signclll g en era tor, 90 to
1600 kc, 1.6 t o I 44mc.
$21.95
A re al spe cial at on ly

APX-6
C ompl ete A PX6
See QST for Sept.

$ 10.95

200-432 me CAVITY

CONDENSER
IGE C o nd ens er. 25 ,000 volts . . . . . . . . ..

$6.95

2C39 SOCKET ASSEMBLY

Comp lete socke t ass emb ly fo r p air of 2C39's
incl udes g rid by-pa ss cond en sers a nd dc co nnedion s. 160 waHs inp ut from 160 to 431m c.
l ess t ub es
$4. 00

HEADPHON E
Aircraft t ype wit h ea r pa d s . . . . . . . . . . . . .

A simple and efficie nt way to g et o n 432mc.

Use t his unit as a t ripl er a nd d rive it with yo ur
C ommuni ca tor or ot her 2 met er rig . Uses pushpull 2C39's in groun d ed g rid . C omplete conve rsion info in Dec. issue W RA.
C om plete wit h tubes .. $12.95
C om plete le ss tubes . . 7.95

LINE STRETCHER
$3.95

FILAMENT TRANSFORMER
Fine for bridge reettfler, Will handle four 866 's
in bridg e circuit. Two 2 112 vol t 7 a mp winding s,
one 2 112 volt 14 amp winding. Impregnated
ag ainst moisture
$2.95

Improve your loading, lower your SWRI Silver

plated line stretcher
Only 95e

VIBRATOR
b. volt hea vy duty vib rator dual contacts . . .

.99

PHOTO FLASHER

PLATE TRANSFORMER

Sylvania photo fl a she r co mple te with t ub e $19 .95

110, 220, or 440 volt prima ry. 400-0.400 volt 735

rna secondary. Imp re g na ted . .. . . .. . . ... $3.75

MIKE
C a rbon p ush mike

$ 1.49

GLOBE ELECTRONICS
3103 PICO BLVD.
EXmon. ].7206 & ].7207

JANUARY 1961

SANTA MONICA, CALIF.

Op en 9 a .m. t o 5:3 0 p.m. w eekdays

73 MAGAZINE

47

how rapidl y the AVC will act, as well as the

speed with which it w ill release after the signal stops. F or communications use w ith
norm al A ~ l signals, an overall time constant
of about 0.2 second (for both attack and release ) is opti mum. Shorter time constants
enable the receiver to follow fadin g more
rapidly, hut result in loss of bass from the
audio. Longer time constants emphasize fading effects . However, in hi-fi tuners where
excellen t audio response is more important
than freedom from fading (since mos t reception is local in nature ), time constants for this
circuit average one second .
A major di sadvantage of the ordinary AVe
circuit is that it applies a control voltage for
weak signals as well as for large ones. In
other words, it cuts back the gain of the set
even when you wan t all the ga in you can get.
To overcome this disadvantage, delayed AVC
was developed. T he delay refers to voltage ,
not to time. It means that no AVC is appl ied to th e set until signals are above a predetermined level. Past that poin t, AVC action
is normal. On e of th e b est d elayed A VC circuits is th e sinking diode arrangement, F ig. 3.
Another is included in a sq uelch circui t shown
ill "T he Perfect Squelch " (73, D ecember,
1960, pg. 26 ) .

\ Vhen receiving C\V or SSB. neither conventional nor delayed AVe is in itself acceptable. Means must be found to apply Ave
qu ickly. w hile retai ning it even with no signal
incoming. Such circuits are known generally
as "han g AVC" circuits because the AVe voltnge han gs on for an instant af ter the signal
is gone. These circuits, together with d etectors for C\ V and SSB, must form the sub ject
73
for ano ther article.
BIBLIO GR A PIIY
Eastman, Fund am entals of \'acuwn Tubes, Third
Edition, pages ,564-576.
Geisle r, Rciu cenation for th e A U Detector, BadiaElectronics, O ctober, 1959 , page 58.
G reenleaf and Chandler, Low N oise A .\ f Tu ner
Uses Triode I nput. Audio, September, 1959,
Page 19.
Langford-Smith , Radiotron Designer's Handbook, {I
Fourth Edition , pages 1072-1086, also pa ges
326, 1108, and 1117.
Sareda, Better Diode Detection, Radio-Electronics, Au gust, 19.56, p age 103.

Terman, Electronic and Radio En gineering,

Fourth Edition, pages 547-558.

{I

T schanncn, \ V9L UO. Th e "Club Saver" 2-Meter

Porta l)[e, QST, October, 1957, p age II.

Vog-elgesang, Uniq ue A M Tun er Im proves Audio

Q uality , Radlo-Elcctronics, December, 1956,
p age 80.
Ava ihthle f rom R adio Bookahop .

SIX METER RECEIVER

MODEL 505A-50-54mc

TWO METER RECEIVER

MODel 506A-144-14Smc

Here's the ideal low-cost receiver to

start your six or two meter station

only 3 inches high

Excellent sensitivity with stable superre ge ne ra tive detector

Built-in 110 volt AC power su pply

Full y transformer opera ted, no volta ge doubler

Co mpa ct, fully enclosed in ca binet-onl y 3 in ches high

RF stage for increased sensitivity and isolat ion
Send -receive switc h for muting receiver
Bo nd set capacitor for fu ll 4mc ba ndspread
Feat ures stable o peration a nd dependa bili ty
Mod el 50 SA, 50 6 A, KIT, tomplete a s above : $29 .95 WIRED: $49.95

MOBILE OPERATORS: Model 505A, 506A are available with mobile power supply
instead of AC supply at slight additional charge.
Send for da ta on the complete line of NEil 2, 6 and JO meter fixed station,
mobile, and portable receivers, tra nsmitte rs and transceivers.
St;t<; \ ' 0 [;8 U K\ L E K . OK OK lfER } R O:\I

THE
48

NEIL

73 MAGAZINE

COMPANY 1 13 3 6

Calkins Rd SAker 5-6170' Pittsford, N. Y.

JANUARY 1961

Ham Headl ines

If ha m radio m ake's flu: II c1I's/, a /,c r s in y our tm,'ll pI{'(ISt'
se nd a d ipp ing to .\l an -in Li(>t o)l VEJD QX . 3 1 1 R os elIIary R oad, Toronto 10. Ontario , COlw do . .l/an-i" runs tile
73 XN.CS S rrn"c(', /I mOlltl), publication $('11' to all editors
of cllfb bu lJetins. Ill' ~1;lI diacst the mo,st importoll t
stories that ore submitted eoch month f or u.s to p rillt in 73.

EVANS OFFERS

lI am Station i n 8 0m h Sh..Ite jA ham Ill a t io n , oper-nti n g- on a ll a m a teur b an d a from

Six to F.ighty m eter s , h a ll b een i n s t a lled in t h e enf'eter-ia , w h ich d oubles lUI a bomb s h el t e r, o f th e C fe vel a nd
T w ist D r ill Com pa ny, Ther e are both i ndoor and o ut.
d oo r a nten nas , j ust in c ase. Call letters a re K8 U F N .
(ClN/dona P lain D eater, Clet-da lld. Oll i{) . from Parillo
Radio Ollb) .

II a m s and Uuc t ar Aid Stril:ken lIu n t t' r

W 5FFX, W . C . Londo n , at a ran ch i n F olsom N ew
Mexic o put II phone p utc h t h r oug-h W6MLZ, Ray Mey e r s ,
t o a docto r in t h e S a n G ab riel H os pit al. The doctor
pre scribed e mer srencv t r ea t m e n t for II h u nt er- w ho h a d
b een str-ic ke n wi t h H h ea r t attack a t th e isolated ra nc h .
A n other a m a t eu r al erted a n a mbu la nce wh ich ru s hed
ox y g e n to the sce n e, The new Me xico Hig h w a y Patrol
la te r n o t i fi ed W6~fL Z that t h e hu nter had arri ved a t
the h os p tt a l in Folsom a nd was o ut o f d a n g e r . (Los All'
grla Tim l'S) ,

COMPLETE SERVICE

To HAMS - By HAMS
( 12 lice n se d employees)

EOU IPMENT a n d CO M PO N EN TS
(Ho m - Ele ct ron ic Electrica l)

TRADEINS
Ion n ew o r use d un its)

TIME PAYMENTS
(fle xi ble . finan ced ourselves)

ENGIN EERING DEPARTMENT

(back ing a ll equ ipment sa les)

REC ONDITI ONED EQ UI PM EN T

La rg e st i n ve n to ry in the Northeast

EXP ERIENCE - - 26 y e a rs as :

"YOUR FRIENDLY SUPPLIER"

Tow er Legisla ti on
The Menlo P a r k City Dou n cil h a s decided t o mak e II
b la nket ru ling a bout h am r a d io tower s. The iss ue was
brought to a he a d by t he 70 foot t o wer o f W illiam O r r
W 6SAI w hich t h e Cou n ci l or-der-ed h im to t a ke d own.
Orr disputed the ru linK a n d r efuged to ta ke it down .
A secon d tow er was rec e ntly discovered by the City
P lan n er, th is o n e o n ly 5 0 fe-et hht h . S ince th e city h ei g h t
li mit is 35 feet this wa g added to t he O r r tower d if fi cu lty a nd 1\ s i n g le com prehens ive r u ling s h ou ld r es u lt.

( Daily Palo Alto T im('s , P alo A lt o, Cali fo rtl ia) ,

VESTOTOWER
Survives 156 mph

Letters
n ea r P orsche P u sher,
H u ll o There I J u s t g r a bb ed a c opy o f u r n e w m u guain e today (la s t copy of t he O ctober lseue ) w h ic h m ad e
m e pretty h a ppy . Dunn o w hy I m ad e th a t t ri p to th e
local Clip & G ip join t - but m a ybe t h at "One S t e p Bey o n d " p rog r am know s what it' s tal king a bou t.
Anyhoo, I'm au r'e Klad that th e ex- vEdi tor o f a lead ing t ech n ical m a g a z in e in the elect ron ics fi e ld ," to Quo te
a s po r t s car m a g a zi n e which o nce p u b li " h ed a n art icle
by some g uy n amed G reen on R all y (e) inK, is b a ck i n t h e
business a sni n . " X X " los t m e a bo ut t he aa me ti me
tha t it lost YOU (we ll maybe 2-3 minu te later) , and
I've been h o p ing y ou would r etu rn. I renli ze th a t t h e
opi n ion o f II tee nager w h o ca n ' t e ve n a lfo rd $3 fo r a
8u b!lCr ip t io n m a y n ot cou n t fo r t oo muc h, b u t I s u r e
li ke t h e n ew "73" and you ca n b e da rn BUr l,' that m y
next $3 is headed directly t o y ou ca ts.
Speaking- of teenaee rs, why do n ' t y ou ma ybe d e vo te
some s p ace t o t h is g ro wing fa ce t o f t he ham fratern it y 1
A Qu ick g la n ce at t h e loca l h igh sc h ools' r egio nal Scie nce F a ir will sho w t hat w e z ouns -un s h a ve a f a ir
a mou nt or k n ow -how .
2 10 ( seve nty 3's) , . , Wm. Swo p e K7 H XP
Tacoma, W a s hington

OK H' m. !,I/ t don't$ that S'/t'itch-bladl' alld s tart n.,.;t

i ng . A lot of tcccnoarrs art' doing intt'rl'sting thin gs if
t hr)" d only r,.,.ite 'r ".. Ill'. I've s('en som e grl'rU lwmebrl'1.t'
st uff built by tees ooers , b llt da rned if I hat'l' been able
to get 'I'm to arlid l'is;e the stuff,

JANUARY 196 1

HURRICANE "DONNA"
Ve sta' s famou s

"Hurricane-Proof"
Construction is
the Reason!

NO GUY WIRES
EASY TO ERECT
Step-by-step
instru ctions given!
Can be taken down
and moved easily!

HOT DIP
GALVANIZED
to la st a lifetim e!
Prices start at
TH IS VESTO TOWER
WITH STOOD HURRI CAN E
" DONNA" IN FLOR IDA

EASY PA'I'MUIl PLAN!

VESTO CO., INC.

wr ite for new, I

fR EE literature .

20th ond Cloy St.

North Konlos City. Mo.

73 MAGAZINE

49

KEEP CANDEE HANDEE!

(6 end 2 from p" ge I I)

FA MOUS Q 5'Eft I I I
T h " 11 th e fan tabu loJul 011." 190 - 550 te. The eereller you' ,., been look lnt: ror at only . . $9 .95
BC 45.4 : 3-6 Me.
7.95
BC 455 : 6-9. 1 xre... ...... .... . . . . . .. . . 7.95
MOT MODU LATOR : l';ll~d lll . . . .. .. .. . . . . . . . .. . 3.95

A TRIO OF HE AD SET BAR GAIN S I

H5 23 : II I Im lledl nrll. Leat her COI'""e !! headb and.
Urand nee. Grn t buy. Only $4.9:1
H5.33 : !..ow lmped&n{lI. Le l lh~ ecreeed head
band. Brand nt'\1\'. A. ~ . J . Candee Special .... . 5.95
H I Fi H_ dset : 15 .000 eyclH ! Brand n_ with
chamoll ew bllXll. U', te rrlfte l Onl,. 1.95
CO 307A H" n t Eat_ion Cord : B rand new.
Appnllrlmltely .5 ft . IMic t h. Only . . . . . .. . . . . . . .
.49
" P H -' Filii TR AN SC EIVE R
420-460 :\fl'. Comp l. wUh tubes. Eac. Ea. ...... .. $2.95
Apprux. hhp. 1\"1. per uni t 25 Ibl . . . . . TW O lor 5.00

Construction
The converters are built on a 3"x7" piece
of copper sheet with th e edges bent 90
for strength. If copper is not available tr y
using p rinted circuit board as a chassis rnaterial, without etching. Drill all holes first;
then mount the Nuvistor sockets, filing the
necessary slots in the ~" mounting holes. Next
mount the shields by soldering to the chassis.

YOU GOT IT l WE WANT IT l LE T'S DE AL '

We 're p ayi ng top $U for Hlt C-S ; PIlC-6 . -S. -9, - 10 :
GN roIlA : All etecceoote test equtp.
AP X 6 TRAN SPOND ER
A ml lllet wa rehouse of pan' l B lowen . three v eederRoot count"'". I . F. s trI ps. cavity. over 30 tub es. ere.
Ind udM 3 E29 tuh . Good coed. A STE AL AT O:SLY
(2 to!' $19.00) . . . . . . . . .. . .. . $9.95
R -4A /ARR Z RECE IVER
234-258 1ofe. 11 tubee, t.:H lo.. tunab le reeetrer, See
AUI .l59 C. Q. :l1. ,u lne rOlf eotlvenlon. Exc-ellent eced.
two tot" $5.00. E adl
$2.95
1.208 F M S IGNA L GENERATO R
FreQ. r&n(et : 1.9- 4.5 Me. and llt-4:j :Ill.'. Frequency
d eYl atloo m&1 be adJulted 0.5 kc. for 1.9 -4 .5 Me. a nd
0-50 lie. each s ldll ror the 19 45 Me. band . ' v Uh
output me te r a nd I Pu klll". 115v 60 cydea or 12 Y!>c
Input. Excellen t eonc tttcn. .. . .. . .. .. $49.95
A ll I'llnu FOB IJllrbn nk , Ca lil., .u b }"ct fa prIor In le.

In Ca llI . n d d

.,%.

M in_ a rder '3 .95.

'+

'+
+

,,
J.
t
, +++
.., +t
+++ , "
,,
+
, + " ..

...

..
,
...
...
,
i ..i
,,
+

+.~

++

+0+

..,
++

10 .elO

i+
+

..
,
+ +
i

,,

"

+
+

I.

2M ....J-.6M

DRILL U~""",Rlt[O HOI.S .12

TAP .4'5 HOI.S 4-40

"

MTL' .020 (t .on COfOpR

OR 1116' pR1NTl O CJllCUlT BOARD

J. J. CANDEE CO.

D.pl. M'
509 No. Victory Blvd ., Burbank, Calif.
PhOM : Victoria 9-2411

CUT IT OUT!
Yes, c ut ih is ou t and sen d it in ri g ht ow~y
.. we need it ves terdev. The p roblem is this:
we need some Fects end figures to help snow
~dvertisers . The main figure we need is one
which wil l give them an id e o of how mll ny
73 reede rs do not ce refullv re ed othe r hem
meq erines so t hey can see why, t ho ug h t he y
me v advertise elsewhe re, they must elsa use
th e peqe s of 73 t o eporoech ou r e lusive re ede rs. If yo u don' t li ke to chop up your meq e zine then send us e pc stce rd. IMPORTANT:
send something .

Questionnaire

In oddition to 73 I corefully re ed the following

he m rneqezi nes __-:-_ _~~_ _--::-:-_-: . . (Oh, while you' re sending some thing in
yo u mig ht es we ll vote o n t he e rflcles} .
- Nuvisto r C onverters - Suction o r W hoosh
-Down With Dri ft
-Xstr Comm . Re ceiver
--6 N2 Comple te
-Vert icol
-A-M Detectors
- 1296 mc
-Goblin Petre l
- T1 7 Switch
- lost in Il Tunnel
-c-Propeqetlon Che rt
-8 me Conversion
-Spot Freq . VH F Nets
-Trenslstor Freq. Std. -See-Sow Bleed er
[Pleese list order of you r p reference . .
123. etc.]

so

73 MAGAZINE

The printed circuit board is considerably

easier to solder to than is the copper sheet.
Now mount all parts, and wire. The small
color coded wires removed from 8-wire TV
rotor cable are ideal for the hookup and the
coil links, If only one conve rter is to be built
simply split the chassis layout down the center.
Except for the extra hole for C9 the 6&2
layouts are identical.
I hope some of you p's and 1', will build
this converter and listen for K8ERV on 21
73

New Product
Inlernalional Crystal Calalog
If you look cereiullv in the smaller type in t he Intemefione l Crvstel eds you will notice t htlt e ceteloq
is listed as being evaileble. Their new 196 1 mod el
is just off t he presses end it is 0 d er b. Thecreticellv
yo u IHe supposed t o be inte rested in home brew if
you re ad thi s me qezlne . t hus yo u e utcmeflcellv become 0 first cless c en did e te for t his ho me b rew ers
peredlse. To be bl unt : se nd immedle telv for this
ceteloq end join the rest of us in hungrily ogling
peqe e iter peqe of good ies. They heve d ozens of
circuit kits in there, both with t ubes end t ra nsistors.
You ce n build a lmost enything you wont with the se
be s!c kits. If this cetelcq d oe sn't get yo u 011 excited
then t urn in your ho m t icket end subscri ption to 73,
your Novice license htl s expired . lntemeflo ne l C rystel
Menufe cturl nq Ccrn pe nv, 18 North Lee, Oklehcm e
City, Okleh ome.

JANUARY 1961

A Versatile

TfXA$

"""

Switch from Surp us

T

worthy T -17 Microphone has p erformed

yeom a n military ser vice through one war
and a major " police action" a n d, in addition
ha s ser ved man y th ou sands of amateurs a s a
rugged, high quali ty carbon mi crophone for
m obile and portable u se. However, th e best of
equipment does give up the g host or is replaced by newer and bet t er (?) gear. The T -17
is no exception to thi s and rep a irs of t he
models in which the carbon element is a ssembled in the plasti c case are difficult.

CITIZEN BAND
. CLASS " D" CRYSTALS
All '22 Frequen cie s in Stoc k

$2 95

3rtl

overtone. .005% tolerance-e-tc meet 1111

C C requirements . H er me t t t- alt y .ellied
IIC6/U holders. 'AI" pin
sjladng- .OJO pins. (.U!l3
pins available. aud 1St! per cr)stal).

EACH
.1<'

Th e followi ng Class "0" Citizen Ba nd fNlquonci es In stoc k

(fr equencies liste d in meIlMydos): 26.965, 2ti.97 5, 26.985,
27.005. 27.0 15, 27.025, 27.0 35, 27.055, 27.1)65, 27.075,
27.G85-, 21.105. 27.11 5, 27. 125, 27. 135, 27. 155, 27. 165,
27.175. 27.185. 27.205, 27.2 15. 27.225.

HE

.ll a ld uJtl H)'stal sets for tnob e. uonset, CH I-Fon e and lI alli ceauers Un its . . . $5. 00 pee set. Slll'eUy equi pment make.

RA D IO CONTROL CRY STALS IN HC6jU HOLDERS

Rpodfy frequency , 'h" pin spacin&,
p in di ameter .05
(.093 pin diameter. add 15t)
$2.95 ea
FUN DAM ENTAL FREQ . SEA LED CRYSTALS
In HC6 / holders
.I<: rom 1400 KC to 4000 KC .005% T olerance . . .... $4.95 ea.
F rom 4000 KC to 15.000 K C any fr eq uency
.005% Tolerance
$3.50 ea.
S EA LED O V ERTO N E C RYSTALS
RUPlllled In metal HC6/U holders
Pin spadng .486, diamete r .050
15 to 30 ~IC .005 Tolerance . . .... .. ... $3.85 ee
30 to 45 MC .005 'rcteran-e . .. . .. .... ... $4.ll)
45 to 60 xrc .005 T olerance
$4.50 e":

et

QUARTZ CRYSTALS
FOR EVERY SERVICE

All ery stals made f rom Grade "A"

Imported Qua rtz.--ground an d etched to
exact f r e q II e n c I e e . Unwndltlonally
&, ua rantoo<l! Supplied In :

"Chessls mounted view of the push-tc-telk

switch from a surplus T17 Microphone."

F T 243 h oldff'S
P in spadng 'AI"
Pin diameter .093

MC-? hol ders

P in sp acing
P in d ia meter .1 25

DC34 holden
PI n apaei ng
P in diameter .156

F T-17l holders
P in spacing
B anana pi n.

*"

B efore di scarding thi s ven erable su r vivor ,

exa m ine the push -to-talk switch ca r ef u lly. It
is a st u r dy double pole, si ngle t hr ow unit t h a t
may be easi ly r emoved fr om the microphone
and installed t o meet an y number of push-tooper a t e requirements. It is particul arly suited
f or u se where the p recision finger jabbing requ ir ed wit h todays m iniature com ponents can
not be toler ated.

*"

*"

MADE T O ORDER CRYST ALS

Speeiry holder wan ted

10(H KC to 260;) KC:
.01% tolerance
$2.00 ea.
. 005% tolerance

$2.75 ea.
2601 KC to 9000 KC :
.005% tolerance . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . .. . . . $2.$0 ea.
900 1 KC to 11,000 KC
. 00;;% toleran('(". ....... .. .. ..... .......... . $3.00 ea.
Amoteur, N o vi ce , Te chnici on Bond Crystals
.01% TOlerance . _$ 1.50 ea.-SO mete rs (3101 -3749 K C).
~O meters (7152-1198 x ci . 15 mete rs (7034- 1082 K C), 6 meters
(8335-8650 KC) withi n 1 K C
F"l'- 241 L a tti ce Crystals In all trec uenctes fr om 310 KC to
540 KC (all excep t 455 KC and 500 KC)
5 ~ ea.
P in spacing
PIn diameter .0~3
Matc hed pai rs + 15 cycles $2.50 per paI r
200 KC Crystals.- $2.00 ea.: 455 K C cr ys ta ls. $ 1.50 ea.: 500 KC
Crystals, $ 1.50 ea.: 100 K C Prequency Standa rd Crys tal s In
H C6/U holders $4.50 ea.: S ocket for FT- 243 Crystal 15 ea.:
Du al socket for I<'T-243 eryatals, 15 ea. ; Sockets for MC -1 a nd
l" T -111 cnstale 25 ea. s Ceramic sCK ket t or H C6/ U crys tala

*..

zneea.

Wri te for

IHIW

tree catalog #

8 6()

com plet e with oscillator el rcuih

ASK YOUR P AR TS DEALER FOR T EX AS CRYSTALS

See bIg r ed display . . . If he doesn't stock them, sen d ua
hIs name and order dIrect from our Florida factory.
NOW I E ngln ee r Ing sam ples and small quantities for proto types now made either at CliicallO or Ft. Myen Plant. 24
H ou r service I

IN C HICAGO. P HO NE GLadstone 3 3555

"Dismantled view of the T-17 switch showing

mounting details."

The photograph sh ows t he disassembled

sw itch and the mounting cut out r equired. The
other view shows the a sse mbled sw it ch mounted on a small con t r ol p anel. The switch is easy
to mount and where cou ld you buy a better
sw itch for such application s as mobile VFO
spot t ing ?
. . . Pafenberg
JANUARY 1961

RUS H YO UR ORDER TO OUR NEW PLAN T

Use cou pon be low for 1st Class sh ip ment.

TEXAS CRYSTALS
De pt. GIl , lDOO CRYSTAL DR IVE, FORT MYER S , FLA.
For extra fast servtee, Ph e ne W E 8 2 100

I ATI A CH TH IS COUPON TO YO UR ORDER

I
I
I
"
I

I
I
I
I

FOR SHIPMENT
V IA 1ST CLA SS MAIL AT NO EXTRA COS T
TERMS : All items s u b je ct t o prior so le and cho nge of
pri ce w ith out noti ce . All crys to l o rd e rs mus t be accom panied by check, cash or M.O. with P A YMENT IN fUL L.
No COD's. Dept. G -II.

._- ---- -- -- - ----------- - ----- - - - ~

73 MAGAZINE

51

ALAS KA
ARGE NTINA
AUSTRALIA
CANAL ZONE
ENGLAND
GERMANY
HAWAII
INDIA
JAPAN
MEXICO
PHILI PPINE'S
PORTO RICO
SOUTH AFRICA

U.S.S.R .

ALASKA
ARGENTINA
AUSTRALIA
CANAL ZONE
ENGLAND
GERMANY

mm. mm
. m
.m.a.
a

m. . .
..m. m

m.. . . . . . .

.m

.am

INDIA
JAPAN
MEXICO
PHILIPP INE'S
PORTO RICO
SOUTH AFRICA

U.S.S.R

ARGENTINA
AU STRA LIA
CANAL ZONE
ENGLAND
GERM ANY
HAWA II
INDI A
JAPAN
MEXICO
PHILIPPINE'S

PORTO RICO
SOUTH AFRICA

US.S .R.
LEGEND

m
mm

m
m
.
m

mlllllll
m
m

ma

..a
. m

HAWAII

ALASKA

11IIII.

m
. m.

11IIIII.
m

. m

Propagation
Receive,... Tran smitters. Mlerophonel.
Met en. Hea dle ll. Amplifier Gen.
era tort. T ~st EQ ui llmcnt. T.l. phon. Eu lp.
ment. Mot ol'$. Dyn.motors. P . ... r Su ppli...
Ant,nn' l. Ca bl T ra nsform en . I IlYlrte,...

Charts

Etc.- Etc.

David A. Brown K2 1GY

60 Ne w Y o r~ A ve nue

W est He mpstea d . N. Y.
710k $29.95
TEM.6. $2.50

GOO .Ki t k'::"7.!O,O

-"'
a nd a Sa ms
00 ,
W ays to u se you r Ha m Te st
Equi pme nt." Thi s b ook has 67 pag e s o n h ow t o
u se the GOO .
He re i ~ m y DEA L b oth o f ab o ve $31.45 Pre -p a id
t o you
Da le W9 NZJ / ex W8GDE

The bands listed are ~I U Fs and a high er

band will not work for the time period listed .
Lower bau d s will work, but not nearl y as w ell.
Times are G~ rr, not local time.
These charts are to be used as a guide to ham
band openings for th e month of January.
1961 to the various countries listed. I will be
interested to hea r of your results in using these
charts and to know w hat other areas you
might w ish included in fut ure charts .

Dalf.!'s Electronic S Il JJ I'I )' CO.

1125 Ea st MiC h iga n Street
MICHIG AN CITY, INDIANA

FABULOUS METER BUYS!

0-300 vee, 4" face
0 100 ma. , 2" or 3" round o r squ are

$3.95
$2.95

" 'rile I .... Irr e bllll",i" .

O VE R 3.000 METERS IN STO CKI

Add 50(' w ith o rde r f or handl ing & Sh ip pi ng .

L R ELECTRONICS

Advanced Forecast: J anuary 1961

Good 1-3, 10.19, 23-31

risit

35 29 Eo st Co!ond o
Pa s:ld eno, Colifornia

COLUMBIA ELECTRONICS
at the new store

Fair 4-5, 8-9, 20, 22

4365 W . PICO BLVD. (ne a r Cre 'l$h ow)

lOS ANGelES, CALIfORNIA
LA RGE STO CK O F ELECTRONICS COM PONENTS
HUGE SURPLUS DE PARTMENT
COME AND GET IT!

Bad 6-7, 21

II you ran', rom .., ..... iI.. l

E!
with

- -"tk-

,.

For TOPMANON
THE-FREQUENCY results
In stall a Telrex antenn a . . . dollar for
dollar better i n eve ry w ay! Antenna
systems from $6.95 t o $1 2,000.00

JANUARY 1961

Send for (o r, at your dist ributo r), PL 77 Technical Specif icat ions and Perfo rman ce Bull etin describing 106 Anten nas from % t hro ug h 80 m eters
including " BAL UN "-FED ROTATABLE DI POLES.
MO NO. DUO. TRI. 4 -BAND AND "5PIRALRAY"
ANTENNAS. ROTATOR/IND ICATOR SYSTEMS.
TOWERS. BROAD-BAND " BAL U N S." ACCES SORIES AND " N ICE-TO- HAVE-AROUND- YOURSHACK" INFO.
C om munic at ion a n d T V Ant enna s

SINCE
1921

rex LABORATORIES
ASBURY PARK 40, NEW JERSEY, U.S.A.

73 MAGAZINE

53

Spot Frequency Operation

Robert B. Kuehn WpHKF
1212 Bellows St.
St. Poul lb. Minn.

Of VHF Nets

NE

of the problems faced by users of com-

mercial FM gear in amateur operation is

placing all of the units on exactly the same
frequency. Slightly off frequency operation
with this equipment results in a marked falling
off in sensitivity, and in the absence of other
symptoms, everything else may be suspected

but the true cause.

In amateur operation being on the exact
frequency is unimportant as long as all stations
are on the same frequency. A convenient way
of ensuring this is to designate one sta tion,

usually the net control, as a standa rd and zero

all other units on that one by means of this
modified heterod yne frequen cy standard .
When the outputs of two transmitters within

10 kc of each other are combined in an rf

detector the result will be an audible beatnote representing the difference in frequen cy.
\Vhen the frequency of one of the transmitters
is varied until the beat note becomes as low as
p ossible and finall y disappears, both tran smitters will be on the same rf frequency. A mobile
can draw up to th e curb at the standard station, place this 'differen ce meter' on the fender
or tr unk floor and with both carriers on, zero
his transmitter exactly on frequency in a matter of seconds. In like manner the mobile can
th en carry the standa rd frequency to other
fix ed or mobile sta tions. Since sensitivity is no
problem, the most rudimentary type of rf
detector will do; in fact a portable grid dipper
or a field strength me ter with phones can be
used. The circuit illustrates a tun ed circuit,
diode d etector and transistor amplifier wh ich,
together with two p enlight cells, can be built
into a very small aluminum box. A piece of
wire a foot or two long serving as an antenna
gives enough pickup for an audible signal in
the phones.
\ Vhen it is d esired to establish a net on an
exact frequency it does not necessarily d emand an expensive frequency meter. It can
be done with equipment and parts found in
any ham shack. The following procedure is
used to set one of our nets on 147,060 kc.
\ Vith obvious modifications it can be used for
most 2 or 6 meter ch annels.
A 2 me crys ta l oscillat or is followed b y a
quintupler to 10 me, another quintuplet to
50 me a nd a tripler to 150 mc. Two dual triodes suffice, since little p ower is needed. A 5
54

73 MAGAZINE

me crystal could be u sed as well. A comparison

with \V\VV at 10 me ensures ou tput on exactly 150,000 kc.
We have a local BC station on 980 kc. A
self excited oscillator is adjusted to 980 kc by
reference to the BC station and followed b y a
tripler to 2940 kc. Since all BC stations keep
wit hin a cycle or two of assigned freq uency,
the 2940 kc can b e a ssumed exact as long as
zero beat is ma intained.
FREQUENCY COtfTl'IOl
ON TRA NS MI TTER

980KC

00.000 KC
.eo::ctIRAcY QCI([O

BEING CHECKED
VA.'llE:O fOR ZERO

BYREFEREMCt TO

WITH WWV ATlOIIIC

BEAT AT 2940 KC

ACOJRN:.YCHECKED
IlAOADCAST STATION

~~~
I
II
II
I
H AL STAfC)ARl)

2000 KC OR

ecce KC

llTAl.,.OSC

1
Kl.OOOKC

I
.so,OOOKC

1
I ~QOOK C

xym

BC BAH(! QSC

6121.SKC

WPaC 980 KC

Fa.

1
xa
1
xa
,I,
1
xa
I
1410 eo KC

1
OSC 980KC

1
.1

294QKC

"".",,/
2940KC

CO/IIlIlllUNlC AroHS

RECEIVER AT

2940 KC

150,000 minus 147,060 ( the frequency

being checked) is 2940. A small portion of
the output of the transmitter and the 150,000
kc output are placed across a mixer consisting
of a 1N34 diode and a tuned circuit at 2940
kc. The result is compared in the station receiver (tuned to 2940 ) with the ou tput of the
980 kc tripler. Varying the crystal of th e VHF
transmitter for zero beat at 2940 kc will then
ind icate operation on exactly 147,060 kc. In
making a frequ en cy check the receiver is tuned
quickly first to 980 kc then to 10 me and then
to 2940 kc for the final check. If a su ita b le BC
channel is not ava ilable the self excited oscillator can be kept on any selected frequency b y
73
means of an ord inary 100-10 kc standard .
JANUARY 1961

(1296 from page 11 )

You will note no mention has been made

of use of modulated oscillators or radar if
strips to get going on this band. Amateurs
p roved this type of U HF-VHF equipment
obsolete 20 yea rs ago, so consider such garbage
a waste of time. I h ave e APX-6, much modifi ed , etc., around to work out antenna patterns
with and so will you, bu t consider the time
spent trying to talk to someone else wi th it a
waste. If you are going to use " wave tanks
anywhere in the 1296 me portion of your
Xmtr. d on't use 432 me eq uipment for drive to
a tripler. Triple fro m 216 me to 648 me and
use a d oubler to 1296 meso
If the above seems like a lot of work and
too much trouble-then stand on a mountain
and use a flash-light to another such set-upyou will then have communicated on some
real-high frequency energy, but meanwhile
W1FZJ, W2CXY, W8LIO, W 9QXP, K2GQI ,
W2TT~I , K2HAC, K2TKN are involved in the
most interesting phase of amateur radio yet.
We have standards- the frequency is 1296 me
- exact, and polarization is h orizontal when
pointing at the horizon due south on a polar
mount.
Most of us have no special test equ ipment,
none have any mone y, any of us are more than
glad to prove that any availab le eq uipment or
parts provided by the few interested manufacturers will or won't work efficiently at 1296
me, and we all welcome interest by any other
amateurs. Please don 't write asking for exact
info on this or that, for I have no time to
descrihe equ ipment that is obsolete b y the time
this gets in print- scream, holler, and insult
W2NSD and he will see that articles appear in
"73" on anyth ing enoug h of you have interest
in, besides we need the money!
Seriously, Grote Reber summed up the
whole situation very well when he was the
first amateur working on these frequencies
some years ago-"There is much to be done!"

Air Force MARS

Eastern Technical Net
Sunda ys, 2-4 pm EST. 3295: 1540, 15,715 kc.
J an. I-No broad cast .
Jan. 8-Ellot ic Applica tions of Semi-Conductors.
Jan. IS- P",ssiv e Sate llite Communic ations.
Jan. 22-Some Aspects of Extre-Terrestriel
Communications.
Jan. 29-Plasma Physics.
Feb. S-Tih ation with HF Radiation.
Feb. 12-The Electronic Emission Microscope.

JANUARY 1961

new!. . .
CLiMASTER

INTERCEPTOR
en entirely new conce pt
in VH F receiv e rs-

T
he INTE RC EPTO R feat ures all t he de sl re ble
q ualities of the best crystal controlled con e rte rs
v

with all the benefits and performance {actors of

t he best t unea ble conv erte rs. The combined perIc rme nce teeters solv 6 the all too num erous
d efects of most ellisting VHF rec eiv ing syste ms.
Note some of the ed v e nteqes offered :
Complete freedom from cross modulation
Superior image rejection
Neqliqi ble IF lea k t hrough
Excelle nt frequency stability
6 a nd 2 me ter ope ration with a si ngle compact
sell-con fei ned unit
Costs less t han one-h alf of c rvstel controlled
con v e rte rs end tu neab le recei v er combi nations
New CliMASTE R styl ing- matc hing t he ne w
MER CURY and ZEU S t rans mitte rs

et
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It. 53 , Mt. Ta bo r, New Jerse y .

OAkw o od 7-6800

Ask for O.E.M. Prices.

050 p.A DC. ." .$8.9 5
01 00 p.A DC
7.95
0.200 IJA DC. .
7.75
0500 IJA DC. . . 6.9 5
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100 -0100 IJA DC.. .
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0 10 Mil. DC
5 .95
050 Mil. DC
5.95
0100 MA DC. . ... 5.95
0300 MA DC_
5.95
0 -30 voe 1000 U. 5. 95
0300 VDC ~r vo lt. 5.95
0150 VAC
6.45
20 + 3 VU
7.95

D'A rsonvgl Type Movement

2.5% ACCURACYI

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Ayailable

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f its 2 )/. '" Mount in g Ho le .

~
Ii"" inl Electronic Products, Inc.

t~

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3 Wo lco tt Ave. , Lo .... re nte 23. Mon .

73 MAGAZINE

55

See-Sow Bleeder
P",t Miller KV4CI
P. O . Box 701
St. Thoma s, V. I.

would you like to sa ve up to ten dollars

a year on your ha m r ig? If you are an
active CW h a m , the following article will give
you some good tip-off's on how to cut the cost
of running your rig.
The term "watts Per Dollar" has been used
frequ ently in con struction articles but invariably it ha s been in reference to the inital cost
of the com ponents. Little thought, by radio
hams, has been given t o the every day cons um pt ion of useless watts by their tran smitters. The worst offender is the power sup ply
bleeder, frying away and adding useless heat.
Comme r cia l communications companies, with
their eyes war-ily looking at their electric bills,
took up thi s problem a long time ago and carne
up with what could be called a "See-Saw"
bleeder. The design is a simple one and
amounts to nothing more than a clamp tube in
series with the bleeder which pulls a lot of
current under "key-up" conditions and clamps
off t he bleeder u nder "key-dow n" cond it ions.
We radio hams use this devi ce as a sou rce of
screen voltage from the HV su pply b ut then
blind ly proceed to add another bleeder in parallel with the clamp circuit. Such design does
nothing but add heat and st r a in to the power
su pply.
At KV 4CI one of seve ra l methods of putting
a "See-Saw" bleed er to work was put into
a ction; see Fig. 1. Thi s circuit is a bit fancy
as it uses a keyer tube to key the screen of the
4-125A final. H owever, the sa me bias that
keys the keyer tube is used to unclamp the

OW

Fig. I

'"

200.

6146

~o ,

-----

'w
""

'w
----- ~~~'~ A

6146

--1---

...

"'"".,

T....LOftEO
"OR won
.
tlESllUBI. RISt TIM[

bleeder clamp t ube. Under "key-up" conditions

the bias cuts off the kever t ube. Under "keydown " conditions bias is sh ifted from t he keyer
tube, a llowing it to conduct, a nd is put on t he
grid of the bleeder clamp tube cutting off the
cu rren t in the bleeder. A small plate re lay,
s ing le pole, double throw, is used to do the
keying and st ea ls a few mills from the low
voltage power sup ply.

..

we

---

---

62

2,K/200.

.or

___
'~'O'~"~i-f~-~-~o-.,,::o,,";,;';':W.J
'0'

,,,,,

6146/807

ow

'W

Fi g. 2

For those that u se grid block keying a s uggested circuit is shown in Fig. 2. Here the
normal grid leak is inactive under "key-up"
conditions, a cting only as a grid return for
the bleeder clamp tube. Under "key-down" condition s the bias sour ce is practically shor t ed
out leaving only enough protective bias to keep
the ampilfier cool if it shou ld accidentally be
off-tune. The same left over bias is used to
clam p off the bleeder tube.
Fig. 3 is another variation wherein the voltage appeari ng at t he plate of t he clam p tube
under " key-dow n" cond itions is u sed to supply the screen voltage to t he a m pli fier . A vo ltage regulator t ube cuts off t he screen voltage
entirely under "key-up" cond itions w hile a
small amou nt of negative bias is imping ed on
the screen to assure full cut off. If you p r oj ect
your imagination on your own you can come
up with at least a half dozen variations on
thi s theme with one of your own possibly more
suit ed to your circuit design.
( Continued on page 59 )

56

7J MAGAZINE

JANU A RY 1961

Leiters

MOBILE
POWER
SUPPLY

De a r Wayne:
It' s a helo fan ote when I h a ve t o ge t. t h e i n fo r m a ti o n
on 73 Magaz i ne f rom E ng land.
I had heard a few feeble r u m bles t h at y ou h a d s t a r t ed
ra m -rodd fnz a n e w rag. b ut, t h in k I co u ld find anyo ne
w ho knew t he s lightest thi ng a bout i t ' H A W !
W e ll . I fi nally s n a g g ed a copy of 73 , t h a n k s to
W 3NN K , who picked it up off a news s t a n d b a c k ('8 St
and brought it wit h hi m to Texas. I was rather pleaseol
with th e fa m iliar format and policy o u t li n e . 1 only hope
you continue to follow )"our i mplicat ion that 73 ) IBgazi n"
w ill deal m ainl y wi th con struct ion -type articles of advanced t echnica l interest. Some o f the other a va ila ble

MOD EL
A12 / 600/200

NOW

$59.50

mnll:'n:dnes a re g e t t i ng ra th e r p ed anti c .

A n u m ber o f y enra 8kO, back befo re y ou we r e o n

HTT- a nd s t ill h ad hai r . t here we re n coup le of i n to j-,
(>Bl ing, to m e, colum ns i n CQ, O ne was " Pages F rom an
Jo; ml"i neer s N o t ebook, ' dealing wi th o ld, n ew a nd u nusua l
circuit ap plications, a nd m a inl y cons isted of c hatter a nd
scr ibb led s ketc hes, very much li ke coffee-br-eak conve t-sation. The other column. " T he Hra aspoursder-," was coneerned wit h our primary mode of transmis sion, C VW' .
It s ho we red roses or threw brickbats at C W operators,
with no ho lds barred. It was a very fra nk d iscu ssion
of good and bad s ig na ls an ti/ or o per-a tj ng tec h n iques
henrd o r worked by the writer of t he colu m n. I USE'l l to
c hat w it h h im every e veni ng on 7020 ko b ut have n't
heard h im (or yea rs. F o r t ha t m a t t e r , I' ve been ou t
of the S tates f o r y oa rs-c-met y nu i n Wi eslmrlc n , Ge r m a n y
la s t year. H ow abo ut co nsfdert nz s omet bl n z like t ha t
f or 73 1
W a )'ne, YOU can see I'm rat her partial to C W, anci
it has been a lonR' long time s t nee anyone had actively
and frankly discussed t he " a rt" of transmitting GOOD
C W o Believe m e, it was a pleasure the other day to hook

This 12V inpu t d e to d c transistorized conve rter is

conservotively rated for co'ltinuous output o f 120
watts a t 600 V or 300V, o r a ny combination of 600
a nd 300 volt loa ds tot al ing 120 wa tts.
High e fficie ncy, small size, a nd light weight, plus
fre edom fro m maintenance. conse rve your ba ttery
and increase the e njoyment o f mobile opera tion.

ElECTRONICS DIVISION
GLOBE INDUSTRIES, INC.
525 MAIN STREET
BELLEV ILLE. NEW J ERSEY

up with a n old retired Mas te r Sgt. out in A lpine, Texaa'l-.!~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I t was the first t ime in years I was able to ta ke t h e
weig hts off t he "bug" and h la s t, (l a lao have a CO M
W ants
PLETE RTT Y statio n- prof_sional g rude.}
Dea r Wn yne,
I have no argu ments a bout A 3, A3a , o r A 3b, b u t Ian't
Yo u r "73 " is grf;'ut, I like i t. Le-e have som e RTTY
it a fac t t ha t whe n t he ban da h a ve g one dead, a fe w
articles: 144 m e an d UP ; in form a ti o n o n ho w to b uild
CW m en a re s t ill m anfu ll y c huggi ng a way. r ea d ing c opy,
waveg u ides and cavity re sonato r s : m ost com mon trou bles
h a lf ima gina t ion and half no ise b reaks , T hat 20 d b
wit h T T mac hines.
Stan Wi ls on W9 1FZ
adva ntage over A M is mi R' h t y hard to de ny.
O tT t he record, W a y ne, i t looked like you s hook the
SOPII('bodj."serite thou articles f or S tan. ,. "'('au! . cd,
bucket a bit to come up with that collection o f articles
in the 2nd Issue of 73, but it was a darn good start
Dear w a v ne :
i n the rig ht direction.
Everywhere I go on the air, people are mentioning
Dwight B. Olson W 9EAM
you r maglldne ! I never- f a il to hear a fellow s a y 73,
Vo n O rm v, Texas
r ight before he s ig ns off,
AI Brogdon W 4 UW A/K3KMO
State College, Pen n sylva n ia
1.0t$ m orc III thc bll ('k l't , D w ig ht , . . fVoYlle,

IN THE

_.

V\VIE~~iE'I~N
~

WEST. It'.

-'"h ,& .

-~

FOR OVER 2S YEARS ONE OF THE WEST'S OLDEST AND LARGEST FIRMS
DEVOTED EXCLUSIVElY TO AMATEUR AND ELECTRONIC EQUIPMENT.

1331 India St.

P. O. Box 1728
JA N UARY 1961

San Diego 1, Calif.

BElmont 9-0361
73 MAGAZIN E

57

Subscription Department
Big Brother is wa tching closely to see if you are really in there subverting
other hams w ith the insidious germ of home-brewitus, Please note the secret
invisible ink markings on the subscrip tion blanks so we can tell whether you

have been leading to the mental ruin of your friends. We can tell, so you'd
better get the old scissors out and get your friends in the same leaky boat with
you. ( Huh?).

Name

Call...... ...... .

$3 yr.

Address . . . .. . ..... . . .. .. .. . . ... ... . . . .. . .. .... . . .. . . . . . . . . . .. . . .

$5 2 yrs.

City . . ,

$4 yr. DX

Zone

. . . . years. Sta rt: Oct..-

Nov..-

Dec..- -

State . .. .. . . . . ...
Jan .

F eb.

(Check one )

73 Magazine ; 1379 East 15th St., Brooklyn 30, N . Y.

Name

Call. . ... .. . . . . . .

Address

$5 2 yrs.

Cit y

$3 yr.

Zone
years. Start: Cct . - -

Nov..- -

Dec . - -

State

J an.- -

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Feb . - -

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(Check one)

73 Magaaine ; 1379 East 15th St., Brooklyn 30, N. Y.

N ame

$3 y r.

Call

Address

$5 2 yrs.

City

Zone

. . . . years. S ta r t: Oct . - -

N ov..- -

S tate. .. . . . . . . . . .

Dec..- - J an . - - F eb..- -

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(Check one)

73 Magazine; 1379 E ast 15th St., Brooklyn 30, N. Y.

Name

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Address ... . . ... ...... . . . . .... . . .. .. . . ... . . . . .... . . . ..... .... . . .

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. . . . year s. Start : Oct.

N ov.-

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State. ..... .. ... .

Jan.

F eb.-

(Check one)

73 Mag a zine; 1379 E ast 15th St., Brookly n 30, N. Y.

58

73 MAGAZINE

JANUARY 1961

(SEE SAW from page 56 )

Not only is t his a money sa ving device, it is

al so a meth od which imp roves the overall voltage regulation on a C\V rig. For ex ample at
KV4CI the " load-no loa d" cond it ions for the
4-125A fina l were 2400 volts loaded to 250 rna
and 2700 volts no load except f or regular
bleeder. T he p icture cha nged d ram atically
a fter installi ng the "See-Saw" bleeder with
2600 volts at 250 rna and 2750 volts under
"key-up" cond itions. So I enjoy t he do uble
bonus of money sa ved and a couple h undred
more volts on the final to help fight the QRM.
UK /200,*,

SLlOEII: T YPE

SURPLUS BUYS
90,OOG n . military ObSHTaUOn unit hu a aun anglj 0f:::~
Iystem : Contains 16 mm n & H eamera taki ng ling e
_

ntctu re e solenoid driven. 8 day aircraft woe chronometer, ~~~

cilion lena and mirror I)atem. COffiPan. barometer , COU ll
OperatH 12 1'. Brand Kew. P erfect for nature lnd!!strl.al, Ct' ~~
tlal photos. Orld nl l g01't. picked. r.o.b. Utica. ~ . Y . or
Holb-wood. (Please .pedty.)
$35.00- Brand Ne w l
2-meter mobile cOllxlll1 antenna. c}lnlm ll . . . . . . . $ 5.95
HO8/U 50-n. wit h cormt'c tlil'l .. . . .. . . . . . . ,..... .
2.95
H Ulk ItG 5S/ U new
05/ H'

HC-603 receiver, as II ...... , .. . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . .. . . .

9.95
a-meter Oonaet Com municator .... .. .. ..... 1 4 ~. OO
2-wl:'t.er Gon.t't Communicator IV ... ... ... . 290.00
6-meter Gon.et LInear _.. ... . .. ....... _..
89.00
9
CITI-FOXE ctneen'e Bli nd 'rrensceteer with 2 ael, of
crYl tal, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89. 5

6 146/B07r:t-,.

---

.""
2'
""

Hams south of Boston, Mass. Bob Graham

WIKTJ now has another exclusive amateur
store at 1105 North Main Street, Randolph,
On Route 28, one mile south of Route 128.
Telephone: WO 3-5005.

H ulk HG -8A / U new _08/

li S - SO beadllhonea 600 ohm,
_.......
1.39

2 ~It.tlOOW

4 -125A

;----- PLEASE NOTE - - - I

N EW EST V A L LEY D I STRIBU TO RS FO R

HALL I CRAFfE RS AND GO N SET

""'.
,

.'M

\\'e will take anything in t rade. We alao buy used ham ae ar.
WIIlXly K6BXW
H arry W6ATe

AlyaRadio Diy. Standard Electronics

520S

-1~ O

L .n ku~ i m

Blvd.
Nerth HollYW llOd , Calif.
TR ian,le 1 211 3

T EI,ETVI'EWIlITEIl EQUII';UENT
COLLINS 51J2, 51J3, R-390 A/ URR Rec e iv ers (.52 -30.5 MC)
TElETYPE Pr inte rs # 14, # 15, # 19, # 20, _ 26, :28 .
KLEINSCHMIDT Printer, # TT-4 A, TT-76, TT-98, TT-99,
TT-1 00, GGC-3.
TElEWRITER fre q ue ncy Shift Converte r.
Fo r genera l informa tion & equipment litt w ri te :
Tom W 1A FN

BIAS OPT ION AL

ALLTRONICS-HOWARD CO.
Fig. 3

BOle 19, Botton 1, Mo n .

You will note that 6146's are used in m y

circuits. I happen ed to have a ha lf dozen used
ones laying around. 807's, 6L6's, 6Y6's, all of
them will do the job equally well.
73

Ri chmond 2-4048

THE MIRACLE IS POSSIBLE THE IMPOSSIBLE CAN

BE DONE
ITS NE W, ITS COMPACT, ITS POWER FUL,
ITS LOW IN PRICE
PRICE

$3 9 .95

(6 a nd 2 from pa ge 15)

The clipping level is then incr ea sed with t he

clipping con trol, just above t he point where
the two bars meet, but do not overlap.
Tests were run on both 6 a nd 2 meters a nd
t he stations worked were a sked for a report
on s ig na l strength, frequency sta bili ty, modulation percent and quality. Results were r ea lly
great. S tatio ns one hun dr ed miles away a nd on
the other side of 2000 foot mounta ins were
worked with S9 plus s ig na l reports! Most VHF
am ateurs agree, a s I do, that 100 watts on 6
a nd 2 is almost ideal. I ncr eases in power beyond
this point do not result in much improvement,
u nl ess the power is in cr eased to 5 or 6 hund r ed
watts. (O h the TV! !)
I can report TVI from the rig is very low.
T r ouble was ex pe rienced on ch a nnel t wo when
operating on six meters, but channel two is
a fringe area st a t ion in my area, being 80
miles a wa y. Th is was t he on ly channe l effected when t he rig wa s properly tuned and
matched to the antenna. For a r ig which win
enable serious work on 6 and 2 me ters, you
will have to go a long way to beat th is com.
bination.
73
JANUARY 1961

73 MAGAZINE

59

Net te Ama te u rs,

Comple te w it h Tube a,
Se e Your Deale t ,
SE ND MONEY
ORDER.
Price s Sub je ct to
Chan g e wi thou t
No t ice .
TUBE CO MPLE MEN T
5163 f inol Am plifiet
6AQ5 Modulator
6 U8 O , cilloto r Multipliet
12AX7 Spee ch Amplifie t
EXCELLO ELECTRONICS PRESE.HTS .
A Ne w Low Price V.H. F. Six Mete r Tr o n t ml tt~ r Wired
ond te ste -d wi th t ube s. The Exce llo Ma rk II SIX M.e ter
Tro nt miUer it the lowest priced tix me ter trontmltter
on t he ma rket t oda y. This is not 0 k it, but a comp le:e
un it, re o d y to put on the ai t wi t h on y power t up p y
supply ing 300 v , e t 100 m.c;
TRANSMITTER FEATURES
Me ter Indi ca to t -Pro v id ing moni tor ing of Fin ol Tuning,
G rid Dri ve Cl nd Modulat io n, CI t a gl a nce.
Tun ing Co ntro lt-Tu nin g Co ntra lt a re all o n t he Fro nt
Pane l.
I

Acce n to Components- Removable Enc oture g ives eecen ta 0 11 Compone nts .

.
T. V.1. Supp ren ion-T.V.I, Supp reU lo n It a cco m pl lt hed
by 1hielding end det ig n.
,..
,
Compoct Sile-Comple te tile of unit it ""x~ ' x6 ma.ing it one of t he Smollest Six Me te r Xmltte ra e vetlo b le.
Lo w Po wer Consump t ion-250-3oo v, a t 7S m.o, 10
Woth on the Ante nn a .

E xcello Electron ics Co.

196-10 116th AVE" ST. ALBANS 12, L. I., NEW YORK
LAu,.lton B~3804

L-

--1

""

Radio Bookshop
O n the o fT c h ance that som e o n e may r ead thi s
a d who h a s the b ug t o r e ad a little on t h e ir
fav o r ite subject, we've laid in a s toc k o f t he
fo llowing books :
I-elECTRONICS & RAD IO ENGINEERING- Terma n. One
;:,f t he mo~t compl e te te xt books e ....er printe d. 1078
pages. The ory, b ut easy o n the mo t h.
$15.50
2-ElECTRICAL ENGINEERING HANDBOOK-Mcilw ai n,
Formu la s, ta bl es, circu its. A real handbo ok. 1618 pages.
$10.00
5-ANTENNAS- Kr a U5 (W 8JK). The most co mp lete book
o n anlenna s in pri nt. but largely de ~ i gn and the ory,
$11.50
co mplele wi th mo th .
20- RTTY HANDBOO K- Kre tz mo n (W2JTP). A-Z of hom
$3.00
Te letype. Very pop ula r book, low su p p ly.
21 -VHF HANDBOOK- Joh nso n (W6Q KI). Ty pe ~ of VH F
propa gatio n, VHF circuit ry, component limitatio ns, a nte n na d esign and con str ucti o n, test e q uipme nt. Ve ry
th orough bo ok and one that should be in e v e ry VHf
$2.95
shac k.
22-BEAM ANTENNA HANDBOO K- O rr (W6S AI). Ba sin ,
the ory a nd cons truction of beam', transmin ion lines,
ma tch ing de....ices. and test e quipme nt. Almo,t all ham
stations need a beam o f some sort . . here ts t he
only source of basic info to he lp yo u decide wh. t beam
to build o r b uy. ho w to instoll it. how to t une it. $2.70
&
TECHNICIAN HANDBOOK - St oner
23 - NOVICE
(W6 TNS). Sugor coa te d t he ory: re ceivers, tro nsmitte rs,
powe r supp lies. an tennas; si mple co nstruction o f a
comple te sta tion. converting surp lu' e qu ipment. Ho w to
get a hom license, build a sta tion and get o n t he a ir.
$2.85
2 4-BETTER SHORT WAVE RECEPTIO N-Orr (W6SAI).
Ho w to buy a re ceiver. ho w to t une it, a lign it; build
ing acee n ories; better an tennas; QSL's, map' , au rora
zones, CW re ce ptio n, SSB re ce ptio n, etc. Hand book f or
$2 .85
sho rt wa v e listeners a nd radio a ma te urs.

28-TELEVISION INTERFERENCE-Ra nd (W 1DBM) . This is

the a ut horitat i...e bo ok o n t he subject o f getting TVI o ut
of you r rigs and t he ne ig hbors se ts .
$1.75
32-RCA RADIO TRO N DESIGNERS HANDBOOK- l 500
pages of design notes o n e ....e ry poss ible t ype of circuit.
fobu lou' . ev e ry design e ng ineer needs t his o ne.
$7.SO
40-RAD10 HANDBOOK, 15th EDITION- O rr (W6SAI).
This is f o r and away t he be st amo teu r rodia ha ndbo ok
$7.50
e v e r p rinte d . Over 800 pa ges.
45-CURTA COMPUTER . The wor ld' s smallest co mputer.
Send for deta iled info rma tio n. Ma ke s the slide rule lo ok
siclt. Like a big Mo nroe compute r o nly hond size.
$125.00
52-HOW TO READ SCHEMATIC DIAG RAMS- Ma rk,.
Compone nh & d io gra ms; ele ctrical, electronic, ce, de,
a ud io, rf, TV. Starh w it h ind ivid ual circu its and carries
lh ro ugh comp le le e q uip me nts.
$3.50
53-BASIC ELECTRONIC TEST PROCEDURES-Turner. This
book co v e rs iust about e v e ry poss ible ty pe of e lectron ic
test eq uipme nt a nd explai ns in deloil how to use it fo r
e v e ry purpose. Testing : a ud io equipment, recei....erl.
tra nsmitter, . tro n,i st ors. photoce ls. d ist ort ion. tu bes.
power . . e tc,
$B.OO
57-QUAD ANTENNAS- O rr (W6SAI). The or y. design,
co nstruc tio n and ape rCl tio n o f cub ica l qu ads. Build-it
yourse lf info. f ee d ,yste ms. tun ing.
$2 .85
5B-ANTENNAS FOR CITIZENS RADIO- O rr (W6SAI).
Ge ne ro l co....e ra ge, mobile and d irectional a nte n na s fo r
27 mc. bond. Build & t une 'e m.
$1.00
69-59 SIG NALS- Orr (W6SAI). A ma nu a l of pra ct icCll,
detai led dato co v ering de ,ig n a nd co nstr uction of highly
efficient. inex pensi.... a nte nnas f or t he a ma teur bonds
t hat yo u can build yourself.
$1.00

so

73 MAGAZINE

75-BUILD.A.WARD QSl ALBUM- Mount your p rize QsL's

in t his albu m. Ro om for 100 cords in e a ch a lbum p lus
labels for just obout all ponible operating ewerds. A
$1.95
fine woy to show off you r co rds.
BO-sURPLUS RADIO CONVERSION MANUAL VOLUME
NO . I (seco nd e di tio n). This boo k g iv es circuit ete gram s, photos o f mos t equipment, and rathe r good and
comple te conve rsion instruct ions f or t he f ollowing , BC221, BC342, BC-312, BC348, BC4 12, BC 645. BC-9.46B.
SCR 274 N 453A series reeet...e rs con v e rsion to 10 meter
re ceivers, SCR 274N 4!f7A se ries t ransmitters (co n.... e rsian 10 Vf Ol, SCR522 (BC624 and BC625 con v ersion
10 2 m eters ), TBY to 10 and 6 mete rs. PE1 03A, BC1C68A /1l 61A re ee l....er to 2 me te rs, Su rp lus t ube inde x,
cross inde x of A/ N tube s 'Is. co mme rcia l types, TV &
FM channel s.
$2.50
81-SURPLUS RADIO CONVERSION MANUAL VOLUME
NO . II . O rig:n a l and con ....e n io n circu it d iagrams. plus
photos of most equip me nts a nd full conve rs ion di s
cun ion o f the fo llow ing : BC-454/ ARCS reeei v ers to 10
meters, AN/APS1 3 xmtr/r('lr to 420 me, BC 457/ ARC-5
xmt rs to 10 me ters, Selenium re ct ifier powe r units, ARC-5
powe r o nd to include 10 me ters. Co il data-sim pli fi e d
VHF, GO-9/ TBW, BC-357, TA -12B, AN/ART-13 to a c
w ind ing charts, AVT11 2A. AM26/A IC, LM fr eq uency
$2.SO
meter. ro ta to rs. power chart, AR B di ag ram.
B2-SURPLU5 RADIO CONVERSION MANUAL VOLUME
NO . III- O rig ina l C1nd con....e rs io n d iagrams. p lus some
pho to of these, 701A . AN/AP N-l . AN/CRC7, AN/ URC-4.
CBY 29125 .50083. S0 141. 52208. 52232, 52302 -09, rr .
ARA, BC442. 453455. 456 -459, BC-696, 950, 1066. 1253,
24 1A fo r Jetal fil te r. MBF (CO L-43065). MD7/ ARC5.
R-9/APN -4, R23R28/ARC-5. RAT. RA V, RM-52 (53 ),
Rt-19/ARC-4, SC R274N, 5C R522. T-15/ARC-5 to T23/ARC-5. LM, ART-1 3, BC-312. 342. 34B. 191. 375.
Schematics of APT-5. ASS5. BC-659, 133 5A, ARR-2,
APA10. APT2.
51.SO
Rl99-GETTING STARTED IN AMATEUR RADIO- Bere ns
(W2 PIK). Fu nd a me nta ls for gett ing No.... ice Lice nse. $2.40
R221-BUILDING THE AMATEUR RADIO STATION-Bere ns
(W2 PIK). Sequel to a bo v e. Everyt hing you need to k now
to build yo ur first hem stc ttcn.
$2.95
sNSB-SOUND-NSIGHT CODE COURSE . Three 10" LP
re cords end inst ructions for No...ice code, 0-8 wp m. $9.50
SN520-S0UNDNSIGHT CODE COURSE 20 WPM. Advc nced co urse fr om 9-20 wpm, three 10" LP's.
$8.95
SNS2B-SOUND.NSIGHT CODE COURSE COMPLETE. All
$15.95
si x LP re cords. 0 -20 wp m and fu ll instructions.
As in ACltion gets more headway t he prices o n books
w il l be rising. On Fe bruClry first the price of #40 goe s
up to 58.50. This is CI terrifi c boo k so you'd bette r order
it now . #8081 82 a re g oing up to $3 each.

Order Form
I 2 5 20 21 22 23 24 28 32 40
45 52 53 57 58 69 73 75 80 81 82
RI99 R221 SNS8 SNS20 SNS28
Nam e ...
Address .. . . . . . .

. . . . . . . .. Call .
. .

City .. . . . . . . . . . .

...... . .. ..
State .

. .

.....

RADIO BOOKSHOP
1379 East 15th Street, Brooklyn 30, N. Y.
JANUARY 19b1

(DRIFT from page

13)

tages vary, and th is r esi st or between cathode

and circu it swa mps out th e interface r esistance
variations. Naturall y, t he added r esistor is
NOT bypas sed for rI.
The clos ing entry in thi s list of st a bil izing
techniques is t he idea mos t hams t hink of first
- but it comes la st f or a r eason. The rea so n
is thi s : If yo u employ the fir st s ix g immicks,
you won't need t h is one!
However, if you don't wan t t o go through
the t r ia l a nd er ror techn ique of Number Five,
you'll find thi s one helpf u l t oo.
S imply regulate t he voltag e applied W th e
osc illator a nd to t he m ixer scr ee n, if it's not
already r egulated.
Fo r best resu lts, use the VU t ube closest to
the designer's voltage rating for t he oscillator.
If t h is ra ting doesn't happen to be 65. 75, 90,
105, or 150 volts, though, take th e next-lower
VR tube.
And if t here's not room on t he chass is f or
another tube, you ca n still r egulate t he voltage. Use two s mall neon t u bes (NE-2 typ e
works fine) in s er ies , a nd place th em under
the chassis. Ea ch neon tube wiII r egu late a t
about 60 volts, gi ving you 120 vo lts for t wo in
ser ies. In many ca ses, you'll find, just 60 volts
on the osc illator gi ves plenty of out pu t . If it
does, u se it th at wa y- you'll cut down the
heat problem with th e lower input.
At thi s point, you ma y be wond ering just
wh at to expect in the wa y of r esult s f rom
these tricks. Whil e no promises ca n be made
(there's no way of knowing how bad yo ur present r eceiver is !) I CUll show yo u wha t improvemen t s t hese t ri ck s made for me.
Try them-th ey'll probably do a s well or better for you!
(!J ill

Lette rs
Dea r- W a y n e ,
Yo u r fi rst two Is sues of 73 have b een j ust da ndy, I' m
glad I s u bsc r-ibed early . I n t he futu re I hope you a n d 73
lay o ff 1111 s p o n so r in g o f contests a n d a w u r da for opera t e
ing . I t's so bad n ow t hat a rllg'c hewer c a n h a rd ly open
h is sta tion withou t being b es iested wi th c o n test n u m be rs
a n d reques ts for numbers. Or "Say, O M , j us t work none
m ore o f us T ail-Twis t e rs li n d w e ' ll send y ou a tail f or
you to twis t for you rsel f." I'm not IIgainst good clea n
fun , an d contes ts can be f un, Ro r a m I aga i nst a w a r ds
for o utsta n di n g ac hievemen t, but the p r esent sit u a t io n
is a mateu r r a d iu is s lig h tly r itl iculous. Do n ' t m a k e it
worse, W a y n e.
H a r v ey P ierce W I,/lOPA
OK [l arv, 'UT'U Cllrb :dllJt little ('IIthu.uaslI1 we m ight

h a-ce had in that di rection, I't(, been propollenli"g slwrur

cOll f('sts as a means of a/lI't'iati'lg t ire conocstio n t hat has
built II I' U a Il Y of the cmltest.f tha t arc 'Wit h ItS today (o n
a >-carl>' basis) arc hanflO1'rrs fro", t h(' dim dark apes of
h~m radio :I'hen it took two 10'19 wrrkcllds to :l'Qrk any
quan tity of stations. .'io:(oadays a good op ran tl'Qrk mo re
stut ions ill 0111' /l iu ht t hat till' w i llners used t o :(~,,"k du rill .fI
th r t-uo (Oll trst :1Irknds. Appa rel/tl)' tile f oot prillts i ll t ime
err: [rosen IHld llll/i'ss a clamor is srt lI P by dist urbed in.
habitan ts of onr bonds (lik~ j'oursdf) t hcse t h i" 9S 11.11 go
011 [orcuer,
Sotr t he SSB aw d V H F COli test s 1(,/li( 1I I
helped set l IP a f ew y ears back, both of w hich are short
Qn d pop ll/ar. . . tVa )ne.

JAN UARY 196 1

3 ELEMENT BEAM
$13.95
M odel I ASO..3 Boom 6' x 1%"
S ELEMENT BEAM
$19.50
Model I ASO..S Boom 12' x 1%"
6 ELEMENT BEAM
$32.50
Model ASO-6 Boom 20' x 1Y.:z"
$49.50
10 ELEMENT BEAM
Model /A50-10 Boom 2,,'x1 Y.:z"

STACKING
KIT
AVA ILABLE

SEE YOUR DISTRIBUTOR

-or write for Free Cotolog.

CUSHCRAFT

621 HAYWARD ST.

MANCHESTER N. H.

u. S. #1ELECTRONICS
a di visi on o f AMBER INDUSTRIAL CORP.
1'120 E. EDG AR ROAD (Right on High w a y U.S. 1)
L1NCEN, N. J.- a cra !os fr om ESSO RE SEARCH LABS

PLENTY O F FREE PARKING!

30

m i nu h~s

b y Pu blic Se rv ice fr om N. Y. C.

OPEN FOR RETAIL

cfter 1S years of who le sale on ly-no w you can b uy
ch oice surp lus e lectroniu- fro m o u r enorm ous and
va ried sto cks- ma te r ia l for t he w hol e e leclromogne l ic
spectrum.

R8/ARN 8
RT ..86/ APW .. 1

75 mc RC VR 7 tube s
$ 9.95
Ex c.. for conve rsi on 10
2 mele rs. New . ... .. .. 19.95
GO-9
Bra nd ne w ..... 69.50
SCR ..522 XCVR
EXC W , Tube s ...... 22 .50
SCR-522 XC VR
L/New. W . Tubes .. .... . 17.50
BC..603 RCVR
Ne w . Wilubes .. ... ... . . 15.00
BC..604 XMTR
Bra nd New.. W/lube s . . . . . . 8. 50
BC-603 AS
Is, Le ss lube s . . .. . . . . . . . . . 5.00
DM.. J.<4 RC VR
DYN 12 V. Ne w . . . . .. 5 .00
8C ..458 XMlR
5 .3 - 7mc. New ....... . 7.50
PE -117, 120
Power Su p pl y, Vibrator . . . 3.45
Fa mo us PE103
Dyn. New .. . ... . . . . . . 14 .50
PE 103
Excell. Candn. . . . . . 12.50
BC.312
Ne w Co ndn. . .. . . 72.50
T26 Mobile Chest Mike, Ne w $1.eO e a ..... 5/ 3.00
5F or 5G 60 Cycle Syn chro $ 15.00 eo. . . . 2/ 25 .00
10M FD 600v Oil Cond. New. G.E. . . . . .... .. 1.00
15MFD 600v O il Condo New. G.E. . . . . .. . . . . 1.50
.COC25 MFD. 8000 vall Peal. $1.00 ea ... 6/ 5 .00
MP..22 Mast b a se , e xc. mob ile mt. New . . .. . . 1.95
THO USANDS OF ITEMS- THOUSANDS OF BARGAINSI
Write for f ree listing -2S % d e po s it a n C.O.D. ordersMinim um o rde r $5.00. All p rices f.o.b. Linden, N. J.

ANNOUNCING THE

$borrcrrs't

2M CONVERTER
SUPER LOW. NOISE-C USTOM BU ILT
USING RCA ', N EW NUVISTOR
PAUL A. REVEAL W2ADD BOX 575
Church Stre e t St o t ion, Ne w Ya rk 8, N. Y.

II A

~I

fh .. ,.'ASTF.ST lea,.

10

- S \V A P
b .. y, . ell or n eap 110m Cearl

51 a year bring s you 24 iss ue s o f b argain s ga lorePLUS Ihe " Fa ste st Wa y in Ihe World " t o profitabl y
dispo se o f you r old o r e xcess parts and e q uipme nt.
FREE a d certificate and Iote at e di t io n returned imma diatel y if yo u se nd $1 NOW 10:
HAMSWAP, Inc., 3S.F Eost Wgcker Dr., Ch ica g o t, III.

73 MAGAZINE

61

;--- Allenlion RTTY'eI'Si-..,

AN / URA-6 Frequency shif t conver ter units,
complete with one CM14j UHH and two CV57/
URIC All yo u need is a r eceiver a nd a T eletype printer to copy signals. Thi s is an if
type converter. Input 395470 kc, out put is
electron tube keyer for keying 60 rn a T eletype loop. Original cost about $3000. Built
int o a two foot enclosed rack. Sh ippi ng wei ght
a bout 200 lbs. Your cost $295.

Cr ,.",tals. tvpe FT.243, 7725. 7900, 8000,

8100, 8025, 8050, 8075, 8150, 8175,

8225, 8275, 8300, 8325, 8350, 8375,
8400, 8600
any frequency SOc
Crvstuls type CR27/U. 7675.00, 7725.000,
7775.000,7966.667,8175.000,8180.000,
8202.778, 8270.000, 8613.889, 8760.000,
8700.000, 8883.333, 9030.556, 9086.111,
91 19..t44, 9291.444, 9180.000, 9319.444,
93l7.500, 936.667 . . any frequency 95c
Hot receiver. AN /A RW-2, 30-.40 me FM d ouble conversion cr ys ta l contro lled su perhe t. Also contains
tl!'n ple te relo ys, te n o udi o fi lters. Con be used o n
CB, 10M o r 6M. Exce lle nt f o r TT o r net f reque ncies.
W ith 28 v d e d ynamoto r (e osily co nve rte d t o 110 ve e},
Ship ping we ight 6S lbs., b ra nd ne w $39.95.
We ho ve tho usands and th ousond s of 1 % I,l! w att
(U. 5. made p recisio n re si sto rs. O n ly $6 per hundred.
Se nd for my list.
If yo u like lists, wo it ' ll yo u see so me of mi ne. J ust
o sk , t hot's a ll. O r come in ond so y he llo. Run W2 UFU .

SPERA ELECTRONIC SUPPLY

3710 33rd ST., LONG ISLAND CITY 1, NEW YOR K

STillwell 6.2199
STilw ell 6-2190

WANTED: Students

. . . no experience necessary

Build these and 13 other

~=
-.
piec es of equipment wh ich
will enable you t o learn
t he in's a nd o ut 's of R a d io
const ruction and servicing
H a m gear.

R-f Signol Gene ra to r

Lea rn
Ham Rad io

t he Ea sy W ay

AM XMTR

Radio Television Training of America

73 MAGAZINE

55

.
.

45

Alltronics-Howard
Alva Radio

.
.

59
59

Amber
Bar ker & Williamson
Candee

.
.
.

61
43

55

Columbia
.
.
C ushcraft
Da Ie. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
EIC O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

53

C entral Elect ro nics

C legg Labora tories

Evans . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Excello
_
E-Z Way Towe rs
Fa ir Radio
Globe Elect ronics

.
.
.
.

G lobe Industrie s

.
.

64

50

61
53
2
49

59
6
53
47
57

59

Ha m-Swa p
Inte rn a tional Crysta l
Lafayette Rad io
L-R Electronics
.

Cor respondence courses or r es id ent inst ruct ion are

avai lable fo r both t he beginner and fo r the advanced
s t udent in all pha se s of R a d io and Electronics.
for information write to:

62

Aleo
Alden
Allied Radi o _

G ~h a m

All the necessary parts

and simple, easy t o understand instruct ions accompany
each R T T A
Kit , which is d esi gned
and engineered t o meet
the most r ig id r eq uire men ts.

52 East 19th Street

Advertisers Index

New York, N. Y.

. 61
C ove r II , 1
.
7
. . . . . . . . .. 53
Ne il
48
_
Cover II I
Pete rson
Pie rce Schools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 62
_. . . . . . . .. 60
Radi o Bookshop
Shorecrest
61
Spera . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
Subscription ad . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
Telrex
53
Texas Crystal . .. .. .. .. .. .. ..
Vesta
W este rn Radio . . . . ..
73 Subscription . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

51
49
57
58

JANUARY 1961

/111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111IIIIIIIIII lIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII1111I1111I11111111111111

Othe r Ham Publications

ATH ER t ha n d e vote ha lf o r more of 73 to t he printing o f ne ws of
interest to spec ialized groups we believe that it is o ur function to d o
eve ryt hing possible t o encourage t he pu blishers of bulle tins which cater
t o t hese interest s. These bu ll etin s brin g yo u t he news you wa nt in far
g rea te r d eta il a nd in much less t ime t han is possible in a mo nthly magazine
whe re it usua lly ta kes t wo months for ne ws to get into print.

HAM.SWAP. Published by Ha m-Swa p. Inc., 35 Eest

Woder Drive. Chiceq c I. Illinois . Editor is Ed Shuey.
K9BDK . Subs li fe $1 per yell r by 3rd class meil, $3 f o r
1st cless. $5 e lrmeil. li nd $7.20 special delivery. Publishe d o nce " month. C ontain s cle ssl f ied ads entirely.
This is your best bet for on ine xp e nsive WlIY t o se ll
o r swe p some qee r in II hurry. W ith in two weeks
people lire e nswerlnq your lid .

FLO RIDA RTTY BULLETIN. Fred W . DeMotte

W4RWM, P.O. Box 6047, Deytone Beach. Florida. $3
p e r year includ ing membership in Florida RTTY
Society. Mostly operating news with e b it of te chnica l
info now and t he n. A ll IT me n shoul d be ge tti ng
this.

SIDE BANDER. Offlciel organ of the Single Sideband

Amoteur Redlo Assocletlon . 12 Elm Street. Lynb rook.
l. I.. N. Y. Subs include membership to SSBARA: $3
per year. Monthly. Primorily opere tinq news end chitc h<,1t for the

sse ox

9 .:o09.

TH E MONITOR. Mor-J~I( Pub lishers. 507 West Devls

Street. O~I I~s 8. Texes. $1 e year, 3 veees for $2.50.
Mo nthly. Lerqe lv o p e re ti nq news . C o lumns : YL, Cl ub
Mee ting s, Ark tlns~ s News, Mississippi News, Flc rld e
News. OX. Missouri News. MARS. Cel ifomie Ne ws,
Lo ui sie ne News. VHF News. Okleb ome News . Rio
GrMde V ~lIe y News, Novi ce News.
VHF A MATEUR. 6 7 Russell Avenue , Rtlh wtly, New
Jersey. $3 year. Monthly. O pe reti nq news for VH F
me n. So me tec hnlce ! info.

SO UTH ERN CALIFORN IA RTTY BU LLETIN. M e, 611

l. Swen W bAEE. 372 West Warren W oy, Arcedle.
Cellicrnle. $2.75 pe r year, not includ ing membership in
Society. Operating news lind some technlcel ert icles.
This is the oldest IT bulletin going. All IT men should
also ge t th is one. Monthly.

OX-QSL News l etter. C lif Evans. K6 BX. BOI( 385.

Bcnlte . Celifomle . Publi shed quarte rly. 40; e ech: Annuel subscription $ 1.25 (four co p ie s) by fi rst cless
rnail ($ 1.50 for OX stetlcns] , lists ~ 11 QSL Bureeus.
rne ne q ers fo r rM9 OX statio ns. etc. W hy not se nd
yo ur old C e llbook to <'.I OX hem? Write C lif for the
nam e of someone wh o nee ds it .

73 HAM CLUB BULLETIN. Me"';n Upton VE3DQX.

31 1 Rosemary Rood. Toronto 10. O nta rio. Cenede.
Sent free to all edi tors of hom club bulleti ns mo nt hly
to keep t he m abreast of whet is going o n with all
the ot he r hom dubs . This is tin excellent source of
ne ws fo r putting together your dub bu lletins. To sub.
scrib e to this news b ulletin just send e copy o f you r
own club bulletin to Mervin.

DIRECTORY OF CERTIFICATES AND AWARDS. Cia

Evens, K6BX. BOI( 385. Bonita , C~I . C omplete Dlre ctory p lus o ne yetlr of re visi ons (qu~rterlyJ $3.50. Add
75 for 1st cless moil; $ 1.25 for elrrnai]: OX stat ions
1st cless meil edd $1.00. Need less to soy. this is the
mo st complete colle ction of d ete o n t he hundreds of
ce rtifice tes end "word s eve lleble.

W ESTERN RADIO AMATEUR.

Don Willitlmson
W6JRE. 10 5 17 Heverly Street, EI Monte. C ellfcmie .
Mo nt hly. Subs tire $2 per ye~r, $3.50 for two ye e rs, $5
for th re e vee rs. Operefinq news of west coest ectivltv.
columns o n OX. SSB. YL. end some articles. 48 p~ges .

MOB ILE N EWS . Publi shed monthly by t he Amate ur

Redic Mo bile Society. 79 Murch ison Rd ., l eyton, E.
10. England. J o ining fee e nd I ye~r sub. is $2.50.
OX BULLETIN . Don Chesser W4KVX, RFD I, Burling ton . Kentucky. OX news in depth . Published wee kly.
3rd C lass mail $5 yea r ; 1st cle ss $6 : Airmail $7.50.
DX retes on request.

111111111I11111111111111111111111111111111111111111111IIIIIIIIIII!'IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII1111111111111111111111111
JA NU A RY 1961

73 MAGAZI NE

63

o OTHER

N
LIKE IT!

RECEIVER KIT

h features:
check t e

5 micro'lo\t
.
Better than 1. \\ sW tr equenCles
sensitivity on a 30 me in 4 b and s
j unes 540 kc to . ote se\ecti'liW

s\y 'lana
uoU
5 to 4.5 ke
contin

the ultra-selective "dx-getting"

H-l00

Amateur Communications Receiver Kit

iro~b~~e~Pe\ectriCa' ~~n::~r~:~dS

Ca

ONLY

~o thr ou gh 10 m~

$99

' t bandswitch
on
. ted Clrcul
\us\l./e pon
. E)l.e
M \tip\ier
Built-in Q- u. . ction for Sse

Ella\ted BfO In~e Hf osci\lato r

. d
sta nt running

Con

. . VR B+ apphe

M' [mum doft.

tol'HF oscillat,o r throoghout

P rinted circultrj
-;::;;:=J~

ONLy

5 DOWN

KING-S IZE TR ADES

free t96t ALLIED Catalog

For the complete line of
Amateur KNIGHT-K ITS, for
everything in E lectronics, Bee
your 1961 Allied Cata log. If you
haven't a copy, send for it now.

ser vi ng the Amateur for 40 years

ALLIED RADIO
100 N. Western Ave. , Chicago 80, III .
b4

13 MAGAZINE

This incomparable recei ver k it h as a ll

the featu res, selectivity a n d sensitivity
95 of
h igh -priced com mercial units. H ere
$5 down is remar kable Amateu r kit s uperiority
at tremendous savings. H ere is a marvel of easy
assembly, made possible by exclusive plug-in
bandswitch and p rinted circuits. Includ es tubes,
a ll pa r ts, h andsome metal cab inet. (9%i x 16 Y;; x
10 !4.) a nd etep-by-etep instr uctio n manual. (Less
p hones, speaker a nd S -metcr . ) S hpg. wt., 3 1 lbs .
83 YU 726. Amateur R ec eiver Kit
_.$99.95
83Y728. Matching 4 Speaker
'"
9.75
83 Y 727. S -Meter Kit for above
12.95
83 Y 256 . 100 K C C rysta l Cal ibrator K it
10.95

r-------------------------ALLIED RADIO. Dept. 209Al

100 N. Western Ave., Chicago 80, III .

$
0 Send Fre e 1961 Allied Cololog.

L~~

I
I
0 83 Y256 Col. Ki t I
e nclosed (prices nel F.O.B. Chica go)

83 YU726 Knighl.Kit R- I 0 0 Receiver Kit.

83 Y728 Speaker. 0 83 Y727 SMete r.

,
I
I Nome
I ..L OA n ... , ,, ,
I Address
I
I

ORDER
TODAY

I
I
I
I
I

::

~~~

I
I

JANUARY 196 1

It }Jays to insist on

STANDARD OF EXCELLENCE SINCE 1934

AMATEUR TYPES
40 and 80 Meters, PR Type Z-2
Z-2

R u g g ed . L o w dr-ift. fund amental os cil la to r s. Hi gh a ct tvrtv and

p o we r o u t p ut. Stan d s u p u n d e r ma ximum cry stal cu rrent s. Stahle.
lo ng-las ting; + .i OO cy cle s
$2.95 Net

Third Overtone, PR Type Z-9A

H c r m et ical lv sea le d; cali b ra ted 2-t ,O<X) t o 2-1.666 a nd 2.;,<X10 to
27,000 Kc. '+ 3 Kc.: .0.l O" pin s
__ S4.95 Net

Meters, PR Type Z-9A

F ifth ove rtone ; for opera t ing d ircc tl v in 6-m et cT h :UHI: he r me ti callv scaled; cali bratcd .sO t o S4 ),lc., 15 K c. : .0.lO" pin s.
56.95 Net

CITIZENS BAND CLASS "0"

Type Z-9R, Transmitter
FCC assigned freque ncies in megacycles: 26 .965 . 26.9i5 . 26.985,
2 7.005, 27.0 15, 27.025, 27.035,
27.055 , 27.06 5. 27.075. 27.085.
27. 105, 27.115, 27.125 . 27 .1 35.
27.155, 27. 165, 27.175. 27. 185 .
27.205,27.2 15, 27.22 5; ca librated
to .00 5%. (Be sure to specify ma n u facturer of equipment)
$2.95 Net

CITIZENS BAND CLASS "0"

Type Z-9R, Receiver
Specify I. E freq uency, also whc th er receiver oscilla tor is above or
below transm itt er frequency . Ca librated to .005 %. (Be sure to specify
manufa cturer of equ ipmcn t.)
$2.9S Net

Type Z-9R, Radio Control

2XP

FC C assigned frequen cies in megacycle" 26.995, 2 7.045 , 27.09 5,

27.145,27. 195,27.255; calibra ted
to .005%. (Be sure to specify ma n ufacture r of eq uipmen t) $2.95 Net

Type 2XP
Suitable fo r co n ve r te rs, ex p e r im en ta l, e tc. Same holder
dimen si on s a s T ype Z-2.
1600 t o 12000 K c., (F u n d .) + 5 K e
$3.45 Net

12001 to 25000 K c. ( 3rd O vertone ) '" 10 K e

ALL

PR

COMMERCIAL TYPES
Comm ercial Crystal s availab le from
100 Kc. to 70 Me. Pric es on request.

Type

z.r , MARS and CAP

Official assigned frc q uc nci c-, ill

tile ra nge . Calih n u cd to .00.:; % .
1600 to 10000 K e...... ...S3.45 Net

Type Z 1, TV Marker
Cha n n els 2 t hru 13....$6.45
4.5 M e. Int ercarrier,
.01 %
52.95
5.0 M e. Signal G enera t or ,
.01 %
52.95
10.7 Me. F M, I F,
.01 %
$2.95

Net
Net
Net
Net

Type Z-6A,
Frequency
Standard
To determ ine band
edge. To keep t he
\ -1"0 and receive r
p r operl y c a libra t ed.
100 K <. . $6.95

Net

$4.45 Net

CR YSTALS ARE UNCONDITIONALLY GUARANTEED.

ORDER FROM YOUR JOBBER.

EX PO RT SA LES : Royal Natio n al C orpo rati on . 25 (1 \V. 57th Sn-ee r, N ew York 19 . N . Y.. U . S. A.

Z-6A