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A Look at the Worst HF Rigs Ever--And How Hams Revive Them

Discussion in 'Amateur Radio News' started by K8QS, Nov 11, 2020.

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  1. K8QS

    K8QS Premium Subscriber QRZ Page

    A HAM RADIO PERSPECTIVES video looks at some of the legendary HF radio "dogs" and how hams have turned them into well-performing, even collectible rigs.

     
    K8QS, Nov 11, 2020
    #1
    N6SPP, AC1CB, AJ6KZ and 12 others like this.
  2. GM4BRB

    GM4BRB Ham Member QRZ Page

    Hey Tom; he called you stinky ..., didn't he.
    You should watch this from time = 2 minutes and then they get into fixing broken radios too ...
     
    GM4BRB, Nov 11, 2020
    #2
    KO6KL, NL7W, YO3IPR and 1 other person like this.
  3. WA9TDD

    WA9TDD Ham Member QRZ Page

    It's from a lifetime of cheap cigars and cheaper booze. Thanks for the link!
     
    WA9TDD, Nov 11, 2020
    #3
    W9RAC and K0UO like this.
  4. KB2HSH

    KB2HSH Ham Member QRZ Page

    I have had a 30+ year love affair with Atlas Radio transceivers. The 180 isn't nearly as bad as the negative reviews it has received. The 180M that I own is rock solid with no discernible drift after warm up...and THAT AUDIO? Fantastic compared with today's radios.
     
    KB2HSH, Nov 11, 2020
    #4
    N1GKE likes this.
  5. K8QS

    K8QS Premium Subscriber QRZ Page

    Thanks, John. Yes, many of the older radios have marvelous audio on receive. Add an external speaker and it is La La Land.

    Quin, K8QS
    Ham Radio Perspectives YouTube Channel
    https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC3MJT8o8-XMxF8XROf7Q5GA/videos
     
    K8QS, Nov 11, 2020
    #5
    KB2HSH likes this.
  6. W1YW

    W1YW Ham Member QRZ Page

    Eico 753---

    No one EVERY got those to work well.....
     
    W1YW, Nov 12, 2020
    #6
    W0PV likes this.
  7. KB7BTO

    KB7BTO Ham Member QRZ Page

    An elderly ham in our neighborhood gifted me a 753 when I earned my ticket in high school, I still feel sorry for all the OMs who chased me slowly across the 40m Novice subband trying to complete 5wpm QSOs. A few months in, a club Elmer traded me for an HW-101, I now suspect so he could put the 753 out of everyone's misery.
     
    KB7BTO, Nov 12, 2020
    #7
    VE6KDX, KG7HVR, KB1GKN and 2 others like this.
  8. W7UUU

    W7UUU Director, QRZ Forums Lifetime Member 133 QRZ HQ Staff Life Member QRZ Page

    Just last year I completed a Nostalgic Worked All States on my Eico 753, including a great many 20 minute ragchews.

    One of the most maligned radios in history - just because the ORIGINAL tube-based VFO circuit had serious issues. But very soon after was replaced with a solid-state version that was totally adequate.

    It's actually a very FUN radio to use - not so much on CW but certainly SSB, which it was designed for.... wonderful receive audio and great audio reports back.

    I'd wager that 99% of the Eico 753 hate comes from folks who never actually put one on the air - and if they did, they made no serious effort. Just parroting what "all the other guys say" :)

    Dave
    W7UUU

    eico 1.jpg eico 2.JPG
     
    W7UUU, Nov 12, 2020
    #8
    WA0ODF, N4FZ, K7LZR and 12 others like this.
  9. K9UR

    K9UR Premium Subscriber QRZ Page

    Oh that Swan Three-Drifty. The Kenwood TS-520S pretty much killed the Swan....
    Worst Receiver was the Heathkit HR10 (the DX60 transmitter that it matched is fantastic...what a Dr Jeckyl and Mr Hide)
     
    K9UR, Nov 12, 2020
    #9
    N4FZ, WA2LXB and N6SPP like this.
  10. N3EG

    N3EG Ham Member QRZ Page

    I had a Dentron all solid state HF transceiver (HF-200A) that was an absolute driftmaster. Replaced the VFO FET with a MPF102 and that fixed it.
     
    N3EG, Nov 12, 2020
    #10
    KB9ZTF and (deleted member) like this.
  11. W7UUU

    W7UUU Director, QRZ Forums Lifetime Member 133 QRZ HQ Staff Life Member QRZ Page

    Reminds me of the hackneyed phrase "The Aroma of Tacoma" - ragged on for YEARS in this area. What was the "aroma"? Nothing more than a pulp mill / paper processing plant - not unlike a THOUSAND such plants across America. But because "aroma" and "Tacoma" rhyme, it became an endlessly repeated meme, right up to 1994 when Bruce Springsteen said "the aroma of Tacoma made me ill". But apparently no other pulp mill bothered him because the rhyme wasn't as good... "The aroma of Pittsburgh", "The aroma of Chicago", "The aroma of Scranton" .... never heard a PEEP about any towns with pulp mills being a problem for The Boss. Just the one "with a good rhyme" :)

    Same with the Eico 753... had they called it the 715, there would be no easy target to rhyme "fifty" with "drifty"

    A well-aligned, solidly restored Eico 753 with the solid-state VFO is no better nor worse than any of the competitors of the day.

    .... had they only not used a "5" history would likely have a MUCH better view of what that radio was - a HUGELY popular introduction to SSB for many hams of the day

    Dave
    W7UUU
     
    W7UUU, Nov 12, 2020
    #11
    K8XG, N7XCZ, WD4IGX and 2 others like this.
  12. W1YW

    W1YW Ham Member QRZ Page

    Lucky!

    The one I used FM'ed all over the place---on SSB. Only transceiver that did that.
     
    W1YW, Nov 12, 2020
    #12
  13. WB0ZRD

    WB0ZRD XML Subscriber QRZ Page

    I'll second the Heathkit HR10, what an awful receiver. I traded mine in on a used Drake 2B, now that was a seriously great receiver for a 16 year old kid!
     
    WB0ZRD, Nov 12, 2020
    #13
    WA2LXB, WB4KJS, K0GWA and 1 other person like this.
  14. K8QS

    K8QS Premium Subscriber QRZ Page

    Paul, I owned two Drake 2B receivers and wish I had kept them both. One had the Q multiplier. And I might yet buy another one just to play with. Tom and I need to do a video on the great/best HF gear of all time that was relatively inexpensive and gave such pleasure to hams.

    Quin, K8QS
    Ham Radio Perspectives YouTube Channel
    https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC3MJT8o8-XMxF8XROf7Q5GA/videos
     
    K8QS, Nov 12, 2020
    #14
  15. K8QS

    K8QS Premium Subscriber QRZ Page

    Hey, if it covered 6 meters you could have worked FM. Then again, you probably did have splatters and spikes and 6 meters no matter what band you were on.

    Quin, K8QS
    Ham Radio Perspectives YouTube Channel
    https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC3MJT8o8-XMxF8XROf7Q5GA/videos
     
    K8QS, Nov 12, 2020
    #15
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