the ECTASY and the AGONY

[KJ4VTH]

Neat! I have the same AM radio that's on the top of your pile & somewhere I have a photo of my Dad (& me as an infant) with the radio in the background.

[K7MH]

Hey Pat, you do know the Simpson 260 is still being made and they cost a lot. Around the $300.00 mark. You can contact Simpson for a new meter movement. Bet it won't be cheap though.
It's great that you're re-engineering the IC-37A. Looks like you're making rapid progress.
Have fun
73
Gary

There are lots of them at swap meets. It wouldn't be hard to find one with a good movement but some other problems that no one wants to bother with.

[WA6MHZ]

Thanks, I will look for another Simpson 260 at the Next swapmeet. Sometime in September.

Today I came into work for free AC and to get alotta work done. Projects on the list:
1) Replace Town Car license plate frame and add 2013 sticker
2) Replace BLOWN Uniden HR-2510 with Radio Shlock HTX-100 on Beacon setup
3) Continue with repair and mod for Icom IC-37A

Work on the Hallicrafters SR-34 will hafta wait. Still waiting for the GPS module to come in so I can replace the Town Car APRS unit too. SO MANY PROJECTS, so little time!!! SUCKS having to work! I need to work on these projects FULL TIME!!! But I need this facility here at work to do it best (Plus the Air Condx too!)

I scored a new license plate frame for the Town Car rear plate at Chino Hills. It read "AMATEUR RADIO STATION" to go under my callsign. But it was kinda rusted and ratty, so I had to REPAINT the lettering so it was readable. I used my oil painting skills to paint the letters back on the plate. Looks pretty good now. That is now finished and installed.

Next I had to redo the Beacon. It turns out the HTX-100 is a BETTER transmitter than the Uniden and puts out more power. The Uniden did AM/FM/CW/SSB and was too complicated. This is an easier design and has a couple more features I really like. There is a transmit switch which puts the radio in continous transmit (great for Beacon mode). On the UNIDEN, I had to tape the PTT switch closed!!!! Also, there is a Memory channel and frequency lock. So this is a much better radio. Probably about 20 more watts out too.

This time, I wired the power cord to my station power supply with some ANDERSON POWER POLES. One thing I DON'T like is there is a CW Sidetone with no volume adjustment on it. So, guess we are going to hear lotsa CW when it is working! I will turn it off when working DX.



So I will install it when I get home. Hope it runs for awhile. In the meantime, I can troubleshoot this HR-2510 and see what is cooked.

Now I am back to working on the Icom. This is very tedious and difficult. I am using ribbon cable to run from the previous location of the Icom Display up to the new display. I will also run the volume control/power switch up to that box too, as I could not find a suitable size pot to replace the bad one.

So, if SOMEDAY I find an ICOM Display for the 37A, I can replace it all, but this will be alotta work for nothing. Maybe it can be adapted to be a REMOTE DISPLAY for the unit. More pix as this project develops. But I like Homebrewing!

[N4BBQ]

Wonder if anyone has a JUNKER ICOM IC-27/37/47 that is BLOWN but has a good display they want to part with.

Not any more. I sold a fully functional one and a parts radio ON HERE a few weeks ago for ... $45 shipped.

[WA6MHZ]

Rats! I am too late! Maybe another one will pop up someday.

ANYWAY, Work continues here on the remote unit.

I cut out the window for the display and mounted the perfboard behind it. Since the LEDs are all different colors, I have to use a CLEAR window, which allows folks to see the perfboard behind. I thought about painting the PCB black, which I still might do. The LEDs now are superglued in place to hold them from moving around. I might break them loose to do the painting. It will look a little better if it is all black inside.

Next, I re-tapped 2 of the top cover mounting holes for 4-40 and mounted the remote case on top. There is still access to the little control cover behind it. The unsightly thing is the 2 ribbon cables coming out of the PCB and up to the remote. No way I could figure around that. Same with the Volume control/Power switch. But this is necessary if I ever restore it to original. It wouldn't be too difficult to add mini switches to the remote to allow it to be mounted some distance from the radio. But, unlike modern radios with a few wires, this would mean LOTS of wires. The display is 34 wires alone, and another 5 for the Volume control and Power Switch!!!
I now need to cut a slot in the bottom of the case to allow the ribbon cables to enter the remote case.



I think I might just enter this in the ARCEC Homebrew Contest this year, as considerable HOMEBREW is being used to make this remote display! Of course, whether it works or not remains to be seen. But it is still fun to build. Running out of time today. Fortunately, the boss is out of town this coming week!

[K0RGR]

Apparently my first attempt at a comment didn't make it. Is that an ancient TransOceanic in the picture? We had a tube unit that went camping with us frequently. I remember listening to HCJB in the daytime and Wolfman Jack at night on XERB when the family went camping.

I saw an older Pawn Stars recently where Rick paid quite a bit for a much newer TransOceanic.

[WA4OTD]

Pat; I just stuck an empty headphone jack into the headphone jack and then there is no CW sidetone noise.

This time, I wired the power cord to my station power supply with some ANDERSON POWER POLES. One thing I DON'T like is there is a CW Sidetone with no volume adjustment on it. So, guess we are going to hear lotsa CW when it is working! I will turn it off when working DX.

[WA6MHZ]

Thanks, Leroy!!!
That fixed that problem and now the beeping won't drive my wife crazy at night. I turned the secondary sidetone on in the Beacon keyer so it is just barely audible in the Shack, so I can verify it is running when I am in there. I have one switch to place it in standby so I can tune the bands, and then hopefully remember to turn it back on. The battery backup went down last night as I forgot to turn on the Astron , so I hope I didn't ruin the GelCel inside. Will see if it recovers.
I got a report it was heard in South Carolina already, so it is working VERY WELL!!!!

[AF6LJ]

Looks like you did well at the swap meet...


Hay Pat

Will a display from an IC-27 work in that radio?

[WA6MHZ]

Yes indeed, but a little late now! Here is how it was finished up.
I came in early today (Monday), and worked about 5 hours to get this finished! Very intricate wiring but I am up for it. The ribbon cable was soldered to the homebrew panel very carefully.



All functions of the original display have been faithfully dupicated, and it now has a MUCH IMPROVED readability and use. The volume/ON-OFF control is now more accessible and easily used. The only unsightly thing is the ribbon cables, but, OH WELL!!!!!

This is Ham Radio HOMEBREW at it's finest!!!!

There are a few little thingys that are squirrelly. The S-meter doesn't work quite right, but it isn't the display that is the problem. It is the driver chip. Maybe it wasn't designed for such high power LEDs. And sometimes the Decimal point is fishy. But it looks BEAUTIFUL Otherwise!

Sometimes a REpair makes a radio BETTER than new!