Yeah, I did that when I was xtal controlled as a Novice and very new General - used Comet to raise the frequency and rubbed solder or pencil graphite to lower it.  The graphite wasn't very stable.  Strangely enough, I did a bunch of this 2 or 3 years ago.  A friend got a big load of crystals that were above and below the 40 meter range and I had fun playing with them.  I used Bar Keepers Friend to raise them, and I don't remember what I used to lower, but I know there was some experimentation involved.  I also adapted some tiny crystals to FT-243 holders.  Most of them worked OK.  These were the cheap crystals you can buy on ebay for the little Chinese QRP rigs.  I figured they would fracture but the 2NT seems to work with them OK.  Of course, this isn't something I spend hours and hours on the air with, though..

 

 

Dennis

 

On Fri, Dec 22, 2023 at 5:45 PM Stan Stockton <[email protected]> wrote:

How many of you did this.  I had sone crystals that were either not in the novice band or I didn’t like the frequency.  I would take them apart use just a little comet and rub them on a piece of glass, reassemble to see where the frequency was and do it again if needed.  Probably ruined 1 out of 3 doing that.

 

Stan, K5GO

Sent from my iPhone

 

On Dec 22, 2023, at 5:08 PM, Jay Bromley <[email protected]> wrote:



HI Guys,

When I was working, the holidays is when I did my QSL and log upkeep.  I remember spending a lot of time doing that during Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays!  Yesterday, I checked LOTW for my last application and it was done.  I sent my stats to Pat. 

 

Then asked Kathy WQ5T to check her log and do the same.  I knew she was getting close to DXCC on 80m, right behind Mr Dennis Tune W5DM.  So Kathy now has WAS and DXCC on 80m through 10m.  She has been a slacker this year as she is on fire for CW and taking every CW class she can via zoom.  Even getting her to make a few of those on the air contacts via that mode.  Very proud of her and Dennis!

 

Today on DXLabs did a sync with LOTW to compare logs.  Kathy had a lot more work to do so I let the computer do the work or updating any discrepancies. 

 

My log is bigger so I tend to do these manually as I don’t want my computer tied up so long.  Kathy it only takes a few minutes, where my log takes overnight. 

 

We are now done for the year and it only took a few hours of time!  I look back fondly on the old days, but glad we can do so much in a very short time frame. 

 

Yea I got many new crystals in this week and the last one just now, hi.  It has been a great week so far! 

 

Happy Holidays very one! 73 de jay/w5jay..

 

P.S.  I still have the mint condition Icom 7610 for sale if anyone is interested. 

 

 

 

From: [email protected] <[email protected]> On Behalf Of Dennis Schaefer
Sent: Friday, December 22, 2023 3:35 PM
To: [email protected]
Cc: [email protected]
Subject: Re: [ADXA] w/New Xtal

 

I started in 1963 with a Knight T-60 that I assembled.  The receiver was a Hallicrafters S-108.  My crystals were 7.161 and 7.191.  Late one night, I was on 40 and someone knocked on the back door.  It was an inactive ham who still listened  and he was bringing me two crystals to use for 15 meters.  I never worked any DX but it was fun working the coasts with good signals.  After 6 months as a Novice, I passed my General and bought a crystal that worked on 14.036.  It doubled from 7.018, so I could go down in the General band on 40.  I still had the T-60.  I worked my first 36 countries on that one crystal!

 

Like Bill, I have two Drake 2-B receivers and also a 2-NT transmitter.  I occasionally fire it up with for Novice Rig Night.  I don’t have a VFO - just use crystals, but I have a bunch more than in the old days.  I also occasionally listen to the Collins 75S1.  I told my wife to stop me if I ever mentioned getting another Hallicrafters.  There are a few exceptions, but the several I have had were bad.  Really bad.  I’ve never had a National or Hammarlund, though……..

 

73,

Dennis/RZ - back in 5-land after a great time in the Branson area with kids and grandkids.

 

On Fri, Dec 22, 2023 at 7:58 AM <[email protected]> wrote:

Greetings ADXA Folks,

 

Every morning since long, long ago Jon, AA1K, is on 1820.6 KHz every morning calling CQ. The objective is to check DX propagation. Many of us listen to see what Jon’s trolling may attract as he has an amazing 160 meter station at his Delaware QTH. Yesterday morning Jon was calling CQ on 1817.6 and we all assumed he had simply misread his dial but that was not the case. Jon moved a bit that morning because he had a birdie show up on 20.6.

 

That prompted my buddy Dave, W0FLS, in Iowa to spot Jon on the DX cluster with the comment “w/new xtal” !! Several of us had a nice early morning chuckle out of that. Now, you old dog hams that remember the crystal controlled transmitter days know what that meant, and it got me to thinking about upgrading your station, something we discuss quite frequently within ADXA.

 

Back in the “old days” buying a new crystal (xtal) or picking one up from a generous Elmer was a station upgrade! It provided flexibility and options for you; it gave you an all time new frequency to transmit on. Station upgrades are much more challenging today. Rigs are sophisticated, controlled by software, and just working through the menu structure can make you go cross-eyed. Spectrum pollution from consumer devices creates a significant challenge to receiving weak signals and a lack of interest in moving beyond an appliance operator by some people with an amateur license can wreak havoc on the bands.

 

As we enjoy a time with family and friends over this Christmas celebration weekend and move into next week thinking about the new year and what our objectives in 2024 will be, review your station “to do” list and set target dates to complete the list items. We’ve had a lot of new ones on the air the past three months so while you’re updating your station to-do list also update your DXCC need list.

 

Life is grand, amateur radio is great so get a new xtal and ‘GET IN THERE AND WORK ‘EM !!!”

 

73 Joel W5ZN

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