[ARC5] First Post and Questions

Mon Jul 3 16:40:30 EDT 2017

Thanks, Dennis, for the welcome and the information.

The rig, as far as I can tell at this point, has had one modification:  the
power input point at the back of the transmitter is an octal socket, not
the original type connector.  To me, that's not a big deal because, as far
as I know, I will not ever use a dynamotor power supply to operate the
transmitter. I would like for the transmitter to be pristine, but it wasn't
when I bought it in Dayton.

There is one other thing that I have just noticed and have concerns about
right now.  There is something loose inside the ceramic "tower" that the
1625s plates are connected to. This tower is part of the 1625's tank
circuit as best I can tell.   It appears that there is a ferrite material
that fits inside the coupling coil assembly.  This ferrite material is
loose and rattles around if you pick up the transmitter and shake it.  It
can drop completely out of the coupling assembly under the right conditions.

This is just a guess, but I think the ferrite material belongs inside the
coupler (not something that accidentally fell into the "tower" and is used
to increase the inductance of the coupling coil.

Does anyone know if I am correct?   If so, what was and what is now
normally used to secure the ferrite material to the inside of the coupler?

73 de AK4JA

On Mon, Jul 3, 2017 at 3:26 PM, Dennis Monticelli <
dennis.monticelli at gmail.com> wrote:

> Bobby,
>
> Contrats on acquiring an unloved 457 and joining the ARC-5 fraternity.  It
> would help us all to first understand if this is a virgin or already
> modified to some degree.  You can go further with adaptation (guilt-free)
> if it has already been defiled :-)   I am guessing yours is a virgin or
> close to it.
>
> I have built regulated supplies for my transmitter so we could trade ideas.
>
> Dave Stinson has a paper on minimal adaptations for getting your
> transmitter on the air.
>
> Please pay attention to mitigating the clicks.  A little chirp is
> downright charming but clicks are inconsiderate to neighboring QSOs.
> Keeping the relay keying and accomplishing that may be challenging.  Give
> it some thought.  Mine were already gone so I went with shaped keying of
> the PA cathode (VFO running continuously during transmit)
>
> You will get different opinions on the rollerductor.  If you are willing
> to put in the effort you can remove the part and polish it up with a
> household silver tarnish remover.  Don't forget the little wheel and slider
> bar.  Then wash very thoroughly, dry, and do a final treatment with DeOxit
> Gold,  Mine looked so nice after that treatment that I installed a small
> 24V bulb above the rollerductor such that it could be removed later without
> a trace.  The illumination of the rollerductor as viewed through the window
> is a real treat.
>
> Dennis AE6C
>
>
>
> On Mon, Jul 3, 2017 at 11:58 AM, Bobby Drummond <alphak4ja at gmail.com>
> wrote:
>
>> Hello to all.  Name here is Bobby Drummond and the call is AK4JA.  I've
>> been licensed as a Amateur Radio operator for 35 years and just heard about
>> and signed up for this list.
>>
>> My passion is homebrewing (radios that is) and CW.  I'm not averse to
>> restoring old gear as well and hence we arrive at the real reason I am now
>> a member of this mailing list:  I bought a BC-457 A transmitter at the
>> Dayton Hamvention this year.
>>
>> Have you seen the recent commercial where two women are talking about a
>> sofa just acquired and the owner says, "I had to have it!"  (then two
>> burglars are looking at the same sofa later while burglarizing the same
>> house and one of the two says the same thing:  "I had to have it."  Guess
>> what I thought when I saw the BC-457 A on a table in the Hamvention Flea
>> Market area in Xenia?   Yep, the exact same thing.
>>
>> The plan:   restore the BC-457 A using every trick in the book to make it
>> work reliably and be as stable as possible.  The reason being that I want
>> to put it on 60 meters (CW, of course - see first sentence in second
>> paragraph above)   The BC-457 A "tops out" from the factory at 5.3 MHz
>> according to what I have read and I want to put in on frequencies from
>> 5.332 to 5.405 MHz.  I'm thinking that some minor adjustments to the
>> oscillator tuning should do the trick.  Adjustments that would be easy to
>> "undo" if I want to put the radio back in "just like it left the factory"
>> condition. I would also like to put it on the air regularly in a net if
>> that is possible, too.
>>
>> Any suggestions, hints, caveats, or advice related to doing said tasks
>> would be greatly appreciated.
>>
>> Here are some questions that come to mind:
>>
>>    1) Has anyone on the list already done what I am thinking about? (I'm
>> especially referring to putting a "Command Set" on 60 meters)
>>
>>    2) Is there a net for ARC5 or equivalent radios that I can listen to
>> now?  If so, how can I get details about the net?
>>
>>    3) what is the best cleaner to remove oxidation from the roller
>> inductor?
>>
>>
>> My plans are to power the BC-457 A with a power supply that I will build,
>> using the best voltage regulators available and with a large enough
>> transformer to be rated at least double the power requirements of the
>> BC-457 A. I will power the filaments with a tightly regulated 24 Volt DC
>> supply and plan on using conventional keying (keying relay built in the
>> BC-457 A)
>>
>> So, that's it for my first post.  Any help would be greatly appreciated.
>> With the long and storied history of these rigs, built and operated by our
>> Greatest Generation, I think it would be an honor and privilege  to restore
>> one and put it to good use on the 60 meter ham band, a band that I really
>> like a lot.
>>
>>
>> 73 de AK4JA
>>
>>
>>
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