[Boatanchors] Central Electronics 100V ?

[Peter Markavage]

I have one. Like all things old, it will periodically require some
upkeep. If I could predict what could or might go poof, I'd probably be
playing the lottery more often. Most tubes are generally available. It
uses 6550's in the final. It's a great rig but there's nothing simple in
its design and construction. I often wonder if it's better to use
something old only from time to time or to use it frequently.

Pete, wa2cwa

On Sat, 17 Jul 2004 18:16:26 +0000 "Eugene Hertz" <ehertz at tcaf.org>
writes:
> Hi Jim,
> 
> If I were to obtain one that has been restored (professionally), do 
> you think this Tx requires much upkeep? Or do you think it would 
> last me a long time without much work? I can certainly change tubes 
> easy enough, but are there other things that go wrong with them 
> periodically that would require special (hard to get) parts? For 
> example, are the tubes fairly common? I don't expect to use it that 
> much, just from time to time.  For me it would be half museum piece 
> half used type of thing.
> 
> Thanks for the reply!
> Eugene
> 
> 
>  
> 
> 
> >-----Original Message-----
> >From: Jim DiMauro [mailto:jfd at warwick.net]
> >Sent: Saturday, July 17, 2004 03:26 AM
> >To: 'Eugene Hertz', boatanchors at mailman.qth.net
> >Subject: RE: [Boatanchors] Central Electronics 100V ?
> >
> >Eugene: 
> > 
> >I've had my 100V for about a year and a half. It's a wonderful 
> radio. It's 
> >built like a tank and gives you the best of both worlds: it glows 
> in the 
> >dark like classic boatanchor, but you don't have to tune it. I use 
> it 
> >weekly for nets on SSB. 
> > 
> >Good: broadband design, quality construction and materials, easy to 
> operate, 
> >all mode, variable output power, excellent tx audio, very stable 
> VFO 
> >(subjective assessment of stability, by ear on SSB; I don't have 
> the 
> >stability spex handy, so I don't know how it would do on RTTY), 
> very pretty, 
> >and if it matters to you, you'll probably be the first on your 
> block to have 
> >one. 
> > 
> >Bad: this is a very complicated radio that's not very "service 
> friendly" 
> >IMO. Unless you have lots of time, patience and service experience, 
> I'd 
> >advise you to get one that's been restored or that's otherwise in 
> proper 
> >working order. There aren't many of these around, and there's not a 
> lot of 
> >service information out there. Unlike Drake, Collins and other 
> makes, there 
> >isn't an abundance of service mentors, and there are no technical 
> nets and 
> >the like to get you through the tough problems. You can get some 
> good 
> >information from Nick Tusa's website: 
> >http://www.tusaconsulting.com/ce.htm#info. 
> > 
> >Indifferent: it's bigger and heavier than you'd expect for a radio 
> of it's 
> >vintage, but that's one of the tradeoffs of building a broadband 
> transmitter 
> >in the 1950s. Also, nothing transceives with it, so it's not very 
> >convenient to use if you're going to answer a CQ. The spotting 
> function for 
> >SSB is very clever, so it can make the process a bit easier. 
> > 
> >A good one can be expensive, but definitely a keeper. If you're 
> looking for 
> >a unique, historically significant radio that you can also make 
> good use of, 
> >then the 100V could be a good choice. If you just want a boatanchor 
> for 
> >RTTY and the rest of the stuff isn't important to you, then you 
> could 
> >probably do better elsewhere, at least with regard to price and 
> ease of 
> >acquisition and service. 
> > 
> >BTW, there's a Central Electronics e-mail reflector at qth.net: 
> >http://mailman.qth.net/. You might poke around there for more 
> information. 
> > 
> >Jim 
> >WA2MER 
> > 
> >-----Original Message----- 
> >From: boatanchors-bounces at mailman.qth.net 
> >[mailto:boatanchors-bounces at mailman.qth.net]On Behalf Of Eugene 
> Hertz 
> >Sent: Friday, July 16, 2004 9:38 PMt 
> >To: boatanchors at mailman.qth.net 
> >Subject: [Boatanchors] Central Electronics 100V ? 
> > 
> > 
> >any one have experience with this transmitter, good, bad or 
> indifferent? 
> >My interest is in rtty primarily...is this stable enough after a 
> warm up? 
> > 
> >Anyone use this as their regular boatanchor Tx? Thoughts? Memories? 
> 
> >Eugene 

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