[Boatanchors] Lysco 600 VFO

Sat Jun 12 19:37:00 EDT 2010

Ok Rodger, many tnx for that info. That should be easy enuff to try. I vaguely remember a review of the Lysco in either CQ or QST and as I remember, no mention was made of the drift, which I now think is normal...of course, Lysco was an advertiser. I have noticed that C4, the osc. temp. comp. cap is very close to the 6AG7 buffer tube, which gets very hot. I wonder if this might cause some drift...maybe only warm-up drift, tho. The Lysco instru. say that a 20 min. warm up is needed...hi. I have a 600S and have used it quite a bit over the last few years. I replaced all but the oil cap...thinking it would be ok (before I got a Sprague TO-6A...the 'lytics in the 600 were really leaky). One day, during a QSO I noticed the power kept dropping off. I quickly signed and turned the ac off. About 5 min. later it sounded like a shot gun went off...the oil cap blew its top and sprayed oil all over the inside of the cabinet. It took a hour or so to clean up the mess...& no telling how many pcbs I sucked in..hi. I have replaced all the 'lytics in this 600...so I'm hoping for no more 'shot gun blasts'.

I'll probably only use my Lyscos on cw. They really are a neat old rig and enjoy using 'em. They are hard to beat for the old styling...with the big dial and pilot lamps...a great way to light the operating desk..hi.

You have a nice one with some good history...and a great combo with the RME. I use the 600S with a HQ-140X and the 'new' 600 with a HQ-150.  

I have been trying to find out a little more about the Lysco company...all I know is whats on the name plate. I just wonder what the history is. I don't think the lasted even ten years. 

Thanks again for the info. You have been a great help. 
73, Bill K4JYS

----- Original Message -----
From: "Rodger Singley" <rbsingl at ilstu.edu>
To: "Bill Stewart" <cwopr at embarqmail.com>
Cc: "boatanchors" <boatanchors at mailman.qth.net>
Sent: Saturday, June 12, 2010 6:12:23 PM GMT -05:00 US/Canada Eastern
Subject: RE: [Boatanchors] Lysco 600 VFO

Bill,

Fortunately my documentation was easy to find and the change is to build an adapter socket that allows a 6CL6 to plug in place of the 6AG7 oscillator tube.  The note written in my manual states that you can plug a 6AG7 back in but the CW note will suffer and drift will be much worse.  According to the original owner (W9EX now SK) this was a very common modification and fortunately it doesn't require any changes to the Lysco itself.  His only other note in the manual was that C24 (the oil type input filter) had shorted and exploded a week after he received the Lysco.  It was quickly replaced under warranty.

The Lysco 600 is one of my favorite pieces of gear because of its history.  Floyd W9EX was a builder from his start in ham radio until a few months before he died last year.  He asked me a couple of years ago to buy his Lysco so that it would have a good home because it meant so much to him when he bought it.  He had kept the original box with the railway freight sticker still attached.  He included with it a nearly complete modulator that he started building many years ago but never finished and I really need to finish it up.  He bought a blank case (obviously National) and cut holes in the panel for a few controls and a small CRT and has most of the components mounted and wired.  I have the Lysco paired with an RME-99 receiver but it may end up getting paired with the 14 tube Meissner predecessor to the Traffic Master that I just brought home.  

Shortly before his death Floyd had been building a 3-500Z based amplifier and a couple of small solid state power supplies for another project.  I hope that I am as capable when I near that age!

73, Rodger WQ9E

-----Original Message-----
From: Bill Stewart [mailto:cwopr at embarqmail.com]
Sent: Sat 6/12/2010 3:39 PM
To: Singley, Rodger
Cc: boatanchors
Subject: Re: [Boatanchors] Lysco 600 VFO

Tnx Rodger. I had heard a few comments over the years that the vfo was a mite drifty, etc. So, your info, from a OT user will be very interesting. I look forward to getting the info later next week...many thanks,
73, Bill K4JYS

----- Original Message -----
From: "Rodger Singley" <rbsingl at ilstu.edu>
To: "Bill Stewart" <cwopr at embarqmail.com>, "boatanchors" <boatanchors at mailman.qth.net>
Sent: Saturday, June 12, 2010 4:31:18 PM GMT -05:00 US/Canada Eastern
Subject: RE: [Boatanchors] Lysco 600 VFO

Bill,

The old timer I got mine from had some notes on what he did to clean up the note and as I recall it was a commonly discussed issue when the Lysco was new.  I have been up since 4:30 and just drove through 3 severe storms on the way back from a hamfest so it will be early next week before I have a chance to go through my Lysco files but as soon as I do I will email the info to you.

My Lysco, with whatever modification was done, has a very clean note on 160-40 but I have never used it on the higher bands.

73, Rodger WQ9E

-----Original Message-----
From: boatanchors-bounces at mailman.qth.net on behalf of Bill Stewart
Sent: Sat 6/12/2010 2:43 PM
To: boatanchors
Subject: [Boatanchors] Lysco 600 VFO

I recently acquired a Lysco 600, which is in pretty good shape but came without a cabinet. I replaced the 'lytics and its putting out some power (around 10-25 watts, depending on band/plate current...the grid current only meets spec on 160, other bands are around 2ma or less). I put it in a cabinet that housed a Lysco 500 (which is needing some work). Today, I made over an hour QSO with it (40m)  and it works well....but the VFO is quite wobbley and the note a bit ruff...using a xtal, it is T9X. The osc cir. is a pretty straight forward colpitts type. The only thing I see different from xtal to VFO is three tuned circuits for 160, 80 & 40 which are switched in, for VFO operation., by the bandswitch and a toggle switch that shorts across the xtal socket for VFO operation. I also have a 600S and the VFO in it is drifty, but is more stable. I will probably deoxit the bandswitch contacts but was wondering if anyone has had this problem and ran across a fix.  

Thanks for any comments....73 de Bill K4JYS 
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