[Boatanchors] Novice Transmitter Thoughts?

[Singley, Rodger]

My novice setup was a Valiant/SX-101 in 1975.   At that point, VFO control was legal but the power limit was still 75 watts and the biggest issue I had was trying to load up on 80 while staying within the novice limit.  Adjustment of the keyer control was critical to minimize chirp on 15 and 10.  It was not your typical novice transmitter but I had a lot of fun during my short time as a novice and I worked a couple of VQ9 stations on 15 using my 40 meter inverted V mounted to the house eaves.

Some of the novice rigs (i.e. DX-20, Adventurer) used the twitchy moving vane meter which makes tuneup interesting as you try to figure out the actual current based upon the oscillation of the meter.  A DX-60 makes a nice novice class rig as does the Lafayette "Starflite" copy.  I have made a number of contacts using a Knightkit T-60 paired with an Allied R-195 receiver and they make a decent low power setup.  I just got an HA-5 to go with my HT-40/SX-140 pair so I am not sure how much I like it yet.  I also have a challenging Johnson Challenger and I wouldn't put it near the head of the class.  I had mine in and out of the case a couple of times before I realized the simple act of putting the unit into the case warped the loading capacitor enough to cause a short.  Neither the case nor the panel was bent but the loading cap was really a cheaply made lightweight unit.

Rodger WQ9E






-----Original Message-----
From: boatanchors-bounces at mailman.qth.net on behalf of Curt
Sent: Fri 9/10/2010 4:33 PM
To: boatanchors at mailman.qth.net
Subject: [Boatanchors] Novice Transmitter Thoughts?
 
Most of the novice transmitters I've been looking at from the 50s and very 
early 60s seem pretty similar in design, differences being the tubes used 
and maybe quality of construction. Not sure how there could be much 
difference in performance, but from reviews in various places, some worked 
better than others.  Maybe the differences resulted from the builder, most 
were offered as kits.  One consistent thread seems to be the marginal 
transformers used in some of the Heathkit transmitters ( only the DX-35 and 
40? ).

When I was living those times, the only rig I cared about was the one on my 
desk, an Eico 723.  What I'm curious about is what the conventional wisdom 
is/was about the following rigs, and how performance generally compared with 
say an Eico 723:  Viking Adventurer, Globe Scout ( which of the models was 
"best"?), Knight T-60, Heathkit DX-20 ( nearly a clone of the 723?)

73, Curt KB5JO

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