[Boatanchors] SWEEP TUBES AND FPM 300S

[Dennis DuVall]

And a lot of people used that "cheap junk" for a long time and got a lot of enjoyment out of doing so.
Back when AM was king (I was there) 75M at night was nothing but a mass of heterodynes and without 
a KW and the latest Collins receiver forget it.  When SSB first came along it was like a New World.   
Suddenly one could work all over the country and sometimes the world with moderate power levels and on a 
moderate budget,   Lightweight, maybe drifty (AM rigs of the period not all that stable either), 
“crappy” audio and maybe using sweep tubes (or not) but so what?

There is an active “Vintage SSB” moment CURRENTLY alive and well out here on the West Coast BTW.  Lots of guys
still having fun with the cheap junk along with Collins, Signal one and other carriage trade stuff as well.

AM alive and well out here too.

Dennis DuVall, W7QHO 
Glendale,CA

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> On Jan 11, 2016, at 10:04 AM, Rob Atkinson <ranchorobbo at gmail.com> wrote:
> 
> they were employed in cheap poorly constructed lightweight table top
> SSB transceivers with crappy audio and drifting VFOs so hams who had
> been brainwashed into hating AM could get on "phone" inexpensively.
> If you like "vintage SSB" have at it, but these days I see no reason
> why anyone would want to run such rigs even now, when there is the
> KWS1 and 75A-4 or the CE phasing rigs available.
> The sales job, or snow job, involved exaggerated power claims
> specified in p.e.p. watts input.
> 
> This was no gift, or rather, if you think this was a gift, I'd hate to
> see what you think of as being a consolation prize.