[Boatanchors] (OT) Another marine radio on the ham bands

[Robert Nickels]

On 11/15/2021 9:41 AM, David Stinson wrote:
>
> Several things about these radios appeal to me. 

Thanks for your spot-on comments, Dave.   I can add a couple more:

1.  Appearance.  These radios were purpose-built for a limited market, 
thus you see many common design elements such as the tunable BC band 
receive position and wired-in mic (which may have been a legal 
requirement) so manufacturers had to find ways to appeal to boat owner 
buyers.    Styling is one way they tried to make their radio stand out, 
in fact one thing that attracts me to a boat radio is whether I think it 
"looks cool" or not.   Some of the best examples are those from the 
Hudson American Company that sported metal cabinets with stylish trim 
that would appeal to the "teakwood and brass" crowd.   Some examples and 
what I've learned about the company can be found here: 
https://tinyurl.com/4s3z6dkf     To my surprise, my interest in Hudson 
American was noticed by a ham friend who said his father worked for the 
company briefly after WWII.

2.  Challenge.   While as Dave said the circuits are simple, the 
complexity often comes in the maze of wiring needed to switch channels, 
which thankfully is usually color-coded.   Except when it isn't ;-)   
The Hudson Marine radio on my bench right now uses a multi-position 
rotary switch to select between two channels and every wire coming off 
it seems to be the color "blech" ;-)    But I spent about an hour wiht 
the ohmmeter and scratch pad and traced out the complete transmitter the 
other night, which is fun (at least to me).   It's always nice to have 
documentation but there is satisfaction in restoring a piece of gear by 
noodling it out.

3.  Romance.   I don't know what else to call it but there's something 
neat about resurrecting a radio that once was a lifeline for safety and 
navigation back when HF was the primary means of communications beyond 
line-of-sight.    The episode "Short Wave" of the Father Knows Best TV 
show captures what I'm trying to say perfectly, and you can watch it for 
free online here:

https://www.shoutfactorytv.com/father-knows-best/father-knows-best-s3-e21-short-wave/53cd482069702d27d3722b00

Bud intercepts the distress call from the "Betty Ann" on a Zenith 
Transoceanic and eagle-eyed viewers will note that the block diagram 
drawn on the chalkboard by his friend Joe is accurate. The drama played 
out in the show no doubt occurred for real many times over.

If anyone is tempted to play with an AM marine band radio, Heathkit sold 
several different models and while all were factory-assembled the 
typical detailed Heathkit manuals were provided and can be found at the 
usual sources.   That's a big deal because it seems most of the manuals 
for these radios must have been sent to Davey Jones Locker!

73,  Bob W9RAN