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

[Brian Harris]

If this discussion has somebody wanting one of these marine rigs, I have one which already has a 160 meter transmit crystal installed that I’ll give to the first responder but you’ll have to pay for shipping. It’s not too heavy so it should not cost much. Has a built in microphone and runs off 12V and maybe 115AC. 

Brian Harris WA5UEK 



Sent from my iPhone

> On Nov 15, 2021, at 1:06 PM, Robert Nickels <ranickels at gmail.com> wrote:
> 
> 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
> 
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