[Collins] Another KWM 1 question

[Robert Nickels]

On 3/1/2010 6:50 PM, Al Parker wrote:
>      I think someone has checked in recently a few times with one, on the
> Vintage Sideband Net.  It might have been Bob, W9RAN.
>    

Yup, I got mine going a few months ago and it's a neat radio, Greg.   
They are somewhat scarce, and based on my experience at least, do 
require the typical kind of restoration efforts  you'd put into any 
radio of 50's vintage.  Cleaning, tubes, replacing all the molded paper 
caps, and checking for out-of-spec resistors was about all it took.  I 
had one problem that hopefully is not typical - there was an RF arc-over 
right at the rear of the connector inside the radio, which would have 
been a real bear to try to replace or repair.   So I took the expedient 
of simply switching the RF output over to the other coax, which is 
normally used for a separate receive antenna, a feature I had no real 
need for.  I also had a difficult time getting the driver neutralization 
and feedback adjusted right, but that may well be due to my lack of 
experience with the radio.   Construction is typical Collins quality and 
it's fairly easy to work on (especially after you get those big 
capacitors out of the way).

Assuming you don't have the mating 516F-1 power supply, I recommend 
getting a 516F-2, which are much more available and provide all the 
right voltages.  I wired up an 11 pin adapter cable to the KWM-1 
connector so the 516F-2 can still be used with any other Collins rig.    
I found the Heathkit HP-23 lacked sufficient filament current capacity.

Look forward to hearing you on the air with your M-1!   Sunspots are 
comin' back ;-)

73, Bob W9RAN