[Collins] Questions about a 51S-1

[Heinz Breuer]

Hello Jacques,
well I don't know for sure what you have but it wouldn't be the first 51S-1 which underwent a major restoration. Your 51S-1 is about 50 years old and a lot could have been changed.
The front panel can be removed easily and it might have been changed to a newer one.

The presence of the tuning tool is quite rare. I currently have eight 51S-1 and have been through about twenty 51S-1 within the past 20 years, mostly in excellent condition, even one with a Rockwell-Collins logo but none of them had the tuning tool.

BTW if anybody needs a 51S-1 my friend Zlatko 9A6SUE still has several for sale in CCA good to CCA very good condition. Price is EUR 600 to EUR 700 depending on condition. These 51S-1 came out of the former Yugoslavia military and have been cleaned and completely restored by Zlatko.
These are original Collins, not the ex-Israel military metal scrap which went to Germany 20 years ago. You can easily spot these by the "fake" escutcheon and cheaply made knobs.

vy 73 Heinz DH2FA, KM5VT


Von meinem iPhone gesendet

> Am 26.11.2018 um 21:51 schrieb Jacques Fortin <jacques.f at videotron.ca>:
> 
> Hi to all,
> 
> 
> 
> This is about a Collins 51S-1 found at the usual auction site.
> 
> 
> 
> From the published documentation, the serial number lies in the middle of
> the 1968 range, so it should had used a Winged Emblem.
> 
> Instead of that, it bears a wide RE (nickel size) with two flat head screws
> going thru the front paned where the WE mounts should have been.
> 
> So from that, it should date from 1969 (RE-transition series).
> 
> Third clue: all the electrolytics bearing a manufacturing date within are
> from the mid-1966, except the power supply capacitor (C182 A,B,C) which
> shows 6717.
> 
> It also have a NATO stock number sticker just below the antenna socket which
> is 522-2245-030 and all tubes sockets are of the skirted type with IERC
> shields mounted in.
> 
> The whole unit is complete, unmolested, not modified, never restored. Most
> of the tubes are the original RCAs and the tuning tool is in place.
> 
> It seems to have low operation hours: apart of a thin layer of storage dust,
> no signs of "cooked" air dust are present around the 6BF5 tube.
> 
> Under chassis is clean as when it left the factory.
> 
> And last detail: V17 is a 6BA6 (both fitted and IDed on chassis) which is
> different from the 7543 specified in the 11th edition of the manual.
> 
> 
> 
> So, what I really got there ??
> 
> A military version for sure (R1122/GR), but why the SN / components date /
> WE do not match ??
> 
> What is the proper version of the manual applicable to this unit ?
> 
> 
> 
> Any comments or restoration tips are welcome.
> 
> 
> 
> 73, Jacques, VE2JFE
> 
> 
> 
> ______________________________________________________________
> Collins mailing list
> Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/collins
> Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm
> Post: mailto:Collins at mailman.qth.net
> 
> This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net
> Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html