[Drake] Digital readouts for Drake tube type rigs

[Mike Hyder -N4NT-]

Hi Garey,

We used to talk on the Teenage net on 75 meters back in about 1960. Howdy.

There was a fellow in Hawaii a couple of years ago who told on the Ten-Tec 
reflector how he had locked in the frequency of his Orion to the satellites. 
>From the way he talked, he could get accuracy down to the cycle.

It would have taken an even bigger piece of tape for me.

73, Mike Hyder  -N4NT-  (K4RML in those days)
Johnson City, TN

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Garey Barrell" <k4oah at mindspring.com>
To: "Drake" <Drake at mailman.qth.net>; <DrakeRadio at yahoogroups.com>
Sent: Monday, August 27, 2012 10:28
Subject: Re: [Drake] Digital readouts for Drake tube type rigs


> John -
>
> This comes up from time to time.  I guess I'm just too much of a Luddite 
> to understand the
> attraction?!?!
>
> You can easily set the dial of a 4 series to within 100 Hz of a specific 
> frequency with no
> additional equipment.
>
> I realize that ham radio, especially on SSB, (and even some CW?), has 
> become 'channelized', e.g.,
> 14.210.000 MHz, 14.215.000 MHz, etc..   Some seem to make a big deal of 
> the frequency being
> _exactly_  correct.  Now this has goes all the way back to (primarily) the 
> Collins S-Line in the
> late 50's when arguments would break out over who was 'ON' frequency and 
> who was "NOT"!  It's
> entertaining even today to listen to all the 'exactly on 14.210.000 kHz' 
> stations and hear the 50
> -100 Hz variation as each of them transmit!
>
> VERY few hams today can tell you their absolute frequency to better than 
> +/- 25 Hz, unless they have
> one of the GPS locked frequency standards available today, or have within 
> the last 5 minutes
> verified their standalone calibrator and compared the frequency to their 
> transmitter.
>
> The hardest thing for some to understand is that just because your radio 
> has a 15 digit readout
> does  _NOT_  mean it's _accurate_ to 13 places.  Resolution is NOT 
> Accuracy.
>
> FCC regulations merely say that we have to stay within quite wide 
> frequency ranges.  The Drake dials
> are MORE than adequate to stay within those ranges and/or to find and keep 
> a scheduled meeting.
>
> I had a friend who was older than I am, (YIKES!,) who cut out a piece of 
> card stock and stuck it
> over the last three digits of his fancy digital radio.  He said he would 
> get so obsessed over 'what
> those three digits were' he couldn't enjoy the QSO!!  :-)
>
> Just my opinion.........
>
> 73, Garey - K4OAH
> Glen Allen, VA
>
> Drake 2-B, 2-C/2-NT, 4-A, 4-B, C-Line
> and TR-4/C Service Supplement CDs
> <www.k4oah.com>
>
> John King wrote:
>> I have a number of Drake receivers, transmitters and transceivers of the 
>> tube variety with analog dials. I would like to put digital dials on some 
>> of them. I use my TR4 and TR3 the most but I also use my R4 and T4 lines. 
>> I am not sure whether I would like digital dials for my 1A, 2A or 2B.
>>
>> Having as many Drake radios as I have, I would like to determine the 
>> digital dial that works well and gives the "most bang for the buck".
>>
>> I am looking for information that will assist me and I don't want to 
>> start a "thread" or cause confusion. I would appreciate direct emails if 
>> you can offer information for my consideration. Thanks you for reading 
>> and assisting me with the needed information. 73, John, K5PGW