[Drake] Admin: Closing the list

[Lee]

Talking about lighter Drake gear, I recently restored a couple Drake 
Novice 2NT transmitters.  One had a burned up transformer. I was 
originally going to rewind it myself but Heyboer Transformer did a 
wonderful job making a new one for me at a very reasonable price.  Both 
of them required new electrolytic can capacitors and a couple 
resistors.  They now work good as new.  Coupling them with a 
Hallicrafters HA-5 VFO makes a wonderful combination.

That brings up one additional point.  There are a lot of old guys these 
days, most being Extra Class hams,  that are now reliving their old 
Novice days by setting up their old Novice stations or setting one up 
they wish they could afford back when they were a teenager.  This is 
helping drive demand for Drake gear.  Slow speed CW is gaining 
popularity between 7100-7125 khz.

There are also interest in CW QRP.  Some of those guys sometimes want a 
boost in power and a Novice station would give them that boost from 1 to 
5 watts.

Old used light weight ham gear is going to be in demand for some time to 
come.

Lee, w0vt


On 7/9/2017 3:58 PM, Lee wrote:
>
> Here is another take on Drake popularity.
> For years, used Drake equipment has gone dirt cheap on Ebay and other 
> selling sources.  Today that is no longer true.  Drake equipment now 
> sells on these sites for much more then they did not too long ago.  I 
> notice this also with old Novice rigs both transmitters, receivers and 
> transceivers.  The light in weight stuff is selling.  The very heavy 
> boat anchors are going unsold. Their weight combined with shipping 
> costs have made it almost impossible to justifying the purchase when 
> you consider shipping costs.  Some newer hams are showing a demand for 
> this old stuff, but because of shipping costs are zeroing in on 
> lighter in weight old gear.  Drake fits into this category.  So I 
> think used Drake gear will continue to grow in popularity with younger 
> hams unlike the heavier boat anchors.  These new hams discovering 
> Drake will need more help then us older guys in restoring Drake gear 
> and keeping them running. They for the most part know very little 
> about high voltage hollow state tube gear.  New Drake gear sold in 
> huge numbers.  So did Heathkit and to a lesser degree Collins and 
> maybe Hallicrafters. Most of the other manufacturers did not sell much 
> of their later light gear.  So the way I see it, the newer ham wanting 
> older gear will most likely look at purchasing Drake and Heathkit 
> gear.  Maybe Collins because of the beauty in their packaging.  They 
> will have a better chance finding parts and finding someone with 
> needed knowledge if they zero in on these manufacturers.
>
> The bottom line is I believe the interest in Drake gear will be there 
> for a long time.
> Lee, w0vt