[Elecraft] that Drake or Collins "sound"

[Vic K2VCO]

Brett gazdzinski wrote:

> On the kwm2 and kwm2a, cw was an afterthought, and done
> in a poor way. I think they used audio tones into the mike circuit
> for CW, and  maybe the ssb filter?
> 
> I don't think those rigs were great CW radios.
> 
> Not sure about the drake 2b, the r4c I had was very nice for its
> age, and with some mods can be as good as the modern stuff I hear.
> Mine sounded quite nice stock, under normal conditions anyway.

I once had the following setup: R4B receiver, Hallicrafters HA-5 
hetrodyne VFO, Heathkit DX-60B, and homemade 813 amplifier with a t/r 
switch hooked directly to the plate circuit. The keyer was homebrew and 
a NC contact on the keying relay activated the R4B muting circuit.

After the addition of one bypass capacitor in the audio of the R4B, I 
had what I remember to be absolutely perfect QSK. When I turned off the 
sidetone from the keyer, keying the transmitter (about 250w input) 
resulted in smooth pulses of silence from the receiver.

Maybe it's like your first girlfriend, the way time clouds memory, but 
this is the standard that I apply to modern rigs, most of which don't 
come close.

I also got a certificate from ARRL in the frequency measuring test by 
calibrating the R4B to WWV and then just reading the frequency off the dial.
-- 
73,
Vic, K2VCO
Fresno CA
http://www.qsl.net/k2vco