[GreenKeys] GreenKeys Digest, Vol 103, Issue 37 - ESSCO TUs

[COURYHOUSE at aol.com]

Excellent  Ralph!  what  was  the  date or   aprox  date  you  got the  
unit!?
 
does anyone have any ads or catalogs!?
 
Ed#  _www.smecc.org_ (http://www.smecc.org)  
 
In a message dated 8/23/2012 9:34:34 A.M. US Mountain Standard Time,  
w8roi at wowway.com writes:

Whoa!  Does that name bring back some  memories!


I had the complete ESSCO unit.  All  kits, some of which were based on the 
"Transistorized
W2JAV TU" in the RTTY Handbook.  ESSCO  expanded and had everything else 
needed, over and
above what the Handbook diagrams  showed.


I used that package and made a bunch of  contacts on 80M AFSK RTTY.  I was 
using wide
shift, with the high tones.  The  transmitter was a Drake T4X, that I had 
modified with
the larger 'sweep tubes' that would fit the  sockets and had the same 
pin-out.  I had to
leave the RF Cage off, though, since the  replacement tubes were almost 
3/4" taller.  I
also had a 4" muffin fan on top of the  transmitter at that corner of the 
cabinet where
the tubes were.  The 'sweep tubes' were  capable of working outside of 
their design
parameters, but they could be 'melted' if  you were not careful.  I took no 
chances.


I also had to 'max out' the bias setting  because with the bigger tubes, 
the idle current
was up close to the 'max' that the Drake  power supply could put out!  
Seeing the plate
current almost 'hit the peg' made me reach  for the power switch real 
quick!  I turned the
bias setting up to about 'half' of the swing  of the control and tried 
again.  Still too
much idle current.  I made one more  attempt before setting the control to 
'max'.


I've long since forgotten the entire list of  cards, but there was one with 
the TU circuitry,
an AFSK card, a 'Keyer card' with a  transistor on a heat sink, a power 
supply card, and
that's all I can remember.


Virtually everyone told me the same thing:  "You have a good signal, but 
your Space Tone
is quite weak compared to the Mark tone".  Well, the Drake transmitter was 
not designed to
pass audio much above 2200 Hz, so that is  not surprising.  I still made a 
lot of contacts.


One day, I was home alone and tuning around  on 20M  I saw a signal, and 
could recognize
the "CQ" so I tuned it in and it was from  Australia!  Solid copy!  I got 
the transmitter
all set and called him.  Bingo!  He came right back.  I was so thrilled, 
and had no one to
share this with.  I saw a couple of  neighborhood kids in the empty lot 
next door and
hollered out the window for them to come to  the house.  I showed them the 
Model 19 printing
something from the VK station, and told them  what it was.  They were 
absolutely un-impressed!


They wandered off and I finished the QSO  with him, sort of in a funk, 
because the fact that
I was communicating with Australia meant  nothing to these two (8-9 year 
old?) girls.  


- - - -


I later discovered that ESSCO made a narrow  shift TU board and AFSK unit, 
but I was on a
limited budget and didn't want to press my  luck with the XYL, asking for 
another $50 or so
to have narrow shift available.


There was a year when there was a Michigan  Week Certificate issued by the 
State of Michigan
to ham operators who made 10 or  15 QSOs with stations outside of Michigan, 
promoting Michigan.
I made it a point  that year to get my entire list of QSOs on RTTY.  I had 
to beg for the  QSL
cards from a few  guys who were sort of 'ho-hum' on certificates.  I did 
eventually get  them all
and made my  application.  I got the certificate a few months later, and 
was quite  proud of it.
It made no mention  of Mode of Operation, so it was just something that I 
knew and was proud  of.


Other than the odd  shape of the ESSCO cabinet, I don't remember much more. 
 I don't remember  if
I sold the TU  package or swapped it or what.  


Thanks for  'listening'.


73,


Ralph -  W8ROI


- - - - - - -  -




On Aug 23, 2012, at 12:03 PM, _greenkeys-request at mailman.qth.net_ 
(mailto:greenkeys-request at mailman.qth.net)   wrote:


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Today's  Topics:

1. In times of old did any one buy any gear from  ESSCO
Communications Inc?  (COURYHOUSE at aol.com)


----------------------------------------------------------------------

Message:  1
Date: Wed, 22 Aug 2012 23:47:30 -0400 (EDT)
From:  COURYHOUSE at aol.com
Subject: [GreenKeys] In times of old did any one buy  any gear from
ESSCO Communications Inc?
To:  greenkeys at mailman.qth.net
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In times of old  did any one  buy any  gear  from  ESSCO  Communications  
Inc?
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