[Hammarlund] RE;dumb tuning

Mon, 16 Sep 2002 21:00:03 -0400

Ed,

A cheap and accurate signal generator sounds like a holy grail! Even expensive ones aren't
often accurate enuf to do what you want to do. What I use is a cheap signal generator with
a cheap counter in the line to the receiver, solves most problems. I also have a step
attenuator between the counter and the receiver so I can reduce the level and keep the
counter happy.

Has worked for many receivers.

GL & 73, Joel, W1ZR

Ed Shafer wrote:

> Mike,
>
> I too have an HQ-180 and I am really pleased with it in all respects. I tried for quite
> a while to get the tracking right, but still can't get it on the mark everywhere. I
> really don't have the equipment that would make the job easy, so as you said, tried to
> make do with the crystal calibrator, and harmonics from a fairly accurate 80 meter vfo
> to get the frequencies right. I feel pretty sure that it could be better than I've
> gotten it, and was glad to hear your opinion about the potential accuracy that could be
> achieved. Still, just using the calibrator to spot myself, I can find anything I want
> to on any band. It just doesn't track evenly from one end to the other. As you say,
> it's a labor of love...I put probably 10 honest hours in on this and wish I'd gotten a
> little closer to perfect. Still, it's the best receiver I've ever owned. I love the
> selectivity filters...in the .5 position I can single out a cw signal in a crowd, and
> the slot filter is also quite a nice thing to have!
>
> Ed N5YX
>
> p.s.  I am looking for a signal generator to try to do this again, preferably cheap and
> accurate, if anyone has anything to offer.
>
> --- Mike Taylor <[email protected]> wrote:
> > some interesting discussion about mike mcoy's question on his hammarlund
> > hq-180. what we're talking about here is what's called "tracking". in other
> > words, the ability to set the tuning dial on any dial marker and that's the
> > actual frequency you're tuned to. the hq-180 can do this. in a perfect
> > world, we would all have singal generators that are 100% accurate which
> > would make alignment simple. few of us do. so the crystal calibrator has to
> > suffice during alignment and you need reliable reference points (like wwv).
> > the highest band is difficult because there are so many dial marks spaced so
> > close together. so mike, if your oscillator is even just 100khz off it can
> > be impossible to figure out where you are. i've managed to get just about
> > perfect dial tracking on both my hammarlunds, but it's tedious to do and
> > truly a labor of love. i'd like to know how many other folks have managed to
> > get nearly perfect tracking on their hammarlunds and how much of a pain it
> > was to accomplish. 73's...mike [email protected]
>
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