[HBR] Correspondence from Ted Smith (SK) W6TC

[Jimmy Mahuron]

Jimmy Mahuron wrote:
> To Winn KD0CFB,
>
> Sun Valley Calif.  6/11/58
>
> Dear Jimmy:
>
>    After mailing my letter of yesterday,
> re-read your letter, and realized I had not answered
> all your questions.  The dial used is the National type
> SCN (not the slightly larger type ACN) and the
> S meter can be any ) to 1 milliamp D' Arsonwal type
> moving-coil meter.  This meter is used in a balanced-
> bridge S-meter circuit;  the meter being one of the
> four legs of the balanced bridge.  So it must be about
> 50 ohms internal resistance or the S meter circuit won't
> work.  The S-meter being advertised surplus are 0-5 mil.
> movements, and won't work.
>                                                       73, Ted.
>
> Sun Valley, Calif.   6/10/58
>
> Dear Jimmy:
>               Tnx for your little note of June 2nd., which reached me 
> 2 or
> 3 days ago.  Pardon the delay, but my correspondence is quite heavy on 
> t his HBR
> thing, and even by the mimeographing letters like this one,  I can't 
> keep up.
>
> One of the HBR fan club members, Bob Eckart, 6430 Lakewood Ave,.
> Dallas, 14, Texas has been good enough to draw a complete new
> schematoc of my present HBR-15, as it is being used here at the
> present time.  The new diagram was completer only a short time
> ago (latter part of May).  Bob then had it blueprinted, the
> resultant thing being a beautiful job for sure.  These blueprints
> cost Bob $1.00 each, even though ordered in lots of 25,  If you
> should care for one, send a request to Bob, with your buck plus
> 10 cents for postage.  One new change is this new diagram: The
> screen dropping resister in the 6AU6 electron-coupled oscillator
> (first-oscillator) should be changed to 82K rahter then the 39K
> shown.  this change was due to further experimentation after the
> diagram had been printed.
>
> Another fan club member, Ed Kent, 1825 Frazer Ave. NW, Canton 9
> Ohio, for fifty cents, will send you his HBR NOTES.  Ed was a
> novice who built the HBR, with nothing but trouble trying to get
> it to work.  Over many months, I wrote him many long letters
> of help and encouragement before he finally made it.  Ed has
> compiled all of these tips and helps from me, plus some other
> information, into six pages of notes, and more will be added
> in the very near future.  Recommend these notes to you by all
> means.  Many hints toward getting maximum performance from your
> HBR.  If you come up with any successful ideas, let Ed know
> about them.  He's the guy that has the job of keeping everyone
> so advised.
>
> I would advise and recommend most highly that you take advantage
> of both of these fellows efforts toward furnishing a helping hand
> for the rest of us.  It would be utterly impossible for me to pass
> on individual copies of these things on to you, without their help.
> The many, many letters per week of HBR correspondence keeps
> me busy, without trying to draw individual schematics, ect., for
> everyone HI.  Which might be a good place to remind you, my
> postage bill on this thing is a sizeable item.  Stamped envelopes
> are certainly appreciated on all letters of inquiry, whether to me
> or any other member of the "club".
>
> I managed to draw your requested sketch of the chassis layout while
> I was on duty one day at the TV xmter.  Am enclosing herewith,
> at this point I must warn you that for a novice especially one who
> is obviously is a "youngster in his teens" with very little
> "do it yourself" experience, this is not a project to tackle without
> some serious thought.  As multi-tube double-supers go, the HBR
> is a very straight-forward clean-cut and relatively simple piece of
> gear, and was designed to be "just that," in order the average
> inexperienced ham could duplicate it.  Even so I know of a couple
> of cased where builders still hadn't, been able to get their recvrs.
> to work several weeks after they had finished wiring them up. Hate to  
> have to tell you this Jimmy, but feel it is only fair to the
> both of us I do so.  Perhaps your friend Herb, (SK) W9UOZ, has
> built some of his own equipment, and feels he could and would, help
> you get it going, should you eventually need help?  I suggest you
> discguss this with Herb (SK), as well as your Dad (SK), before
> definitely deciding to go ahead.  Correctly wired up, and properly
> aligned, the HBR will outperform recvrs. costing several hundreds
> of dollard, and any number of successful builders have written me
> they have done just that.  But make one or two incorrect wiring
> connections in its construction, and you are a dead duck.  The two
> letters in June QST were written by two old-timers, who definitely
> knew their way around with a soldering iron.  Other pertinent
> information on the HBR appeared on the editorial page of August
> 1957 QST: Febry 1958; and April 1858 issues.  Suggest you
> look at these also.
>
> Should you have trouble locating the "Miller parts",  as most
> builders do, write to "Valley Electronics; Attention Mr. Fred Ritchie 
> Mgr.;
> 1302 West Magnolia Blvd., Burbank, Calif,".  Fred is a personal friend
> of mine, who knows all about my HBR.  The Miller factory is located
> here in Los Angeles.)  as you know.  (Sun Valley and Burbank are 
> adjoining
> surburbs of Los Angeles.)  So Fred is as close to the Miller factory 
> as is his telephone, in case he happens to be out-of-stock on some Miller
> item at any particular moment.  He will give your order his personal 
> attention,
> with 24 hour service in shipment.
>
> There is a sizeable "HBR" FAN CLUB"  in existance.  For your information
> I will enclose the latest herwith.  Should you decide to join us, I 
> will add
> your name to the future lists on advice from you.
>
> Tnx, again for your letter.  Good luck, and let me know what you
> finally decide to do.
>
>                                     73,
>                                           Ted W6TC.  (SK)
>