[K3PZN-List] Was Your First Transmitter Homebrew?

[Bill Mellema]

I was first licensed in 1965 as a novice...the pressure was on to get my 
general before my novice expired....

I ran a Heath DX20 and a Knight Kit Star Roamer....the Star Roamer 
wasn't much of a receiver but it was what I could afford. I later moved 
up to a used DX60 (rock bound) and a Halicrafters SX-99 that I purchased 
from my high school history teacher..thought I was in heaven with that 
set up ha ha...

The antennas were dipoles and inverted vee's...had lots of fun with 
those. My next transmitter was a B&W5100..two 6146's..about 120 watts 
input...now I actually had a transmitter with a VFO....

I've had many rigs since then over the years including an Ameco AT1 that 
ran a 6L6 with about 20 watts out (CW). It did not have any metering so 
I used a VOM to dip the cathode.

My present day vintage station is a DX60B with the HG10 VFO..about 45 
watts out on CW...the receiver is a Hammarlund HQ180...and yes I've had 
it on the air and have made  CW contacts FB.....I have gone over the 
DX60B and VFO..replaced leaky caps and filters..then aligned both.

BTW my first FM rig was the Drake TR22..1 watt out and crystal 
controlled. This was around 1973 when the first Baltimore repeaters were 
just getting on the air...the 34/94 BARC repeater may be the first sysem 
on the air in Baltimore but I can't swear to it. I do remember BARC 
trying to get hams to move from 146.94 simplex.   146.94 then  is what 
146.52 is today...a very popular simplex frequency. Many hams got on 2 
meters FM with old commercial FM rigs that had been modified and 
"crystaled up"


73's

Bill N3WM



On 6/16/2011 4:41 PM, Curt Milton wrote:
> I am interesting if any of you all used a homebrew tube transmitter when you were first licensed? (presuming by now that we all currently use a rig from Japan, that company on Dolly Parton Pkwy or Elecraft).  If you used such a rig, did you construct it yourself and did you make use of parts scrounged from a dead TV set? 
>   
> I know that 'slightly before my time' this practice was common, based upon articles in QST and in books in the library.  My own first rig was a used heathkit, but I remember asking the advisor of my high school club 'what is this 807 transmitter' the other guy was using. 
>   
> Some of you folk can't relate at all, as your first rig may have been 2m FM! 
>   
> 73 Curt
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