[Milsurplus] TCS keying

[Rob Flory]

I will continue chanting my mantra......

With a regulation(which happen to be well-regulated) power supply like the dyno or the nearly 100lb rectifier unit, there is very little chirp in a TCS, even at 10Mc.

Now, in mobile service, in motion, there is a fair amount of "road modulation" due to the radio being shaken.

For those not fortunate enough to have a real TCS supply, there have been folks who have made very nice regulated supplies around adjustable 3-terminal regulator devices.  This is to be recommended for those who don't want to pay to ship 100lb across the pond, HI.

RF

-----Original Message-----
>From: milsurplus-request at mailman.qth.net
>Sent: May 8, 2011 12:00 PM
>To: milsurplus at mailman.qth.net
>Subject: Milsurplus Digest, Vol 85, Issue 11
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>   1. Re: Milsurplus Digest, Vol 85, Issue 10 (Roger Basford)
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>----------------------------------------------------------------------
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>Message: 1
>Date: Sun, 08 May 2011 07:30:06 +0100
>From: Roger Basford <Roger at new-gate.co.uk>
>Subject: Re: [Milsurplus] Milsurplus Digest, Vol 85, Issue 10
>To: milsurplus at mailman.qth.net
>Message-ID: <4DC6386E.6050401 at new-gate.co.uk>
>Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed
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>On 07/05/2011 22:09, milsurplus-request at mailman.qth.net wrote:
>> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
>> Message: 1
>> Date: Sat, 7 May 2011 20:36:40 +0200
>> From: "Henry Mei'l's"<meils at get2net.dk>
>> Subject: [Milsurplus] TCS PA cathode keying&  ant matching Re:
>> 	Milsurplus	Digest, Vol 85, Issue 9
>> To:<milsurplus at mailman.qth.net>
>> Message-ID:<ECF854D487264404A9CC0A98BB9646E7 at ejerf59be5593b>
>> Content-Type: text/plain; format=flowed; charset="iso-8859-1";
>> 	reply-type=original
>>
>> To minimimize/eliminate chirp, I and many others I know key the 1625
>> cathodes w/the oscillator and buffer/multiplier stages running. This will
>> usually result in a backwave (reduced-level key-up signal), and will not
>> allow QSK unless the osc./buffer are sequence keyed some m. seconds prior to
>> the keyed cathodes, via the keying relay. Grid block (sequenced) keying
>> might be a better solution.
>>
>Hi Henry,
>
>Thanks for the follow-ups on the TCS matching issue, certainly all the 
>feedback has given me plenty to experiment with. Sorry to see that my 
>enquiry has set off a bit of a turf war over modifying vintage gear!
>
>After I played around with an external 2 gang variable cap I was able to 
>get a good amount, > 1amp RF, into the 66ft "L" I'm using temporarily 
>(while I negotiate with my neighbour to allow a longer wire to cross his 
>field!).  I have had a couple of 5 MHz QSOs with a CW station down in 
>the south of England and an amateur over in Cardiff in South Wales, has 
>very kindly sent me a wav file of part of the first QSO I had using the 
>TCS. The chirp is quite acceptable to me, with a decent filter at the 
>Welsh end it cleaned up quite well and is certainly no worse then my 
>1980s vintage PRC-320. Due to the narrow channel restrictions on 5 MHz, 
>I kept a close eye on the frequency counter but saw very little drift. I 
>did note that in "MO test" there's enough RF in the shack to trip the 
>counter, without keying the radio. Has anyone had experience with using 
>relatively modern, say HC6/U, crystals in the TCS? I do have a large 
>amount of rocks collected over the years and have found at least one 
>that will double to 5400kc , another of our 5 MHz channels.
>
>What did come over on the wav file was how easy it is to "clip" 
>characters when sending, just a little too fast and it sounds very 
>ragged. Knowing that Naval ops generally were renowned for their speed 
>and good sending I imagine that it would have taken a concious effort to 
>slow down when using the TCS on the key. My error rate at my normal 
>speed is certainly poor in the recording, I blame all the racket from 
>those relays!
>
>Anyway, hearing the TCS brought back a few memories for us hams who 
>where brought up on military surplus over here. When I was first 
>licensed in '66 the TCS was very common, as the UK forces had used them 
>post-WWII as reserve stations on RN and merchant ships -  but in 2011 a 
>good unmodified transmitter will fetch a good price especially if, like 
>my station, it's made by Collins.
>
>73 all, thanks for the help,
>
>Roger Basford/G3VKM - Norfolk, England.
>
>
>------------------------------
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>End of Milsurplus Digest, Vol 85, Issue 11
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