[OKDXA] Boatanker A-Lert

[Nelson Derks]

K5YAA Sez: Nice piece of work. 

Check this one out...
http://www.shopgoodwill.com/viewItem.asp?ItemID=4171976

Either someone did a restoration a few years back or it has led a
pampered life. Can't tell exactly from the photos but I get a vibe the
power cord is the o-riginal cloth covered item. That's a fire waiting to
happen, but some restorers have been known to replace the old fire
hazard with a new fire hazard. High bid of $161.00... Somebody wanted it
bad.

As for the RCA 811K, I misspoke earlier about the pushbutton tuning
arrangement. Instead of the usual cap & coil it has indexed wheels and
leaf switches to set stop points for the tuning motor. Makes for a
little more wear & tear on the drive setup but does offer the advantage
of keeping the grease exercised. If you want to see the King Kat Daddy
of the 8xxK series, here's the 816K schematic:

http://www.nostalgiaair.org/Resources/155/M0015155.htm

16 tube beastie with a pair of 6L6's in push pull for the audio out and
a pair of 5T4 rectifier tubes... That's the metal sleeve version of a
5U4. Sometimes when I'm doing a full restore I'll look for a newer
version of the same chassis and rebuild from that schematic on the
assumption it was mo'better. In this case that would be too much work
(punching out four new tube socket holes, and the 816K had discrete SW
bands instead of general coverage) but there is the possibility of
updating selected circuits. The last time it was turned on it belched a
bit of smoke from the power supply section and I have a hunch the fix
will be more involved than replacing a smoked electrolytic.

If it needs a power tranny I have some choice iron liberated from old
Tektronix 5xx scopes that could be stout enough to feed a pair of 6L6's
along with a nice old PA amplifier output transformer to match. A purist
would cringe at the thought of creating a Frankenradio, but I tend to be
more flexible in my thinking about things like this. Wouldn't bother me
at all if a gas thyratron regulator tube was added to the B+ line for
the RF / Oscillator / IF section.

Purple Haze.