[Swan] Vector Radio VR-50

[Robert Nickels]

My buddy found one of these radios several years ago and I was able to 
snag the other one recently - these two are the only ones we've found to 
exist.   When you look at the pics you will see why we're sure this 
radio was made by Swan, Atlas, Cubic, Herb Johnson or some branch of the 
Swan family tree.   It looks like a mini-Atlas until you realize it's 
only about 6" wide and has no VFO.   We think it was intended for 
commercial use (not military grade) as a "grab and go" survival radio 
for onboard ships, oil platforms, and the like. I think it's about the 
most ideal configuration for a ham portable I've seen, despite not 
having full band coverage.    It takes less than a minute to go from 
"stow" to "go".

I took a bunch of pictures thinking that others would enjoy seeing it, 
and that someone might help us learn something about the rig or it's origin:

http://smg.photobucket.com/user/ranickel/library/Vector%20VR-50%20SSB%20Communicator 


There are 12 Ham Band crystal positions, where the Fine Tune control 
acts like a VXO and gives about ± 5 Khz.  The overall coverage is 2-17 
Mhz and the crystals include segments of 160, 75, 40, and 20 meters.   
In the Auxiliary mode, the Fine Tune acts only as an RIT with only a few 
hundred Hz range.  We'd like to figure how to modify this so we can add 
more ham crystals on that side, and how the sideband selection etc is 
done.   Of course as you can guess, no documentation or schematic has 
been found, thus the reason for this posting.

I'd guess this radio is from the early-mid 70s.  The large hole in the 
bottom PCB that looks like it was to clear a speaker makes me wonder if 
that board might have been used in another radio - maybe someone will 
recognize this PCB.   Without a PLL or display or other newfangled 
gadgets, the power consumption is low for good battery life -  a 12 volt 
gel cell that is charged whenever the solar panel is in the sun.    The 
label says 50 watts PEP output but I'd bet it's less than that and will 
have to check it on a wattmeter sometime.    The little tuner matches 
the 8 foot whip on all bands.

I'm really pleased with the radio and would certainly be interested in 
any comments, sources of information, or fellow owners.

73, Bob W9RAN