From glowbugs@theporch.com  Thu Aug 15 19:18:40 1996
Return-Path: <glowbugs@theporch.com>
Received: from uro (localhost.theporch.com [127.0.0.1]) by uro.theporch.com (8.8.Alpha.7/AUX-3.1.1) with SMTP id TAA24805; Thu, 15 Aug 1996 19:14:51 -0500 (CDT)
Date: Thu, 15 Aug 1996 19:14:51 -0500 (CDT)
Message-Id: <199608160014.TAA24805@uro.theporch.com>
Errors-To: ws4s@midtenn.net
Reply-To: glowbugs@theporch.com
Originator: glowbugs@theporch.com
Sender: glowbugs@theporch.com
Precedence: bulk
From: glowbugs@theporch.com
To: Multiple recipients of list <glowbugs@theporch.com>
Subject: GLOWBUGS digest 262
X-Listprocessor-Version: 6.0c -- ListProcessor by Anastasios Kotsikonas
X-Comment: Please send list server requests to listproc@theporch.com
Status: O

			    GLOWBUGS Digest 262

Topics covered in this issue include:

  1) Re: Regens in the Grand Style
	by mjsilva@ix.netcom.com (michael silva)
  2) Old big and warm bottles for regens
	by korky <korky@nando.net>
  3) Re: Old big and warm bottles for regens
	by rdkeys@csemail.cropsci.ncsu.edu
  4) More Regens
	by Terry Dobler  KJ7F <kj7f@micron.net>
  5) Re: More Regens
	by rdkeys@csemail.cropsci.ncsu.edu
  6) B.A. frequencies? (fwd)
	by Jeffrey Herman <jherman@hawaii.edu>
  7) Re: More Regens
	by clarke@next3.acme.ist.ucf.edu (Thomas Clarke)
  8) Re: B.A. frequencies? (fwd)
	by rdkeys@csemail.cropsci.ncsu.edu
  9) Re: More Regens
	by rdkeys@csemail.cropsci.ncsu.edu
 10) Re: B.A. frequencies? (fwd)
	by Nick England <nick@cs.unc.edu>
 11) Re: More Regens
	by rdkeys@csemail.cropsci.ncsu.edu
 12) Re: B.A. frequencies? (fwd)
	by Jake Hellbach <kk5hy@accesscom.net>
 13) Short antennas for BC regens
	by Jeff Duntemann <jeffd@coriolis.com>
 14) FS 813's
	by "Cory Hine" <hinec@ccgate.dl.nec.com>
 15) LM useful for regan?
	by Jay Coward <jayc@hpmsd2.sj.hp.com>
 16) Re: LM useful for regan?
	by rdkeys@csemail.cropsci.ncsu.edu
 17) Regeneratorriggitisfercwetherburning!
	by rdkeys@csemail.cropsci.ncsu.edu

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Date: Wed, 14 Aug 1996 17:41:02 -0700
From: mjsilva@ix.netcom.com (michael silva)
To: glowbugs@theporch.com
Subject: Re: Regens in the Grand Style
Message-ID: <199608150041.RAA28731@dfw-ix3.ix.netcom.com>

>> Hi Bob, Kevin McDonald N5OJF here.
>> I've yearning to join the chassis punching, coil winding crowd
>> and build me one-o-them new fangled regenerative receivers.

You can again be the first on your block! :)
>
>Lindsay Books sells a number of reprints of 30's and 40's books on 
>radio, stuffed to the rafters with circuits of this sort....  RADIO 
>FOR THE MILLIONS is the one I like the most.

Haven't seen that one, but I really like their "1934 Official Shortwave 
Manual", as well as "How to Become an Amateur Radio Operator".
>
>> But I 
>> have a catch - I'd kinda particular about the types of tubes I 
>> use. I prefer the 6?6 types with grid caps for cosmetic reasons etc. 


>I like the "G" bottles too,

Here, here.  Unfortunately, judging from the literature, most of them 
had to be hidden away in big shield cans to work properly...

> though I remember reading somewhere that putting
>the grid up in the air and away from the shielding effect of a metal 
>chassis made such tubes more susceptible to hum....
>I recall seeing a >project in one of the old Handbooks
>where there was a little sheet metal trough placed over the grid leak
>resistor where it stretched from the main tuning cap to the grid cap, 
>just to keep the human down to reasonable levels.

The E&E Handbook 6J5-6C5 set does this.  I can send you a copy of the 
article if you'd like.  I've also got an earlier edition with both a 
"Noise-free Autodyne" using a 58 or 6C6 (sic), and a 56 or 76, as well 
as an "AC Gainer" using a 57 and a 56, if you're interested.

One combination I've thought about involves using a 6F8G (a shapely 
6SN7), with one triode as a grounded-grid untuned RF amp. and the other 
as the audio triode, with detector (I've got some 6U7Gs with nothing to 
do) in the middle.

I sure do enjoy this kinda talk...

73,
Mike, KK6GM






------------------------------

Date: Wed, 14 Aug 1996 21:42:57 -0400 (EDT)
From: korky <korky@nando.net>
To: Multiple recipients of list <glowbugs@theporch.com>
Subject: Old big and warm bottles for regens
Message-ID: <Pine.SUN.3.91.960814211759.27613A-100000@merlin.nando.net>

	
Hi folks,


At the suggestion of my gud buddy, Herr Bob Keys, NA4G, I make this my	
first posting on the glowbugs. Up to now I've been one of those more or less
silent folks reading all that flies by and a tad bit 'fraid to get out there
to quickly. Yet like Bob I do love them old bottles. Yup I do have a lot of
dem. While reading the mail a bit earlier this evening I happened to see
Kevin's request for additional types that might be suitable for a replica
regen. Well I just hoppened to have a copy of the '42 handbook in front
of me so I've made a little list of RF amplifier types that were listed.
Yes I did list a few octals but dey were not so current as 6SN7's.
Here is my list.

6 volt types    2.5 volt   1.5-2.0 volt battery types    Ugh!! Octals


6E7              57          15  22  32  1F6 1A4P 1B4P    1D5 1E5 1P5 
36               58   
39/44
77
78


Ya have me thinking I might try to make one using a 15. That type was

found in battery sets of the mid thirties - mostly farm radio's That would

be fun to QSL someone es say der rcvr was a regen using a 15. 


While I'm on the stump might I inquire if anyone has an original or gud
copy of a manual for a Navy TBX-8 they could part with. Got the whole
equipment except for the manual. 

Pse excuse some of der speilling Bob. After all dese years It tends to
rub off on me tooo.  

73 de Korky /  Tim  /  N4IQA



------------------------------

Date: Wed, 14 Aug 1996 23:00:01 -0400 (EDT)
From: rdkeys@csemail.cropsci.ncsu.edu
To: korky@nando.net
Cc: rdkeys@csemail.cropsci.ncsu.edu (), glowbugs@theporch.com
Subject: Re: Old big and warm bottles for regens
Message-ID: <9608150300.AA101060@csemail.cropsci.ncsu.edu>

> 	
> Hi folks,
> 

Welcome aboard Korky!.....(:+}}.....

> 6 volt types    2.5 volt   1.5-2.0 volt battery types    Ugh!! Octals
> 
> 
> 6E7              57          15  22  32  1F6 1A4P 1B4P    1D5 1E5 1P5 
> 36               58   
> 39/44
> 77
> 78

Whilst on the tube kick, I wuz a'thinkin' (widout burnin' too much o'
de ol' grematters) that we ought to include a couple more types in the
list.....

Type 30  --- a good generic detector amplifier triode

Type 19  --- the premier Granddaddy o' de ol' 6SN7 style thingie

Type 27  --- the ubiquitous and absolutely magnificent detector
             amplifier (cuz o' de ol' reserve filamentary emmissivus
             present in all its fine fires and glows).

Actually, the 27 is by far the wildest regen detector of the lot,
but I always have a hard time coming up with a good filament supply
for it without humming me way to infamy....  In my hands it has been,
by far, the most sensitive and strongest detector.

> Pse excuse some of der speilling Bob. After all dese years It tends to
> rub off on me tooo.  
> 
> 73 de Korky /  Tim  /  N4IQA

Folks, give ol' Korky a fine welcome.  It is good to see him posting.
He just got on the ol' electronetical funzies a few weeks back.
Also, from my experiences with him over the past 12 years or so, since
we first officially met at a fine special event howdydoo commemorating
the 400th anniversary of the first settlers in the americas, I must
say that one could learn a lot from ol' Korky.  He be a somewhat quite
type o' feller, a bit unpretentious in the herd.  But, he has been into
a' boatanchin' an' a'  glowbuggin' since WWII and before, back when
they was state-o-de-ol'-art rather than boatanchors.....(:+}}.....
He's got more practical larnin' in his lil' pinky than I'll probably
get by the time me watch be up.....

So, Welcome be ye thar' ol' Korky, an' grapples ye yer tin cans atop
yer noggin' cuz I 'ears them thar firebottles be a' perkin' tonite!

73/ZUT DE NA4G/Bob


------------------------------

Date: Wed, 14 Aug 96 21:01 MDT
From: Terry Dobler  KJ7F <kj7f@micron.net>
To: glowbugs@theporch.com
Subject: More Regens
Message-ID: <2.2.16.19960814210156.27e7748e@micron.net>

Greetings,

   I have been following the regen thread with interest.   I have been
thinking of builing a regen for the BC band but have a few questions.   
All the designs show and external antenna and ground connection.   Are 
there any designs around that do not require the external antenna?   
I don't want to tie up my skyhook for a BC radio.   Also, can the 
interstage transformer be any with the correct ratio or is the 
impedance of the primary more important than the ratio?   Any tips 
or pitfalls to avoid?

Terry  KJ7F

kj7f@micron.net  (Boise, Idaho)  http://netnow.micron.net/~kj7f


------------------------------

Date: Wed, 14 Aug 1996 23:57:21 -0400 (EDT)
From: rdkeys@csemail.cropsci.ncsu.edu
To: kj7f@micron.net
Cc: rdkeys@csemail.cropsci.ncsu.edu (), glowbugs@theporch.com
Subject: Re: More Regens
Message-ID: <9608150357.AA101294@csemail.cropsci.ncsu.edu>

> 
> Greetings,
> 
>    I have been following the regen thread with interest.   I have been
> thinking of builing a regen for the BC band but have a few questions.   

Excellent.  Generally one can build regens by certain rules of thumb.
The limits are pretty broad, once the basic rules are understood.

> All the designs show and external antenna and ground connection.   Are 
> there any designs around that do not require the external antenna?   

The classic example of using a null pointer antenna (pun) comes from
the work of early hams in the mid 1920's, principally in the so-called
``low loss era'' where there was a great deal of interest in decreasing
leakage losses in things like coils or tube sockets, etc.  The name
of Perry Phillips and Boyd Phelps comes to minde from about 1924 QST.
Then, the next classic design comes from the famous articles of
Fred Sutter in QST about 1939 and 1940.  Fred was known for his
famous articles on the QSL sized rigs (QSL15, QSL25, QSL40, QSL100)
using ol' Tuffy 6L6.   But, he also put out an article on regen
receivers using antennas as short as 12 inches, about 1939 or so.
I followed his concept along and played some with my breadboard
regens and found that IF you take pains to insure a good ground
you can get by with a null pointer antenna (no antenna at all).
Obviously that requires a non-shielded set.

It has long been known, since the ``low loss era'' that minimal
antenna coupling (using coupling coils spaced 6 inchs or more
apart) gave the sharpest signals and best control of regeneration.
Sutter took the antenna down to a 12 inch whip directly coupled
to the high side of the grid coil.   That works very well, but
is prone to body capacity, if you are not careful.  In my hands
I have had  good success with a 6 inch whip off the high end
of the coil.  It also helps to reduce the grid coupling capacitor
to something like 10-25 pf and increase the grid leak to 10-100
meg ohms or no leak at all (where circuit creepage resistances
determine the grid leak).  That also works fairly well, but
requires care in regeneration control and is prone to pulling
and swamping if the antenna is longer than a few inches.

> I don't want to tie up my skyhook for a BC radio.   Also, can the 
> interstage transformer be any with the correct ratio or is the 
> impedance of the primary more important than the ratio?   Any tips 
> or pitfalls to avoid?

Generally any audio transformer with a roughly 1:1 to 9:1 ratio will
work.  If you don't  have an audio coupling transformer, you can take
a small 110-440vac instrumentation transformer and make that work
(not well but it works on low plate voltages of 48 or so).
A modulation transformer will also work, although that is HUGE overkill.
If you don't have any transformer at all available, then you can use
simple impedance coupling with any old power supply choke of maybe
10 henries or more and a coupling capacitor of anywhere from 0.1
to 10 uf or so (an old bypass or power supply cap will work, you know
one of those ubiquitous junque box 1 uf 600 v things from WWII gear).

Most audio transformer regens are designed to run at 45 volts to 90
volts on the plates.  My experiences indicate that one should keep
down around 45 volts for most triodes  (maybe up to 67 volts) and
not too much higher.  Pentodes can usually be run at 90 volts and
higher, but remember to keep the plate current in check and the
high voltage off the tin can leads.  HV is bad on the ears....(:+}}...

I have found that the small audio coupling trasformers that abound in
60's tube gear (like 600 ohm to 10000 ohm or 1k-100k ohm) will work.

In a pinch I prefer the power supply choke and generic 1 uf coupler.

> Terry  KJ7F
> kj7f@micron.net  (Boise, Idaho)  http://netnow.micron.net/~kj7f

That is all I can think of offhand, now.

73/ZUT DE NA4G/Bob


------------------------------

Date: 	Wed, 14 Aug 1996 22:44:21 -1000
From: Jeffrey Herman <jherman@hawaii.edu>
To: Glowbugs List <glowbugs@theporch.com>
Subject: B.A. frequencies? (fwd)
Message-ID: <Pine.GSO.3.93.960814224236.7720A-100000@uhunix5>



Bob: I don't know if you're still sub'd to the BA list, but I
surely know you're on here! Maybe you could provide your East
Coast BA/GB wavelengths for the following OM.
73 from Hawaii,
Jeff KH2PZ / KH6

---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Wed, 14 Aug 1996 16:45:58 -1000
From: WalterLP@AOL.COM
To: Multiple recipients of list <boatanchors@theporch.com>
Subject: B.A. frequencies?

   I wonder if there are any ham band frequencies, either phone or cw,
that fellow boatanchor enthusiasts "hang out"?

   If so, I wonder if someone could post it/them and possible times, so
I and others might tune in and check out?

   Thanks.                         Walt  W2JDH


------------------------------

Date: Thu, 15 Aug 96 10:20:34 EDT
From: clarke@next3.acme.ist.ucf.edu (Thomas Clarke)
To: glowbugs@theporch.com
Subject: Re: More Regens
Message-ID: <9608151420.AA03883@ next3.acme.ist.ucf.edu >

>Sutter took the antenna down to a 12 inch whip directly coupled
>to the high side of the grid coil.   That works very well, but
>is prone to body capacity, if you are not careful.  In my hands
>I have had  good success with a 6 inch whip off the high end
>of the coil. 


This makes me wonder, has anyone every put a regenerator in a
waterproof box and remoted the controls so that the 12 inch
whip can be at the top of a tower or chimney, far from detuning
body capacities?
Surplus selsyns?  


Tom Clarke
KE4VFH

------------------------------

Date: Thu, 15 Aug 1996 10:12:33 -0400 (EDT)
From: rdkeys@csemail.cropsci.ncsu.edu
To: jherman@hawaii.edu
Cc: rdkeys@csemail.cropsci.ncsu.edu (), Wlxxxx.@csemail.cropsci.ncsu.edu,
Subject: Re: B.A. frequencies? (fwd)
Message-ID: <9608151412.AA101692@csemail.cropsci.ncsu.edu>

> Bob: I don't know if you're still sub'd to the BA list, but I
> surely know you're on here! Maybe you could provide your East
> Coast BA/GB wavelengths for the following OM.
> 73 from Hawaii,
> Jeff KH2PZ / KH6
> 
> ---------- Forwarded message ----------
> Subject: B.A. frequencies?
> 
>    I wonder if there are any ham band frequencies, either phone or cw,
> that fellow boatanchor enthusiasts "hang out"?
>    If so, I wonder if someone could post it/them and possible times, so
> I and others might tune in and check out?
>    Thanks.                         Walt  W2JDH

Sure.... The generic BA/GB frequencies are:

         3579R545 KHZ at 0200/0300/0400/0500/0600 Z

         7050R5 khz at 0000/0100 Z

         1802R5 KHZ at 0000/0100/0200/0300/0400/0500 Z

Call from H+0 to H+5 with the following call:

         BA IMI DE yourcall K
or
         CQ BA CQ BA DE yourcall K
or
         CWIST IMI DE yourcall K    (old form call from the early days)

Any of the above calls will rattle the bushes if anyone is about.

Things are a little sparse in the summertime, but quite hopping in the
cooler fall/winter/spring.

Things should be beginning to perk up a bit!  CUL OM

73/ZUT DE NA4G/Bob UP

p.s.  The Ol' CW Fart/Boatanchor Bob/NA4G is still about, but in a low
      profile mode fer a bit more.....(:+}}.....


------------------------------

Date: Thu, 15 Aug 1996 09:59:33 -0400 (EDT)
From: rdkeys@csemail.cropsci.ncsu.edu
To: kj7f@micron.net (Terry Dobler  KJ7F)
Cc: rdkeys@csemail.cropsci.ncsu.edu ()
Subject: Re: More Regens
Message-ID: <9608151359.AA101662@csemail.cropsci.ncsu.edu>

> Bob,
>    Thanks for the info.   I'll have some questions later about
> the regen but in the mean time, do you still have your web 
> pages with all the photos of the gear you have built?
> Terry  KJ7F

I don't have any web pages up, but they are supposed to be up
on two or three machines.  I think John Brewer has them up and
maybe Steve Modena, but I am not sure.

Anyone know what machines have those fotos?  I need to find out myself
so I can get a lookiesee.....(:+}}.....

Bob/NA4G



------------------------------

Date: Thu, 15 Aug 1996 09:54:02 -0400
From: Nick England <nick@cs.unc.edu>
To: rdkeys@csemail.cropsci.ncsu.edu
Cc: boatanchors@theporch.com
Subject: Re: B.A. frequencies? (fwd)
Message-ID: <199608151354.JAA21662@altair.cs.unc.edu>

and you can find some BA guys on the usual AM frequencies too -
3885 kc
7295 kc
14286 kc
and someplace on 10m - help!

Nick KD4CPL
-------
Nick England  nick@cs.unc.edu   KD4CPL 		Chapel Hill NC
http://www.cs.unc.edu/~nick



------------------------------

Date: Thu, 15 Aug 1996 10:33:18 -0400 (EDT)
From: rdkeys@csemail.cropsci.ncsu.edu
To: clarke@next3.acme.ist.ucf.edu
Cc: rdkeys@csemail.cropsci.ncsu.edu ()
Subject: Re: More Regens
Message-ID: <9608151433.AA101746@csemail.cropsci.ncsu.edu>

> 
> >Sutter took the antenna down to a 12 inch whip directly coupled
> >to the high side of the grid coil.   That works very well, but
> >is prone to body capacity, if you are not careful.  In my hands
> >I have had  good success with a 6 inch whip off the high end
> >of the coil. 
> 
> This makes me wonder, has anyone every put a regenerator in a
> waterproof box and remoted the controls so that the 12 inch
> whip can be at the top of a tower or chimney, far from detuning
> body capacities?
> Surplus selsyns?  
> 
> Tom Clarke
> KE4VFH
> 

Not that I am aware of.  In the  early days, they used to build
them on glass boards and kind of hung on a flat breadboard with
very long coupling shafts (like a foot long or so) of wood to
reduce body capacity on the then short waves of 100 meters or so.
I tend to build mine with 6 inch or so grounded shafts and a tinfoil
backsheet (grounded) on the panel.  Siemens Brothers (London) did 
this in their 1910 era tuners and it seems to have been a trick
often used by hams in the 20's.  I mount my coils and tuning capacitor
on the very back edges of the breadboard on a plastic standoff beam
that has an H cross-section for mechanical stability.  Black 1/4
inch acrylic sheet makes a good material for that and looks almost
like bakelite.

Sounds like you have voted yerself into a project and report back to
the fellers!

My intuition tells me that a detector and one step up in the box
running something like maybe 24 or 48 volts and 1.5 volt battery tubes
and a two stage audio box on the ops table should do the trick.
That external audio box was quite common in WWI era Navy standard receivers.
Selsyns and reduction gearing to minimize coarseness of tuning......
Maybe a PTO wound with a tickler.....

I 'ear the GB experimental brigade beginning to wade through the junque
boxes this weekend....(:+}}.... 

73/ZUT DE NA4G/Bob UP



------------------------------

Date: Thu, 15 Aug 96 09:39 CDT
From: Jake Hellbach <kk5hy@accesscom.net>
To: nick@cs.unc.edu, Multiple recipients of list <glowbugs@theporch.com>
Subject: Re: B.A. frequencies? (fwd)
Message-ID: <199608151436.JAA13345@uro.theporch.com>

I have heard some people on 29.000, nothing lately with conditions on the 10
meter band.

Jake KK5HY


At 09:08 AM 8/15/96 -0500, Nick England wrote:
>and you can find some BA guys on the usual AM frequencies too -
>3885 kc
>7295 kc
>14286 kc
>and someplace on 10m - help!
>
>Nick KD4CPL
>-------
>Nick England  nick@cs.unc.edu   KD4CPL 		Chapel Hill NC
>http://www.cs.unc.edu/~nick
>
>
>
>
_____________________________________________________

Email via: kk5hy@accesscom.net
AMI #832
Check out the Westside ARC Web page at: 
http://www.accesscom.net/~kk5hy
Updated with Boatanchor links!!!!
_____________________________________________________


------------------------------

Date: Thu, 15 Aug 1996 08:45:17 PDT
From: Jeff Duntemann <jeffd@coriolis.com>
To: glowbugs@theporch.com
Subject: Short antennas for BC regens
Message-ID: <1.5.4.16.19960815084309.1f67b10e@ntserver.coriolis.com>

My childhood best friend Art Krumrey (now chief of MIS at Loyola University
in Chicago, no call, sigh) and I did some experiments in sixth grade with
short antennas on our groaty little 3V4 regen.  We discovered that you can
do very well with a short antenna IF you have a good cold-water-pipe ground.
The quality of the ground, in fact, almost seemed more important than the
quality of the antenna, especially for local reception.  I had an 8' whip
antenna off a tank (or so my uncle told me, and it was the right shade of
"army green") and we did some pretty decent DXing with it in his basement
(!!) once we got that ground connection right.

Other things to try would be (by my guess) about 750 uH of wire on a 6"
ferrite rod.

--73--

--Jeff Duntemann KG7JF
  Scottsdale, Arizona


------------------------------

Date: Thu, 15 Aug 96 12:08:15 CST
From: "Cory Hine" <hinec@ccgate.dl.nec.com>
To: glowbugs@theporch.com
Subject: FS 813's
Message-ID: <9607158401.AA840134169@smtpgw.ccgate.dl.nec.com>

     
     Gang....
     
     I have a pair of 813's that I can't test, but presume good.  They came 
     from a reliable goverment source!  Will let them go...make offer.
     
     
     Cory/N2AQS


------------------------------

Date: Thu, 15 Aug 96 10:35:05 PDT
From: Jay Coward <jayc@hpmsd2.sj.hp.com>
To: glowbugs@theporch.com
Subject: LM useful for regan?
Message-ID: <9608151735.AA03379@hpmsd2.sj.hp.com>

Greetings to the group,
 With all the talk about building regenerative receivers I got
to thinking that all the parts are in the LM frequency meters.
Even the schematic looks similar.I've connected a long wire
to an LM and was able to copy CW,AM,and SSB although very weakly.
Since these LMs can be used as sig gens would it be possible to
make a transceiver out of one? One can usually find at least 
one missing the cal book for a $1 at almost every swap meet.
 I would'nt convert a good one tho as these are very useful
instruments.Any thoughts or comments?
73 Jay KE6PPF
--
____________________________________________________________________________
 
                 NOTIFY PILOT BEFORE UNLOCKING AUTOTUNE 
____________________________________________________________________________
                
  HEWLETT    John Jay Coward         39201 Cherry Street    MS NK10
  PACKARD    jayc@hpmsd2.sj.hp.com   Newark, California       94560
  Communications Components Division 510-505-5614  Fax 510-505-5560
____________________________________________________________________________


------------------------------

Date: Thu, 15 Aug 1996 14:25:18 -0400 (EDT)
From: rdkeys@csemail.cropsci.ncsu.edu
To: jayc@hpmsd2.sj.hp.com
Cc: rdkeys@csemail.cropsci.ncsu.edu (), glowbugs@theporch.com
Subject: Re: LM useful for regan?
Message-ID: <9608151825.AA101961@csemail.cropsci.ncsu.edu>

> 
> Greetings to the group,
>  With all the talk about building regenerative receivers I got
> to thinking that all the parts are in the LM frequency meters.
> Even the schematic looks similar.I've connected a long wire
> to an LM and was able to copy CW,AM,and SSB although very weakly.
> Since these LMs can be used as sig gens would it be possible to
> make a transceiver out of one? One can usually find at least 
> one missing the cal book for a $1 at almost every swap meet.
>  I would'nt convert a good one tho as these are very useful
> instruments.Any thoughts or comments?
> 73 Jay KE6PPF

Interesting concept, Jay.....  Let me relate two snippets.....
I am not big on conversions, but there are enough old and scrapped
LM's to work for your purposes, and still leave a great many for
the collectors.

Snippet the first.....

Back in the dark aeons of time, when the winds of war blew across
the Pacific and Atlantic waters (try about 1941 or so), me OM,
a fine sparks and ham in his own credits, used to work at the 
War Resarch Labs, University of California, down at some lab
in the Point Loma peninsula.  He used to tell me stories of how
he and other fellows were communicating around the facility using
a BC-221 Freq meter with a telegraph key in the antenna lead, with
a few feet of antenna.  Dittle the key an' yer Morsifying the ether.
Lock the key and yer receivin' Morsum Magnificat.

Apparently, it works!  The LM should also work fine in that vein.

Snippet the second.....

The case and dial and capacitor and other innards would make a fine
regen receiver.  They would also make a fine Heterodyne Receiver
(young squirts call that direct conversion, but it dates from the
early spark era using Duddell's singing arc and later Poulsen's arc
as well as DeForest's, Armstrong's, Colpitt's, and Hartley's circuits
as well as anything else that could be made to oscillate, as the heterodyne
generator --- so it ain' anyting new under the moon).  The Navy
used the principle (but used a vacuum tube generator of oscillations)
in a WWI Heterodyne Receiver (I forget the model number right off, but
it predated the SE-143 --- something like SE-43 or SE-50 or the like rings
a bell but back then most Navy receivers were individually hand-crafted
and not built to a common  design like the late WWI SE-143).

Basically all the guts are there, but just need some fine tuning to convert
from a straight oscillator to a more or less detector only mode with enough
control of feedback to properly regenerate.  One could so a fair amount of
careful stripping of the chassis and leave in the audio section pretty
much intact.  Then choke couple or transformer couple between the
detector oscillator tube and the audio tube.  It should work just fine.

So, YES in all cases, to yer queries!

73/ZUT DE NA4G/Bob UP



------------------------------

Date: Thu, 15 Aug 1996 14:57:04 -0400 (EDT)
From: rdkeys@csemail.cropsci.ncsu.edu
To: glowbugs@theporch.com
Cc: rdkeys@csemail.cropsci.ncsu.edu ()
Subject: Regeneratorriggitisfercwetherburning!
Message-ID: <9608151857.AA101988@csemail.cropsci.ncsu.edu>

Whilst burning the greymatters on using a regen as a rig.....

1) try taking your regen receiver and put a relay or something like that
   in the antenna circuit and key it with a local ham.

Basis.... I have a ham friend about 1000 yards across the hilltop from me
who swears he can hear my OT regen detector oscillating when hooked up
to the antenna.  So, it should get out at least some distance.

Basis.... There were experiments in the 20's done to see how far folks
could get out using an '01A with 45 or 90 volts on the plate, on 200
meters and down (more like 100 meters or the modern 80 meters).
Range was several hundred miles on a good evening.  Several thousand
miles per watt could be obtained.

2) try making your regenerator do double duty as a CW rig and as a receiver
   by changing the circuitry during transmit and go back to regenerating
   on receive.  There is an article in Radio Broadcasting about 1925 that
   goes into this and used a '01 or a 5 watter tube if my memory is correct.

Basis.... if separate receiving and oscillating components were designed
then the tube could just be switched between circuits (basically switching
the grid and plate if an Armstrong oscillator were used), to effect high
power for transmitting and low power for receiving, etc.

Sounds like a fun project for a rainy weekend.....

73/ZUT DE NA4G/Bob UP


------------------------------

End of GLOWBUGS Digest 262
**************************

