John Eng's Dead Tech Rescue

Vintage Transmitters and Transceivers

Page 2

Transmitters and Transceivers

Vintage equipment covered here are in the Amateur Radio Bands and Citizen Bands. A transmitter can only send information and the operator needs a receiver to listen to the reply. The transceiver can transmit and receive in one unit and are therefore more complex and have larger power requirements. The vintage equipment here are mainly vacuum tube units and are made by Heathkit(TM), which provided Amateur Radio folks (HAMS) a lower cost alternative to operate the airways by allowing you to assemble, calibrate and test the equipment.

A Brief Description About Heathkit(TM):

Edward Bayard Heath founded the Heath Aeroplane Company. In 1926 produced the first airplane kit, the Parasol. He died in 1931 in an airplane test accident. Howard Anthony, purchased the Heath Company in 1935, decided to change the product line to electronic kits, probably due to the growing need for radio/TV servicing. With the huge glut of WW2 surplus parts Heathkit developed its first electronic kit an oscilloscope in 1946. In the 1950's Heathkit entered the Amateur Radio market by producing kit products that HAM operators can build and save money. This business continued into the 1980's along with their test and laboratory products. Heathkit introduced HI-FI in the late 1950's, Television in 1960's and Computers in the 1970's. Heathkit left the kit business in the early 1990's and then virtually disappeared. In 2014 under a new owner Heathkit has introduced their first new kit a regenerative multiband radio.

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Heathkit Transmitter and Tranceiver

AM and CW Transmission

Heathkit DX-60B 10-80 m Transmitter (1967-1972). This is the final version of the DX-60 series. It's predecessor was the DX-40 introduced in the 1950s.

I wanted a vintage transmitter to match the Kenwood QR-666 Receiver. Got a Heathkit DX-60B AM/CW Transmitter made about the same time and similar dimensions. Uses a 6146 Tube as the oscillator and puts out about 90 Watts CW and 75 Watts AM. AM transmitters are rarely used as they waste transmitting power and have been replaced with Single Sideband (SSB) transmitters.

Heathkit HG-10B
2-80 m Variable Frequency Oscillator (VFO). Companion accessory to the DX-60B, but can be used with other Heathkit transmitters.

This allows a transmitter to operate over a continuous frequency band like the 80 meter band ( 3.5 to 4.0 MHz). Without a VFO crystals were used restricting the operator to a fixed frequerncy. The operator sets the operating frequency and connects it to a compatible transmitter and they are "on the air". The HG-10 was made for Heathkit transmitters but can adapt to other brands.

RIGHT: Under the HG-10B Chassis

Bottom and back side of DX-60B.

Chassis top side.

ABOVE: 6146 Beam Power Tetrode final and Tank components.

BELOW: Under the HW-22A Chassis

BELOW: HG-10B Dial Light

Single Side Band, CW and FM Transmission

Heathkit HW-22A SSB 40 m Transceiver (1967- )Replaces the HW-22. Upgrades included the addition of USB and LSB transmission and reception, better knobs, addition of MIC gain and Power PTT, VOX and CAL modes on a selector switch. The 2 Compactron 6GE5 finals are now shielded to cut down stray interference.

BELOW: This layout was used on the Heathkit HW12, HW18, HW22 and HW32 mono band SSB xcvrs. Optional crystal calibrator on lower right. The two beam power tetrodes 6GE5 are in the ahield housing. Powering the HW-22A requires an external power supply like the Heathkit HP-23C below is required.

BELOW: The two final power amps 6GE5s Compactrons.

Power Supply for Heathkit Transceivers

Heathkit HP-23C Transmitter Power Supply (1979-80)
There are many generations of this particular model from 1963 to 1983 (HP23, A-C and PS-23), Each version hand fewer accessories until they got the HP-23C and PS-23 which had the fewest, due to technology improvements in Heathkit's transceivers.
These were made for their vacuum tube HW and SB transceiver series. These units are basic solid state units with RLC filtering. This version provides +700, +300/+250 and -140 VDC and 6.3 VAC. After 1983 Heathkit Transmitters and Transceivers were all solid state units.

ABOVE: Under the chassis. Restored with upgraded parts.

RCA Co-Pilot 14T410 Auto Dash Mount CB Transceiver (1978)
40 Channel CB 4 Watt all transistor AM transceiver with AM/FM Stereo radio. Controls are pretty close together. Digital readout for CB Channel. Made in Japan.

Layout for Auto Dash Mount

CONAR TWINS (1965) Model 400 CW Transmitter and Model 500 Communications Band Receiver. CONAR is the trademark of National Radio Institutes (NRI), Washington DC. (Price around $64.00 assembled bought as a pair)
These were sold by NRI as an in home course to prepare for the FCC Novice license exam. They came in a kit or assembled. NRI was the oldest and largest in home electronics instruction company founded in 1906.This is a rare find as the program was never successful due to limited interest. It only lasted 1 year.

ABOVE: Top view of transmitter. A 6DQ6 Beam Power Tetrode Horizontal Output tube serves as modulator and RF power out. Advertised 25 W RF input power.

Modified for use as a desktop Radio and CB Tranceiver

MISCO External Speaker MS-388 (1960-70's)

Outdoor applications for CB or HAM applications. 3 inch dia speaker moisture protected in solid metal enclosure. Sold with bracket or wall mount and with screw in or RCA phono speaker connections.

ABOVE: Top view of receiver. Has dual IF amplifier for selectivity. Not bad for a low price communications receiver. BELOW: Under the chassis.

Newer Transceivers for Comparison

Military and amateur radio technological advances have shed their gains to consumer electronics. Solid state parts have made amateur radio compact and portable like your mobile phone and other hand held gadgets. Plus the need for high voltage conversion has been minimal. Shown here are some equipment that lead to many of the handheld stuff we have today.

Yaesu FT-270 2 meter FM Handheld Transceiver
A 5 Watt handheld rechargeable transceiver from around 2012. Designed for Amateur Radio and Industrial Applications where ruggedness is needed.

Has auto scan and digital tuning, The antenna is detachable so you can connect it to an antenna that matches your operating needs.
Additional Features: * 5 watts RF Output* 200 Memories* DTMF Keypad* Keypad frequency entry* Enhanced Paging and Code Squelch* Submersible to IPX7 Specifications* Backlit Keypad & LCD* Internet Key for Access to WIRES™

Radio Shack HTX-10 10 meter AM/FM/SSB Mobile Transceiver

Introduced 1998-9910 m mobile transceiver that fits under the dash. Has auto scan, digital tunning, memory storage and many other modern features allowing for user convenience.Tested TX Power: AM 4.5 W, USB 3 W LSB 5 W and FM 15 W

Published Specifications:Modes: AM (7 watts), FM, SSB (25 watts)Receiver Sensitivity: 0.5 uV for 10 db S/NReceiver Selectivity 50db min, Intermod 60 db, S/N 40 db min, IF Rejection 70db or betterPower: 3 amps max, with SSB gulping 5 amps on peaks (can be powered by a capable cigarette lighter output in a vehicle) at 12-16 VDC negative ground.Frequency Range: 28 MHz - 29.699 MHzVFO - Digital PLL with 1KHz stepsTuning steps selectable at 1/10/200 KHz using disgusting detent tuning knob

MILITARY SURVIVAL TRANCEIVERS

During WW2, The Germans made one of the first portable tranceivers for downed pilots. These tranceivers were low power VHF or UHF units that can send voice or beacon tone for rescue and recovery.

ABOVE: RT-159B with BA-264/U ready to use. RIGHT: Dead mercury batteries removed and a voltage Tripler is added with replaceable A and B batteries installed.

RT-159, A and B (AN/URC-4) 1950-1962. Manufactured by Hoffman Radio &Television and Philharmonic Radio Corporation.
8 Tube ( 2x 6147, 4 x 6050, 1 x 2E32 and 1 X 3Q4). Crystal controlled superregerative transceiver operates rescue frequency 123.5 MHz and 243 MHz. Uses a BA-264/U Mercury Battery Pack.

ABOVE: BA-264/U battery container, modified with replaceable batteries and a solid state voltage tripler.

ABOVE: Left is the RT-159A early Air Force and Training Unit. Right is the RT-159B with more rugged construction and in olive drab, used by the Army and Air Force. \
ABOVE and LEFT: The antenna is retractable and forms a dipole, Fully extened for VHF or partly extended for UHF.

LEFT: Three buttons on the side for receive, transmit and tone. The buttons can be locked for continuous operation,

ABOVE: Inside the RT-159A dated May 1952. BELOW: Inside the RT-159B.

ABOVE: Tubes used in the tranceiver.

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