BROWNING FOR A GOOD BROWNING MARK 3 VFO

[darticus]

Anyone have one that will do a good job with my mark 3? Email [e-mail]

[BBB]

Wonder how hard it would be to convert a Siltronix to another "number"

Since I've noticed that the #3's get snatched up pretty fast could you simply get let's say a #1 and convert it with some different caps?

www.cbtricks.com/miscellaneous/vco/siltronix/model_90/index.htm

[KneeBiter]

Yes, just a cap and tuning. download the schematic , on the right side a bit down they list the different caps for each number. pretty sure I posted it on this forum in the past. look for my old post.

[KneeBiter]

Here you go. Just look mid way down on the right of the schematic and you will see which cap is for which model . Just change the cap and tweak the coil for the correct frequency.

www.cbtricks.com/miscellaneous/vco/siltronix/model_90/graphics/siltronix_vfo_model_90_sch.jpg

[crazybob]

I've been using a PAL B1 (16.115), that I bumped the adjustment a little. Never drifts! I also used it on my Sonar FS-23. .....UPDATE....Ijust put the Pal B1 VFO on another Cobra 135 (with the limiter still intact), that I just acquired!

[amastron]

A friend gave me a Siltronix Model 80-3 VFO and said it would work on my Mark III. Has anyone got this model working on a mark III?
And what, if any difference is there in the 80 and the 90 models?

Thanks!

[FIXR]

The # 3's will work on your MKIII transmitter with SSB. The Model 80 does not have the HF position and only goes up to about 27.350 Mhz.

Alan

[2600]

I had one that matches the SSB Mark 3 transmitter listed here in the For Sale section until a few weeks ago. Moved it to Ebay and it sold.

It has a six-digit digital display in place of the white plastic dial.

The only one that is left from this batch has green digits. It's a converted Model 80 that has had the left-hand band-selector knob added. It covers from 40 channels below up beyond where the receiver dial stops at channel 59 or 60.

The output level has been boosted to about 10 times the stock Siltronix VFO. This serves to make the transmitter's output power the same as it is with a crystal. The factory-stock design nearly always delivers way too low a drive level and power falls off when the slider is selected on the transmitter's channel selector.


I was going to list it on Ebay Monday night for $180 BIN with Priority Mail shipping/insurance included. If I sell it before it's listed, I'll take $170 total by either USPS money order or PayPal until then, if you're interested. Costs me about ten bucks to sell it there, so I'll drop it that far for a direct sale. A "round number" set price just makes life easier than calculating exact shipping.

Here's a face shot.



I'll check this thread again tomorrow, or PM me here if you're interested in it. The forum should generate an email to me if you do. I have more pictures if the condition of the top cover's paint finish is a concern. Price is firm. I'm in no hurry.

73

[amastron]

Thanks 2600 but I probably won't even use this one, my transmitter would need the coax hookup installed for the VFO output. She is all stock right now.
Sharp looking VFO you made for sure!

[cbrown]

Jan 22, 2013 10:38:10 GMT -5 amastron said:

Thanks 2600 but I probably won't even use this one, my transmitter would need the coax hookup installed for the VFO output. She is all stock right now.
Sharp looking VFO you made for sure!

I believe 2600 was posting the info for darticus.

[2600]

You never know who'll be interested.

Always worth a try. Besides, life got busy and I skipped posting it on Ebay this week. Too many irons in the fire.

73

[cbrown]

Wish I could justify buying a second one from you. They do work great!

[amastron]

2600, can the HF be added to this model 80?
What would it cost or would it even be worth it?

Thanks cbrown, I did kinda hijack the thread; I was Freethreading!

Thanks!

[richp24]

Do you have one still available?
I would love to use my Mark III on side band up on 36 or 38.
Let me know
Thanks
Rich

[2600]

Hi Rich,

I have exactly one of this batch left. The one with green digits in the picture a few posts back. It started out life as a model 80. It now has the second knob on the left, and covers from 30 channels below 1 up to about channel 62 in three bands.

I don't recommend these for sideband use. They are just barely stable enough for that purpose, more than stable enough for AM.

Biggest reason I won't use a Mark III on SSB is the receiver. No noise blanker, and not even as stable as a Siltronix 90 in that mode.

But this one is for sale. It's the last one of this batch, so I skipped posting it in the "for sale" section. Don't like to post an "item for sale" listing in more than one location. 170 bucks, shipped/insured USPS Priority Mail to the lower 48. If I put it on Ebay, the BIN price will be $180 to cover the added overhead.

Good chance I'll have another handful of them to sell in a month or so.

And I don't offer a "Modify My Siltronix" service for a reason.

Quality control. The condition of your slider is an unknown. When I buy them to modify, I do it in batches of a half-dozen or so at a time. I babysit them for a week, all set to the same frequency. As a rule, one unit out of every 3 or 4 will drift more than the rest. This makes the problem easier to identify, so I can 'tweak' that one to settle down and fix the drift issue.

What this tells me is that about one customer out of every handful will call back to complain that his converted slider drifts too much, if I perform this upgrade as a "Modify My Siltronix" service.

Doesn't pay well enough to justify that kind of headache. So I buy them, modify them and sell the ones that don't drift.

Fewer headaches.

And besides, once you install the digital display, a drifting slider rats on itself. The stock analog dial can't do that.

73

[richp24]

I am interested!
So how do we get started. I have a paypal account or .....
Let me know
Thanks
Rich
Ps. Would you do an alignment on a Siltronix 1011d?

[2600]

Just below my avatar are three tiny hyperlinks. The one on the left takes you to my web site, the one in the middle has my direct email and the one on the right opens a blank pm within this forum.

Direct email is probably fastest. If you send me a pm on this forum, I usually get an email notice, so I'll know to respond.

And "do an alignment on a Siltronix 1011" sure sounds like "Will you tune up my 1976 car?"

Could be that a tuneup will be sufficient to get a result from a car or a radio that old. But I tend to be skeptical about that. Most often I find a cumulative list of "35-year maintenance" items that will be necessary before an alignment does you any good. Tubes, relay, filter capacitors, overheated resistors may or may not be a part of the picture. If they are, doing the alignment alone won't achieve a lot. Fixing stuff that is either too old to trust or worn out is nearly always part of the picture.

Yes, I do still repair that model, but more and more I compare it to using a steam tractor to mow your lawn. Sure, you can but there are more-affordable alternatives available, and many of them offer improved performance and cost less to put on the air, both. Old stuff is seldom cheap to fix right if what you want it to be reliable at all. My biggest gripe about the 1011 is the lack of a noise blanker. Just has an ANL. My noise level is frequently high enough that a radio without a blanker just can't hear half the stations on the channel.

But that model has to be carried into the shop during normal hours. I won't accept that model for "shipped-in" service.

If you'll send my the email addy you use as a PayPal member ID, I can send you a PayPal money request. I really prefer to do it that way. I don't use the "send money" option for a sales transaction, only the "request money" method.

Or you could send me a USPS money order by snail-mail. Our business address is on the home page at www.nomadradio.com

If you do, please send me a heads-up pm or email with your shipping address. That way I can write up the invoice in advance. Speeds up getting it shipped once payment arrives in the mail.

Thanks for asking and 73

[amastron]

Jan 28, 2013 23:54:47 GMT -5 2600 said:

And I don't offer a "Modify My Siltronix" service for a reason.

Quality control. The condition of your slider is an unknown. When I buy them to modify, I do it in batches of a half-dozen or so at a time. I babysit them for a week, all set to the same frequency. As a rule, one unit out of every 3 or 4 will drift more than the rest. This makes the problem easier to identify, so I can 'tweak' that one to settle down and fix the drift issue.

What this tells me is that about one customer out of every handful will call back to complain that his converted slider drifts too much, if I perform this upgrade as a "Modify My Siltronix" service.

Doesn't pay well enough to justify that kind of headache. So I buy them, modify them and sell the ones that don't drift.

Fewer headaches.

And besides, once you install the digital display, a drifting slider rats on itself. The stock analog dial can't do that.

73

Roger that! Just figured I would ask is all, placed back in box...

[2600]

The Siltronix 80 with the green digits is sold.

Thank you one and all for your interest.

73