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Post by bluemax on Jul 8, 2017 17:08:07 GMT -5
Well, truth be told, I started drinking so I could cook more...no wait...the other way around. Sometimes the food tastes better than others. But the beer is ALWAYS good! So are Manhattans, Martinis, Juleps, Rum, Rye...well you get the drift.
And yes, the wooden wind baffles appear a bit concerning. But my first trial was with a flattened double layer of aluminum roaster pan. Second time I let the plywood warm up. Not any concern, but I wouldn't leave it unattended. I'm planning some nice 1/2" grey slate (which I happen to have in stock) as soon as figure out how to cut it to the proper shapes.
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Post by bluemax on Jul 7, 2017 19:33:56 GMT -5
OK, I like to eat. So I need to be able to cook what I want to eat. And I really don't like being indoors all the time I'm cooking. So I've always cooked outdoors when I could; mostly grilling. And my days of grilling at sub-forty temperatures have passed. I have a second kitchen on my deck. Nothing extravagant, but it doesn't quite freeze in the winter, and it's a good prep area for outdoor cooking on the Weber when the weather is to my liking. But sometimes you really need a stove top.I gave up on the single side-burner grills and the camp stove just doesn't cut it. Unfortunately a nice dual burner propane unit hasn't been in the budget. But my older son lives in Bucks County (where they throw away everything) and he hasn't lost his Berks County roots. He picked this up last fall curbside; it didn't suit the remodeling decor for the owner. I don't have gas appliances indoors, nor could I ever afford one of these in the first place. But this is top shelf deck cooking if I ever saw it. The stand is just in the beginning stage, but it works fine for starters. . Attachments:
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Post by bluemax on Jul 6, 2017 18:17:03 GMT -5
I guess talking repairs stuff...OK, not. Today I had average noise and a fair amount of skip. Some stations were well above S9 on my Royce (which has a very loose meter) and a few were on par with my closest locals. I warmed up the Robyn before switching the antenna. Two items worth reporting...the receive is definitely a little weaker, but I also got swings as high as S5.5. All of the high readings were horrible signals that I couldn't understand, but the radio did record a higher reading. Haven't done anything with the pot for now. I'm going to use it, keep some notes and see if a pattern is evident. Let's be honest, my ears are the only meter that really matters. And I need to find what the correct baseline for a signal really is. Every meter on each radio is different right now.
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Post by bluemax on Jun 30, 2017 17:30:24 GMT -5
This is a Uniden 858 chassis. Did anyone have similar signal meter issues on another brand radio?
Or am I missing something that SHOULD be obvious. That would be me...
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Post by bluemax on Jun 21, 2017 16:42:18 GMT -5
I mentioned this radio a few weeks ago after finally acquiring one some 30 years after falling in love with it. Glad I didn't wait that long for Mrs. Max! I got some initial input in another thread, but I'm sure to have plenty more. So let's see if I can get squared away on one trouble spot...namely signal readings. The radio had two apparently bad meters and no lights. So I asked about RF gain and a number of guys say it's not uncommon to have to turn the gain up almost all the way. We can forget about anything to do with the SWR function on this radio. I don't care if I never use it. I bought a few new lamps and a new meter and installed them. (and this time I tried everything prior to soldering) Lights work and the signal meter moves from 0 to 1 only, even yesterday afternoon when my noise level was from 7 to 20 on three radios. The RF power seems to swing ok, at least for now, at about 3 watts DK. I'm not getting any more signal strength by adjusting VR's for RFgain range, Signal meter, or AM RX gain. Now I will mention all I was picking up at the time was noise. I didn't have a quiet background with a strong local signal to test. I will see what tonight's conditions bring.
UPDATED My noise level continues to be a concern until about 9PM. A few trials over the last few evenings proved to have the same results; somewhat normal RF power reading on TX (compared to the external meter) but only movement from 0 to 1 on signal strength in RX. In all cases I tuned other radios to the same frequency and had signal readings of at least 5 and some as high as 10+ with just a flip of the antenna selector.
I checked frequencies on a few channels against my Ranger at about a mile from home and that seems to be alright.
Any suggestions on where to begin? On the other hand, the radio is quite usable as is, and I don't want to risk fouling it up any further!
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Post by bluemax on Jun 13, 2017 14:18:49 GMT -5
Well I worked the meters over...worth a try. Two meters out, the S/RF won't bottom out at 0 no matter what. The SWR meter loosened up OK. Switched the scale plates and put 'em back, didn't bother connecting the now defunct SWR side, just the signal meter. Still only moves 2-3 needle widths. But a good exercise anyway. Boy, the one screw head was COVERED with measurable glue; took 4 or 5 wettings to get it free. I can see how easy it would be to chew one apart if you just went at it dry. So I'll get one good new meter and hope the glue I used isn't TOO good. Should have thought about a dry run. I can see that being over-zealous in the repair business will cost me plenty of time. Need to think the whole thing through before moving ahead.
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Post by bluemax on Jun 10, 2017 12:58:23 GMT -5
Hey, Doc, two great tips...thanks. I figure I don't have anything to lose trying the meter tune up, and if I goof I'll buy just one. I don't use the SWR function on any radios, just the external meter. And let me know if you want to recycle that counter sometime. Or anyone else that has one to re-purpose!
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Post by bluemax on Jun 10, 2017 11:04:18 GMT -5
Found a new "toy" to play with while I'm waiting on a power supply donor for my Cobra 2000..Bought this at an estate sale over the week-end for 30 dollars. The lady at the sale told me it "works". It was a bit dirty, covered with oily dust (did someone forget to clean the Deer tick ointment off their fingers?) and the inside was full of dog hair, (they had some kind of a lapdog). I plugged it in and prayed ..no pops, flashes or booms. So off came the covers, top and bottom, and I filled the shop vac with a bushel of hair and debris of various origins then settled into updating the insulators on all the transistors to mica, checking board voltages etc...changing the power supply cap to a 50 volt 3300 pf from the old 25 v unit..I hear those were prone to failure a lot of the time. Checked the alignment...it was spot-on and so were the bias voltage settings..gave it a light tune-up, a major clean-up and put it on the air...I'm not so sure this radio had much talk-time before it was put on the shelf...it cleaned up nicely and looks like a new rig...the clock is dead, of course, but I have a nice frequency counter that will occupy the clock "window" here in the very near future..now I have what was needed..an 858 base radio to go with my trc-449..Like Sparky always says...it's a great thing we're doing...keeping these beautiful radios from the evil "Shredder" I never really paid attention to the similarities, but I see almost the same features as my Robyn SB520D. And I realized recently I have the 858 chassis also. I never liked the clock idea, but I wouldn't have argued with a headphone jack. My meters are both doa, and finding them will undoubtedly be difficult. I'm going to remove them and attempt cleaning them behind the ears; the paint from the needle is probably fouling them. But if these meters are of the same basic specs (and I would expect the meter itself isn't round) maybe there are more possible places to look for them. The Robyn S/RF meter was 520031. Does that in any way resemble the President's? My AC power supply is also dead, although not as important to me, but I would imagine many of the supplies for the same chassis could be implanted. And as long as we're talking about the 858, I apparently inherited some extra channels. I have no idea which frequencies or how many. I suppose it's time for a frequency counter other than the one in the Ranger, so I might be able to improve your budget for a new unit by keeping yours from the shredder.
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Post by bluemax on May 29, 2017 10:56:31 GMT -5
I was wondering about that for months. I was thinking I'd have to make some short jumpers in different configurations, but that makes life a bit easier. Do you have to get any specific brand/model or do they all have that ability. As a matter of fact, it would be handy if they made 4pin to 4pin. That way you could leave a mic as is but use it on another rig. Lots of deals on radios with no mics, and an adapter costs less than a mic! Maybe not as much fun as collecting mics, but easier on the pocket.
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Post by bluemax on May 19, 2017 17:57:07 GMT -5
My bad MonkeyMan. I had a hard time picking each of you out of the crowd this week. In that case you need to share the proper use of the Johnson to get the maximum gain, so to speak. And Wrench, I'm glad to hear you recognize that you have a problem. Admitting it to yourself is the first step to getting...
MORE RADIOS!
And I might as well ask here; where are you planning to go for ARRL classes? Anything closer than Nazareth this summer? My son is on the fence. I'd like to push him over.
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Post by bluemax on May 18, 2017 18:09:50 GMT -5
Oh yeah, he's got the bug alright. And he told us he was hanging up the mic early last night because of some belated Mothers Day obligations. That was SMOOTH. All the while he was doin' a little bargaining for a new Stryker with the old Johson. VERY nicely done, Wrench. You actually had us fooled. Nothin' amateur about that move!
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Post by bluemax on May 16, 2017 17:31:54 GMT -5
C'mon Boss, tell him straight. It sounds to me like he's already infected. Sure, it starts off innocently enough; 10 bucks here, 20 bucks there. And it's always something that will have SOME use along the way. Then, before you know it, that nice compact radio table covers 2 walls floor to ceiling. I've seen the photos, I've heard the stories. And now another hard working, budding classic radio enthusiast heads down the road toward collection heaven and full boxes of inventory.
And AIN'T IT GRAND!!!
Good Luck Wrench. You might get a perfectly good radio for the time it takes to drive for it and to fabricate a new cord.
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Post by bluemax on May 10, 2017 18:07:02 GMT -5
I'm not worried about my service cable, that comes from the pole on my northwest property line. But the actual line voltage runs behind my home. The original building on the property was at the bottom of the hill. A few years ago someone built a McMansion across the street from the neighbor, who refused to grant the builder and Met Ed access to the back yard line. I agreed to let them put a much needed pole on my southeast side so the power now runs up to the road and along the road to the new home. Now I've got bare line voltage on three sides of the house. Not really close until you start to look for a good antenna location. So for the time being I'm sticking with the tree of choice. Maybe something else down the road.
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Post by bluemax on May 9, 2017 13:28:39 GMT -5
I also noted that the report said a Ham antenna rather than CB, yet the restriction is on CB. So much for that inequality. That's why I'm VERY conservative with my antenna placement...line voltage on 3 sides of the home. Not close by acceptable residential standards but very restrictive on the end of a coax. I keep a good tether on the antenna. The coax or a connection needs to break, or a tree to fall, for any part of it to get close to power. If either of those are in the foreseeable future I won't be anywhere near a radio or antenna, I'll be in the safe room!
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Post by bluemax on May 8, 2017 19:22:04 GMT -5
blah blah gabi gabi...I read it. It's not from the FCC, so I seriously doubt it's enforceable to the consumer or end user. Although I can see how the whole thing got blown out of perspective. That's the American way; protect me from myself. Then it comes down to the simple fact that there IS a bona fide reason for me to have a 10 meter radio.(obviously for receive only) Wow, I feel better already. And I suppose I now know not to ask rhetorical questions when "the Boss" is moderating.
The question now is: Hy Gain, Sirio, or Maco? Does the group as a whole tend to gravitate toward or away from a certain manufacturer?
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Post by bluemax on May 8, 2017 16:39:47 GMT -5
I recently read a description of an antenna and there was a disclaimer that it was illegal for use on 11 meters. Now I'm not saying I really give a mudduck's asp about that statement, but I can't find anything (except height and/or placement restrictions) about the acceptability or legality of any style of antenna from the FCC. I was always under the impression that the only thing that was regulated about the physicality of a station was the transmitted frequency and power. And I know about the distance rule...sure, like that one could ever be enforced. Who dreams up this krap?
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