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Post by crazybob on Oct 23, 2009 17:47:32 GMT -5
 These are both non-working. I'd like to get them fixed someday. What's your opinion of what's the better radio? The Royale has Tone control & a collins filter. I like that. The Imperial has a noise blanker & push-pull modulation. I like that too. I think that the regency looks better. What yeasrs were the radios made & what did they cost? |
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Sandbagger
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Post by Sandbagger on Oct 23, 2009 18:10:00 GMT -5
These are both non-working. I'd like to get them fixed someday. What's your opinion of what's the better radio? The Royale has Tone control & a collins filter. I like that. The Imperial has a noise blanker & push-pull modulation. I like that too. I think that the regency looks better. What yeasrs were the radios made & what did they cost? Well, the Imperial is also SSB capable (DSB transmit) and has reduced carrier AM with super audio. The Royale appears to be yet another Panasonic-made clone. Nice, but nothing super special. Both radios were products on the mid-late 60's. |
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Post by spitfire441 on Oct 24, 2009 6:40:26 GMT -5
These are both non-working. I'd like to get them fixed someday. What's your opinion of what's the better radio? The Royale has Tone control & a collins filter. I like that. The Imperial has a noise blanker & push-pull modulation. I like that too. I think that the regency looks better. What yeasrs were the radios made & what did they cost? I have an Imperial and an Imperial II they are both excellnt radios. Great audio, that 6AQ5 class AB1 push-pull audio is tough to beat. Also super super receive. The Imperials have a very HI-Q front end, there is no mechanical filter in the front end but it acts like there is. It has a tight receive bandwith, very nice for keeping adjacent channel noise at bay. The Imperial was late 60's, the Imperial II was very early 70's The Range Gain and Range Gain II, also by Regency are also similar radios with loud audio, but no SSB. I have a Courier that has similar tubes and curcuitry, while a nice classic radio it does not even com close to the Imperials for performance. My 2 cents..... |
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Post by cbrown on Oct 26, 2009 12:42:56 GMT -5
These are both non-working. I'd like to get them fixed someday. What's your opinion of what's the better radio? Hands down the Regency. I'd still get the Courier repaired too, it's not a 'great' radio, but it is nice.  In 1972 the Imperial II had an MSRP of $359.00 |
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Post by Tombstone (R.I.P.) on Oct 26, 2009 14:57:31 GMT -5
I bought a new Imperial in 1969 and it cost $360.00 Don't expect much of a dead key carrier, they're Double Sideband radios and AM compatible. Wicked modulation as described earlier. You should see forward swing when modulated. You don't need a power mic either.
Tombstone
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Post by crazybob on Oct 28, 2009 16:44:43 GMT -5
I think that the original Imperial is better looking than the Imperial II. What's with the green paint. The Purple paint on the Royale looks even worse!
The Royale came with a nice velvet cover, also a nuvistor front end. I wish they stayed with the chrome cabinet instead of aluminum. I'm not too fond of the amphenal mic plugs on either radio.
I'm only interested in the AM mode (not DSB).
I think I'll get the Imperial II repaired 1st. It transmits with clear audio, but zero receive. I may have to ship it to someone to fix it. Any suggestions? Thanks again, Bob.
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Post by Tombstone (R.I.P.) on Oct 28, 2009 17:49:56 GMT -5
This is a shot in the dark Bob, and I can't remember if that radio has a PA/CB switch but I'm sure that you've checked that anyway. Go for the simple stuff first, like is the speaker being bad or maybe the audio output transformer? Maybe the volume control? Could be a bad tube in the front end or just a tube that's loose or the pins crudded up in the socket. Can't remember if the radio has separate transmit/receive crystals, probably not. Will those radios receive without the mic plugged in? If not maybe the receive wire is broken off in the plug or somewhere else or even the mic switch itself. I think that radio has a rec/trans relay that might be corroded or faulty. All just a guess on what to check. Then you can get into alignment issues, IF section problem, or a shorted diode somehere or broken resistor somewhere shutting the receive off. You can also have the radio running and do the old "tap on parts" test with a non conductive tool. Now all of this makes me miss my Imperial.
Tombstone
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Post by cbrown on Oct 29, 2009 13:00:24 GMT -5
Also check to see if you have any movement on the needle in the meter.
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Post by crazybob on Oct 29, 2009 16:00:47 GMT -5
No S-meter movement. I'm going to try the tube jiggle, spray the relay, & maybe swap out the tubes from my Imperial. ..That's about it for my technical skills. I guess if I take my time, I could probably start checking voltages & ohm's with my vom. I need to just dedicate some time to this project. If I can get it going, the results would be much more satisfying than having someone else fix it. ..That's the beauty of old school radios. Like old cars, you can atually work on them yourselves! Thanks for the ideas!
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Sandbagger
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Post by Sandbagger on Oct 29, 2009 17:52:47 GMT -5
No S-meter movement. I'm going to try the tube jiggle, spray the relay, & maybe swap out the tubes from my Imperial. ..That's about it for my technical skills. I guess if I take my time, I could probably start checking voltages & ohm's with my vom. I need to just dedicate some time to this project. If I can get it going, the results would be much more satisfying than having someone else fix it. ..That's the beauty of old school radios. Like old cars, you can atually work on them yourselves! Thanks for the ideas! Yea, I totally agree. Unless you don't really understand what's going on inside the radio, it's far more fun and more rewarding to track down the problem and fix it yourself. |
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Post by cbrown on Oct 30, 2009 12:58:14 GMT -5
If you have a relay in there with dirty contacts, I've had good success cleaning contacts using a dollar bill and gently rubbing it across the contacts.
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Post by ic751a on Nov 8, 2009 18:52:04 GMT -5
I use simple binder or notebook paper with a little brake cleaner and pull it through until I no longer see black streaks on the white paper. Same way I clean older side-key D-104 relay contacts in the tube, after disassembly, and with adequate ventilation of course.
If it were me, (and it was a couple months ago when I came across a MINT Johnson Messenger 223!) I just replace all tubes with NOS German or US tubes, (trying to avoid Chinese) and take it from there. That will usually fix most problems.
If the no RX condition persists, then, after checking all contact points like Tombstone advised, then it's tech time!
And that post by Tombstone is one of the best I've read in a while! Excellent advice - all.
I hope you get them working, I love having back my old childhood rig, the 223, and I'll put that meter up against any rig anywhere, WOW it's like a piece of carefully calibrated HP test gear!
I started a local gathering for us hams who warmly recall our early radio daze on CB. We meet on Ch2 on Tuesday nights with mostly tube rigs like the old Lafayette Comstat / Telsat, Allied, Johnson Messenger, Tram Titan, Browning, Robyn, Royce & Pierce-Simpson rigs, etc...
I named it, "Channel Twobzday" ;D ;D
...my original 1975 Astatic Gold Eagle D-104, original 1974 Hygain Penetrator, good old 1973 Johnson Messenger 223, clean old 1974 Skipper 300...
Nothing like a truly nostalgic station!! Oh, how the local transistor boys envy it's clean, rich, bassy tube audio!
It would be cool to hear others organizing the same type of gathering, (making channel2 become the unofficial home of the nostalgic tube station) and once the Sunspot cycle kicks in and DX comes alive, I would love to hear stations from all over the world coming in on their neat-o, boss, cool, b1tchin' old tube rigs,
...including your Imperial! [/size][/b] ;D
73
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Sandbagger
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Post by Sandbagger on Nov 9, 2009 8:27:50 GMT -5
I started a local gathering for us hams who warmly recall our early radio daze on CB. We meet on Ch2 on Tuesday nights with mostly tube rigs like the old Lafayette Comstat / Telsat, Allied, Johnson Messenger, Tram Titan, Browning, Robyn, Royce & Pierce-Simpson rigs, etc... I named it, "Channel Twobzday" ;D ;D ...my original 1975 Astatic Gold Eagle D-104, original 1974 Hygain Penetrator, good old 1973 Johnson Messenger 223, clean old 1974 Skipper 300... Nothing like a truly nostalgic station!! Oh, how the local transistor boys envy it's clean, rich, bassy tube audio! It would be cool to hear others organizing the same type of gathering, (making channel2 become the unofficial home of the nostalgic tube station) and once the Sunspot cycle kicks in and DX comes alive, I would love to hear stations from all over the world coming in on their neat-o, boss, cool, b1tchin' old tube rigs, ...including your Imperial! [/size][/b] ;D 73[/quote] We've been doing pretty much the same thing here in Eastern Pa., for over 2 years now, with Classic Radio Roundup on Channel 13 on Wednesday nights (Along with live streaming audio). Trams, Brownings, Regency's, Cobra's and all sorts of tube and early solid state rigs. All letting their stuff fly on the air. |
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Post by cbrown on Nov 9, 2009 13:47:05 GMT -5
I use simple binder or notebook paper with a little brake cleaner and pull it through until I no longer see black streaks on the white paper. Just stay away from any plastics with brake cleaner. |
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Post by ic751a on Nov 10, 2009 1:51:55 GMT -5
I use simple binder or notebook paper with a little brake cleaner and pull it through until I no longer see black streaks on the white paper. Just stay away from any plastics with brake cleaner. Thank you for making that point! I forget that not everyone has ruined a many thousand dollar collector original Star Trek USS Enterprise model from 1968 with Berryman's B-12 Chemtool and therefore doesn't know it's power to destroy plastic!! Musta' been a Klingon invention... Hey Sandbagger, what time PST do you meet? Now that there's a tiny tidbit of DX happening I would be jazzed to be able to check-in! 73 |
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Sandbagger
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Post by Sandbagger on Nov 10, 2009 7:42:23 GMT -5
Just stay away from any plastics with brake cleaner. Thank you for making that point! I forget that not everyone has ruined a many thousand dollar collector original Star Trek USS Enterprise model from 1968 with Berryman's B-12 Chemtool and therefore doesn't know it's power to destroy plastic!! Musta' been a Klingon invention... Hey Sandbagger, what time PST do you meet? Now that there's a tiny tidbit of DX happening I would be jazzed to be able to check-in! 73 Our Classic Radio Roundup starts Wednesday nights at 8:00 PM EST, which makes it about dinner time for the west coasters. We've been running the first hour on AM and the second on SSB. We've had some interesting DX check in's during the summer sporadic-E conditions. But I haven't heard much west of the Mississippi. Everything from Canada to the Caribbean, and Wisconsin to Texas, but not much further west. Of course, you can always click the link on the top of the page here to access the streaming audio server if you can't hear us direct. |
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Post by cbrown on Nov 10, 2009 14:20:29 GMT -5
Thank you for making that point! I forget that not everyone has ruined a many thousand dollar collector original Star Trek USS Enterprise model from 1968 with Berryman's B-12 Chemtool and therefore doesn't know it's power to destroy plastic!! I once watched a 'computer tech' clean off a keyboard with brake cleaner, and I just snickered as it turned into a plastic blob. ;D |
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Post by crazybob on Nov 27, 2009 16:02:18 GMT -5
I got the Imperial II working! The fuse on the back was loose. The internal speaker did not work. I put an old avacado green Bell Telephone speaker on it, ..now she's working!
The noise blanker make everyone sound distorted. Is there an adjustment for this? I just found a Sam's # 33. I'll look in there for a clue.
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Sandbagger
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Post by Sandbagger on Nov 27, 2009 21:30:11 GMT -5
I got the Imperial II working! The fuse on the back was loose. The internal speaker did not work. I put an old avacado green Bell Telephone speaker on it, ..now she's working! The noise blanker make everyone sound distorted. Is there an adjustment for this? I just found a Sam's # 33. I'll look in there for a clue. I noticed that on my D201 and Titan IIa as well. They're both adjustable, and the higher you turn them, the more noise they take out, but the more distorted they make the receiver audio. My Browning's ANL also distorts the audio, but not quite as bad as the Trams full on. That may just be the nature of the beast. |
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Post by cbrown on Nov 28, 2009 14:53:20 GMT -5
I got the Imperial II working! The fuse on the back was loose. The internal speaker did not work. I put an old avacado green Bell Telephone speaker on it, ..now she's working! Very nice!  |
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Post by crazybob on Dec 21, 2009 13:51:23 GMT -5
A lot of electrical noise today! The anl works better than my Tram Titan & Browning Mark III as far as not distorting the rec. as bad. The Noise Blanker works as good as my Pres. Grant, until a strong (LOUD) staion keys up. Then they sound all distorted. Only channels 8, 12, 16, & 23 work. Must be a bad crystal, or bad contact. I'd like to put a VFO on this Regency. Which would work best? Glen, Pal, Siltronix?  |
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Post by cbrown on Dec 21, 2009 14:22:02 GMT -5
You could have a few dead crystals in there, or a mix of bad crystals and dirty contacts.
Sure looks good in the photo.
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Post by Tombstone (R.I.P.) on Dec 21, 2009 18:11:18 GMT -5
The Glen will drift too much for a sideband rig. The Pal or Siltronix (don't know what models) and the Siltronix is your best bet but you'll still need some type of amplifier to drive the tube oscillator. Nomad? A Pal will probably be harder to find.
Tombstone
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Post by crazybob on Dec 21, 2009 20:07:06 GMT -5
I do have a Glen sitting on the shelf. I would never use this Regency on DSB, just Ancient Mary. I will be needing the buffer. I have an old Tram D-10 VFO off of a Tram Titan III. It's the 20MHz model. Would this work on the Regency? It uses 10MHz xtals (half of 20MHZ). I do have some 10.750 MHz HC-25 xtals. I put one in my other Regency Imperial.
I really have been looking for a good performing classic tube set to use every day. The Regency Imperial II seems to fit the bill. Superior modulation, & awesome receive with a true noise blanker. ..This is better than my Tram Titan, & my Browning Mark III. It also looks everybit as good as either radio. I just wish that it had louvers on top! .. I love louvers!
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Sandbagger
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Post by Sandbagger on Dec 21, 2009 21:59:13 GMT -5
I do have a Glen sitting on the shelf. I would never use this Regency on DSB, just Ancient Mary. I will be needing the buffer. I have an old Tram D-10 VFO off of a Tram Titan III. It's the 20MHz model. Would this work on the Regency? It uses 10MHz xtals (half of 20MHZ). I do have some 10.750 MHz HC-25 xtals. I put one in my other Regency Imperial. I really have been looking for a good performing classic tube set to use every day. The Regency Imperial II seems to fit the bill. Superior modulation, & awesome receive with a true noise blanker. ..This is better than my Tram Titan, & my Browning Mark III. It also looks everybit as good as either radio. I just wish that it had louvers on top! .. I love louvers! It's hard to beat the punch of an Imperial. With reduced carrier and tons of audio swing, it drives an amp just right.... |
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Post by crazybob on Dec 22, 2009 9:24:19 GMT -5
I got the internal speaker working. You have to jump across two screws on the back panel. The noise blanker works better as the radio gets hotter. I can really use the extra heat as this back room is pretty cold.
The fine tuning knob works almost like a tone contol.
This radio is heavy. It seem to wieght more than the Tram Titan. There is a lot packed into such a small box. I guess they were trying to make them small as possible so that they could be used mobile.
Next I might try some kind of a classic desk mic on it, & add a slider.
The Regency is becoming my all time favorite radio for looks & overall perfomance. I've owned most every Browning, Tram, Lafayette, Courier, Demco, Johnson, Sonar, etc. ..This Imperial is a winner!
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Post by Tombstone (R.I.P.) on Dec 22, 2009 9:37:01 GMT -5
I would use it on sideband too DSB or not. If you're only going to use it for AM then the Glen will be good and you know about the buffer. I'm not sure about the Tram VFO since the frequency is different. I think you might want to talk to 2600 at Nomad for that?
Tombstone
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Post by crazybob on Dec 22, 2009 10:59:59 GMT -5
!0-4, Tombstone. I've got a few weeks to just sit around here & play with the 'ol boatanchors. I'ts a fun hobby for me. It's kinda like a sickness!
I'll find out what Nomad or Fixr have to say, or really anyone's imput (Demco Amp.) would be appreciated. Thanks, I'm reading the mail.
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Post by Tombstone (R.I.P.) on Dec 22, 2009 14:23:18 GMT -5
Yeah, Fixr will know about the Pal and other sliders too. If it's louvers that you want the Regency has that perforated cover. Just take a sharp coping saw blade and cut across the top and bend up the metal to make louvers. Round off the sharp edges with a file! I'm just kidding, that would be a butcher job and ruin the value of the radio. I sure wish that I still had my Imperial that I bought new. A couple of months ago a friend called me complaining about the low dead key. I peaked it as best I could and it's showing about two watts........until the modulation, what a swing! That's with a Turner 454X unamplified mic. He didn't understand what DSB, AM compatible means. He won't sell me the radio either. Right now I can't afford any more radios anyway. I'm trying to build up funds to send my Browning Mark III to Nomad and I have other repairs to do to my vintage stuff. Since my Mark III is down I'm using the Browning Series 2 with a Glen slider and Nomad kit in the transmitter. Lately I've noticed that the receive sensitivity was dropping off so I went through the tubes in the receiver first and found a VERY weak Nuvistor and bad 6AL5. Replaced them and the radio is 90% better but I think it's developed IF transformer problems as described a while ago on this forum somewhere. I aligned it according to the instructions and one or two of those transformers won't adjust no matter where the slugs are set, just like they're doing nothing, so.........I'm off subject now.
Tombstone
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Post by crazybob on Dec 22, 2009 16:01:50 GMT -5
I found two amps around here that the radio drives nicely. One is an old Demco Demon 250, & the other is the old 12 tube D&A Phantom that I bought from Grumpy. I only hitting it with 1&1/2 watts, & it's swinging to around 450 on my Dosy TR-1000.
I love playing around with old Brownings. I recentley traded a Galax Melaka, that I got for cheap, for a Golden Eagle MK.II series B. The rec. was low. I swapped in a set of used tubes & sold it for 300.00!
Yes I need to get a buffer kit for my Glen.
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