tram d201

[jacobs132]

purchased this d 201 from a picker . been stored in its original box. with its original microphone. looks to be pretty clean, low mileage. im sure ill have to do some work on it. i paid somewhat of a premium. but its very clean, and nice. havent received it yet. it was powered on. once. i believe its been in the box. since very early 80"s 80, or 81. ive been looking for awhile. im going to need some advice on what i should do when it arrives. excited to get a clean one like this.

[capn357]

That looks "very nice-a" (ala the French guy in the castle in Monty Python and the Holy Grail).

You could always make up some fantastic story about it like Superhawk does and list it on Ebay for $3,000 and see what happens.

[jacobs132]

Oct 19, 2017 10:26:52 GMT -5 jacobs132 said:

Oct 19, 2017 8:20:43 GMT -5 capn357 said:

That looks "very nice-a" (ala the French guy in the castle in Monty Python and the Holy Grail).

You could always make up some fantastic story about it like Superhawk does and list it on Ebay for $3,000 and see what happens.

I've seen the post, and adds on Facebook. ebay. Made sure I didn't pay for fairy tales. Stooping with b.s. to make a few bucks. People get burned!. Just not right. I plan on keeping this radio. And doing the necessary steps to keep it going. Not everyday you find one this clean.

[jacobs132]

im not sure. but i am thinking this radio is the second version of the d201. when i get it, ill be looking through older threads. for education on what to do. and asking questions. sure am glad for the knowledgable people of this forum. it makes it possible to be able to use the older radios.

[Sandbagger]

Oct 19, 2017 10:52:39 GMT -5 jacobs132 said:

im not sure. but i am thinking this radio is the second version of the d201. when i get it, ill be looking through older threads. for education on what to do. and asking questions. sure am glad for the knowledgable people of this forum. it makes it possible to be able to use the older radios. View Attachment

There were several "versions" of the D201/D201A. Yours looks to be at least the 3rd revision. It's PC boards, and the 455 Khz resonators have been replaced with the Murata filters. I can't see the back panel, but if the older 2 prong AC plug was replaced with a 3 prong grounded plug, then it's likely the last version of the D201, before the 40 channel 201A came along.

[Sandbagger]

Oct 19, 2017 10:30:18 GMT -5 jacobs132 said:

Oct 19, 2017 10:26:52 GMT -5 jacobs132 said:

I've seen the post, and adds on Facebook. ebay. Made sure I didn't pay for fairy tales. Stooping with b.s. to make a few bucks. People get burned!. Just not right. I plan on keeping this radio. And doing the necessary steps to keep it going. Not everyday you find one this clean.

If that's truly a "low mileage" radio, you might get away with only having to replace the electrolytic caps. The carbon resistors, that go bad with high usage, will likely still be in tolerance.

[jacobs132]

thank you for the information. ill replace the caps , and see how it works out.

[jacobs132]

looks like it might be the 3 prong to me

[mark4]

It’s the later version. Murata filters were installed in the last D201 series. I picked One up from a local collector.
Looks like it has extremely low usage. All tubes are stamped Tram and the inside is like new also. Super shiny and clean.
Close to how it appeared new back in the day.

[Sandbagger]

Oct 19, 2017 18:16:42 GMT -5 jacobs132 said:

View Attachment

looks like it might be the 3 prong to me

Yep, that's the later D201, most likely 1976 vintage. Same as my better unit.

[2600]

Sure enough, the very last of the 23-channel D201. The two black ceramic filters in the AM receiver IF tend to be more reliable than the previous version.

Typical signs of mileage are absent. The vertical plug-in "BA" board to the left of the large audio tube has a 220-ohm 2-Watt resistor visible at the rear-top edge of the board. The two red color bands tend to fade after the first couple of years' regular use. Looks as if it was packed up before it was put to any regular use.

Low mileage works to your advantage. Before long, 40 year-old parts will "remember" how old they are and begin to cause trouble.

I just hope this one was made before they started using Loc-Tite to keep the tubes from popping out of the sockets in shipment. That's a quirk I normally associate with the 40-channel D201A model.

73

[jacobs132]

How high in frequencies does the 23 channel d201 go. Through the vfo. With the transmit mod done on the vfo. Does it go to 40 channels. I am waiting for this radio to be shipped to me, and don't know.

[Sandbagger]

Oct 21, 2017 11:57:30 GMT -5 jacobs132 said:

How high in frequencies does the 23 channel d201 go. Through the vfo. With the transmit mod done on the vfo. Does it go to 40 channels. I am waiting for this radio to be shipped to me, and don't know.

The standard range of the VFO is up to 27.550. However, some mods that make use of the other 5 crystals in the mix (rather than just the channel 9, 10, 11 and 12 crystal) can give you extended range above and below the factory range. It all depends on how yours was modded. One word of warning though, the VFO is not the most stable and could be frustrating if trying to use on SSB.

[2600]

A bone-stock radio won't transmit using the VFO. That's a receive-only feature since the FCC allowed only crystal control for the transmitter.

Modding it to transmit from the VFO was the single most-popular request for this radio when they were brand new. More than once a customer would bring us a D201 in the shipping carton before he had cracked it open, just for this mod. The VFO was this model's biggest selling point in the era of 23 legal channels.

If you have a frequency counter you can put in line with the coax, this is the quickest way to tell if that mod has been done to it. A second radio you can listen to see what channel the Tram is transmitting will tell you this, too.

There is a tiny toggle switch mounted to a hole on the rear panel, but it looks like it's wired to boost the AM carrier power above the stock 4 Watts. No way to tell from the pic exactly where the wires from this switch are connected under the chassis deck.

The procedure to modify the "Xtal-Man" switch so the radio can transmit from the VFO is posted here, somewhere. Does call for some mechanical skill to alter connections inside the radio for this purpose.

73

[mark4]

My D201 time capsule. Unmodified! Looks like it was used for 5 .minutes

[jacobs132]

my d201 arrived today, in its original box. d104 in its original box. and the manual. . all in excellent shape. i took about 45 minutes and powered it up on my variac. all i can say is wow!. everything works flawlessly! . great audio!. receive, that i think is better than my new dx2995. spot on frequency off the crystals. and manual vfo works great! . i honestly couldnt find any faults. all the knobs turn nice and smooth, tight. this radio is obviously very low mileage. use.. i am so pleased!. ive had a couple in the past, but nothing compared to this one. capacitors, resistors, contact cleaner, are on order. all tubes are stamped tram. this radio is one heck of a time capsule!

[Sandbagger]

Oct 24, 2017 14:00:47 GMT -5 jacobs132 said:

View AttachmentView Attachment
my d201 arrived today, in its original box. d104 in its original box. and the manual. . all in excellent shape. i took about 45 minutes and powered it up on my variac. all i can say is wow!. everything works flawlessly! . great audio!. receive, that i think is better than my new dx2995. spot on frequency off the crystals. and manual vfo works great! . i honestly couldn't find any faults. all the knobs turn nice and smooth, tight. this radio is obviously very low mileage. use.. i am so pleased!. ive had a couple in the past, but nothing compared to this one. capacitors, resistors, contact cleaner, are on order. all tubes are stamped tram. this radio is one heck of a time capsule!

A properly working D201 will blow the socks off of a modern Pacific rim rig in receive sensitivity and audio fidelity. The D201 has a very quiet and yet very sensitive receiver, and a silky smooth squelch action. It's my best receiving radio, or it's at least neck and neck with the Browning MK III. In any case, the D201 is better than any of my solid state rigs.

[jacobs132]

so, i have been busy doing the 100 thousand mile tune up on the tram. i ordered the multi section can capacitors from antique electronic supply, along with the saddle clamps. that worked beautifully. a little tedious, with drilling out the old can caps. but worth the effort. i had seen a resistor kit, and high voltage capacitors on epay, and got those. another kit had the low voltage capacitors. with some hours labor!, ( glad im retired) i replaced almost all the resistors. and all of the capacitors. what resistors didnt come in the replacement kit, i got at a local electronics store here in lafayette. cleaned, deoxit all swithes, pots. after i finished doing all that i installed a new relay, and a new set of tubes. probably didnt need to. but now i have working spares. all of the tubes i replaced were stamped tram. i actuall put the tram 6l6 tube back in. the tune and loaded more wattage than the replacements i got. i have to say. after the labor i put in. ( well worth it. this d201 is awesome. im very happy with the end result

[jacobs132]

i want to add. all the posts i could research on this forum. about d201:s. enabled me to do this. im a retired antique, classic car restorer- bodyman. radios have been a side hobby for years. but not my proffession. thank you to the members who have contributed a lot of useful information over the years. couldnt of done it without you

[No Streak]

Oct 22, 2017 21:49:51 GMT -5 mark4 said:

My D201 time capsule. Unmodified! Looks like it was used for 5 .minutes

WoW amazing find good luck with it

[geno2]

Nov 6, 2017 17:31:15 GMT -5 jacobs132 said:

so, i have been busy doing the 100 thousand mile tune up on the tram. i ordered the multi section can capacitors from antique electronic supply, along with the saddle clamps. that worked beautifully. a little tedious, with drilling out the old can caps. but worth the effort. i had seen a resistor kit, and high voltage capacitors on epay, and got those. another kit had the low voltage capacitors. with some hours labor!, ( glad im retired) i replaced almost all the resistors. and all of the capacitors. what resistors didnt come in the replacement kit, i got at a local electronics store here in lafayette. cleaned, deoxit all swithes, pots. after i finished doing all that i installed a new relay, and a new set of tubes. probably didnt need to. but now i have working spares. all of the tubes i replaced were stamped tram. i actuall put the tram 6l6 tube back in. the tune and loaded more wattage than the replacements i got. i have to say. after the labor i put in. ( well worth it. this d201 is awesome. im very happy with the end result

I just pulled the Tram out of storage after 37 years. I have the circuit board version of D201, bought it brand new back in the 70's. I just replaced the can caps and most of the other caps along with all the larger resistors. Everything is working now except he squelch. No one on the radio where I live so I'll be testing it when skip rolls in tomorrow morning. Right now it's connected to a dipole made out of a pair of 102 whips in the attic.