209 base station tour photos

[209 first class]

i finally found a nice tall cabinet that i had been looking for to go next to the desk. here are pics of my station and eqpt you have all been helping me with through your posts. you can enlarge them by clicking on them. i think there are 14 pics. thank you, enjoy. 2 zero 9
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[209 first class]

tram in really good condition.
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[209 first class]

rci 2990 bought used in 1998. i use all 4 pin mics, so i made a mic adapter with shielded cable. on the above right are 2 switches, one is a foghorn noisetoy(lol) that i never use, and the other goes between the clipped diode, i can go fromnice sounding stock 100% modj to loud clippped diode mode at the flick of a switch. dosy tfc-3001 meter.
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[drdx]

Man, that looks nice. If you removed the digital freq counter and the laptop, you could squint a little and it looks like a typical station you'd visit in years past, nice and full of gear, along with the must-have D104. -drdx

[209 first class]

radio shack rotor control for the maco 3 element beam mounted against the house( new tower going up, hopefully to be raised this weekend) , wood speaker(as i always suggest,metal and plastic boxed skprs do not sound as good) and finally a bird call for the ducks
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[209 first class]

here is a golden eagle, not an early one but in very good shape, with the original boxes and tubes. not a scratch, even on the cabinets. i collect antiques too, i will pay much extra for things that are in mint condition. (notice the antique bottles in the window, reflecting off the glass cabinet door)
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[busman]

your station looks great 209. love the old vintage stuff . good luck with the tower.

[209 first class]

ameritron al-80b. yes, im looking for somthing bigger already
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[209 first class]

here is the driver. im a tube sound lover, but with different radios and deadkeys i needed a variable to match to the main amps. i am happy the fatboy does not change the sound/tone of the radio, thats why i use it. i run it at 13.8, nice and low,and with the 70 amp power supply, it loafs along, never strained. notice the homemade footpedal for the ameritron
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[209 first class]

fun stuff ! 8 pill,2-70 amp supplies in parallel, 5 tube amp from the 70's maybe 80's ?
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[drdx]

That 80b is a nice amp, and you'd have to make a good jump to see some difference, but it would be fun. So, what are you thinking as an upgrade? Maybe a nice Henry 5k floor model, or a Commander 2500? Inquiring minds want to know. :D -drdx

[209 first class]

mic for the browning eagle, lafayette 2 tube mobile amp, tiny galaxy 2pill mobile, washinton base station,near mint, $25 at the flea market.(you can see the reflection of the tripod in the faceplate)
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[209 first class]

apollo 2 tube base amp, 2 pill, 4 pill, and a lafayette telsat base station. its brand new out of the box, has decent transmit, but tinny recieve.
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[209 first class]

old footwarmer amp, near new. not alot of swing though... and a luxman deck for recording/experimants/watergates.
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[209 first class]

this one is for laughs, 2 months ago (me, mr. cheapskate) figured i could get away with hanging my 6 element maco from trees instead of shelling out for a tower. (hey that way i could have more $ for radios, what can i say?) it didnt work out, as i found out the higher you hoist it, the harder it is to pull up because the angle of the rope changes. so i was working on a tower the past few weeks...
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[209 first class]

this is the maco m-103 and tv rotor i have had up since 2001 with no problems.(paracord for guy wire !) works great. i had a blast talking skip on the antron, but even though its only a 3 element, brought it up to another level. a guy giving me 3 on the meter with the antron turns into a 7+ with the maco.
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[209 first class]

last pic, its hard to see, because i spray painted it black, but there is a 30 ft tower with 6 feet of mast sticking out laying down with ropes and pulleys, and a maco 6 element,. hopefully to be erected this weekend. wow, i didnt realise i had that many ladders :D thanks for stopping by the shack ! 209
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[MOONSHINER]

all I can say is DAMN!! you definately have some great gear there 209!!!

[209 first class]

That 80b is a nice amp, and you'd have to make a good jump to see some difference, but it would be fun. So, what are you thinking as an upgrade? Maybe a nice Henry 5k floor model, or a Commander 2500? Inquiring minds want to know. :D -drdx

##### i have been pondering that for a few weeks, dr... first i have a limitation, i reeealy dont want to install a higher amperage line/breaker, that means new/thicker wire, big job. im pretty sure if i go 220 with the existing wiring, all the sockets on that circut will be 220 also, and that wont work. so, i have been searching on ebay to see how high i can get with 110-115. ( i am 350 feet from the utility pole,and near the outer limits of our power companys service area. the lights dim now and then without running any amps! i have crappy 110v is the summation) it seems the 2- emiac 3-500z(like the heathkit sb220) wont do much more than 800 (talking swing here) watts with 110v, im doing 600-650 on the ameritron now and i have a feeling i could push it some more.. so that seems out of the question. i would like to be able to swing 1500 if i need to. maybe 400w dead key. i usually do more than fine with the ameritron. i have heard/read the pride dx 350 (or is it 300?) will swing 1000 pretty easy, seen a few on ebay,but one guy says it will deadkey 500w, and thats too high. it has a 4cx250b metal tube. do you know anything about those? the other thing i found is the ameritron al-800h which will do 1500 on 110v. i see big ole elkins and stuff on ebay with 10-12 tubes, but they are sweep tubes and i would rather have real transmitting tubes. if you have any suggestions, im all 'ears" 209

[80 meter man]

209 first class--All I can say about your set up is I'm very very jealous!!!!!!! WOW!! Nice radios!!! Not to mention those amps! Nice!! I love the Ameritron. I've always wanted one of those. The two Astron 70's look awesome!! What amp do you use the most? The tubey or the pill box? I was a little surprised to see your beam mounted on the horizontal and not vertical? Do you do a lot of 10 meter stuff? Or do you have an other antenna not shown that you use for CB? I think you and me might be in the same state? I live in the North Central Part of Massachusetts. If you live near by maybe I can give you a shout out on the CB?

[80 meter man]

Have you ever thought of the QRO-HF-2000 for an up grade? They say it will go 1500 watts on 110 volts. It uses (2)3-500 glass bottles. I have been eying there amps for years now. All I have to do is win the mega-bucks and I'll place my order.LOL!!

[209 first class]

hellooo north central massachusetts ! nice to know someone from here is nearby. im in the northampton area. lots of hills here. local talk is almost non existant, i used to live in springfield, lots of local talking there.i really dont have a home channel, the rci is usually on scan mode to pick up anything. i use the tubes (ameritron) the most, driven by the fatboy 2pill. tram is the favorite. much more noise with the antenna mounted vertical, at least in my location. also horizontal mounting gives you 8 feet of height for free, vertically, the element is 8 feet closer to the ground.i havent tried 10 meters, maybe someday, sideband too, i have to check that out.. 209

[drdx]

The QRO option is nice, as is an ALPHA, very nice. I don't have any experience with the pride. For what you'd spend in selling, keeping and buying, trading, etc, why not just keep the 80b and start upgrading the antenna scene, maybe a serious 8 element flat yagi or a quad of some type with your vertical on top. The cost of the antenna, support structure, rotor, etc would be about the same amount of cash as a nice amp and you'll pick up some nice performance on receive, directivity, and signal discrimination too that you wouldn't with the amp. Going from what you have now wattage wise to, say 2500 watts, will only give you a marginally better signal. Picture that station like a racecar. With all that nice gear inside, and with the antennas you have outside, it is like having a formula one car and rolling around on bias ply tires. Put some speed rated ones on there in the form of a serious skyhook, let the antennas do the work, and have fun. -drdx

[209 first class]

10-4 drdx, the last pic shows the tower and antenna almost ready to go up. im not in a real hurry, i want to enjoy the 6 element and get used to it. i checked out the qro, and the site says it does 1500 sideband, 800 am. the ehamnet reviews say about the same. i will keep looking. 209

[drdx]

I guess I missed the last pic, but if you already have the 6, get another and stack'em and grab a few db, doubling your ERP. If you do that, have them on a BLU (both,lower,upper) switch, as alone each will have wave angle advantages of their own due to their different heights, and together you'll have the benefit of both. Very handy this next cycle when trying a specific part of the world. -drdx