"Dave Edwards" wrote in message
...
It sounds like the amp is a CB type...unless it has a bandswitch similar
to
the one
on the Tempo One.
The tube is probably a TV sweep tube. ECI had something to do with the old
Courier CB sets...or vice-versa.
The Tempo One is actually made by Yaesu (Japanese) company, still making
radios today.
I used to be on the RAT newsgroup as well, but was sickened by all the
nonsense with
tube dampers or rings and the constant search for one brand 6550 or EL34
over another.
I have an expensive Audio Research amp...purchased new, and cannot hear
the
differance between it an an old Heathkit AA121 amp...with pretty good
Thiel
speakers!!
Good luck!
....Dave

Hi Dave -
You're not missin' much on RAT -
the bulk of the posts there are flames / di7k-sizin' &, as you mentioned,
posts with topics like [actual quote] "Best EL34".
Goes in waves, I guess... Got plenty of good info there.
I'm notfrom the "black magic" school of design - , and one thing that
bothered me about the RAT / audiophool crowd is the total disinterest in any
attempt at "real" objective testing. While I spend days at the bench
tweakin' my designs with sweep generators & spectrum analyzers, most are
happy with SPICE sims. Love toob audio gear to bits, but it's frightening
that people who talk of "crystaline pin-point staging" can't hear the
difference 'tween a baby grand and an upright, or players who claim to
*need* NOS RCA black-plate watevers who can't tell that their aqmp's running
on 3 out of 4 output toobs...
/rant
Well, I've finally finished alignin' the Tempo One - only 2 bad mistakes -
broke a tuning slug in a coil. The ceramic slugs were set with wax, and I
tried forcing. Bad call - luckily, i had similar slugs on old Ampex bias
generator boards. Learned a good trick, thoug: when tuning RF coils set
with wax, stick the tip of a soldering iron inside the hex hole in thhe slug
for ~5 secs at ~750F. This heats up the slug & melts the wax. The wax
stays soft for about 20 secs, giving you plenty of time to tweak the coil.
I'm sure everyone has some similar trick, but, just in case.
Mistake 2: real stoopit. Got my first RF shock /burn while tuning the
transmitter. Short flourescent toob on the plate caps, with right hand (kid
you not) on the chassis. Idiot. Even I thought I was smarter than that. A
nice reminder not to be too sure of oneself... Them RF burns are pretty
nasty - I'm sure the folks here know...
Well, now that it's done... I simply don't have the time to get seriously
intogettin' a general licence - just like with audio, my big kick is e3ither
designing /building, or restoring gear. Once it's done, the interest ebbs.
This, and the fact that I live smack in the middle of manhattan (moved from
boston a few months ago), more RF noise than ya can shake a stick at. The
thing sure looks neat, and it's fun to find people actually keyin' *real*
slow, like I imagine I would *if* i learned code... I'd probably cheat,
though, and either download or write an appy to do the keyin' / translatin'
for me. OTOH, the PS sure seems handy... Wonder how many mA the 600 & 300V
outputs are?
Thanks to all who have responded, if anyone in the NY area is interested
in *swapping* anything interesting (boat anchor test gear (no scopes, but
probes and clipaty-thingies for tek probes are always welcome), RDH4, toob
audio gear, "what the heck is it?" gear (I've actually restored a194(3?)
radar spectrum analyzer, what for?), any sort of weirdness), I'm up for it.
Can't sell - it was a gift... Thanks again,
-dim

"Shiva" wrote in message
...
Hi,
I was sent here by some folks from RAT (rec.audio.tubes), and was
attracted
by the "boatanchor" part of this NG's name - descriptive of, pretty
much,
everything I'm into. From old RCA racks filled with ancient test gear
&
power supplies to restoring vintage recording gear etc., etc. Restoring
vintage cameras got me interested in photography, and now...
My Mr. Know-It-All bliss came to an end when a friend gave me a
(Henry?)
Tempo One transceiver & an ECI (no model name) Linear Amp (both flea
finds).
I *Had* to bring them up - downloaded the operating manual & schematics
for
Tempo One, cleaned the rotary switches etc, brought up the power, and
managed to align the receiver the best I could (all my test gear is
mainly
audio, funct. generators only going up to 1 & 2 KHz, so had to rely on
harmonics to get the RF outs' them (triangle)... Got the transmitter
section putting out *some sort* of rf into a dummy load (once again,
followed the manual's step-by step idiot guide). The dummy load was a
*wirewound* 50Ohm resistor in a can of motor oil (i know it must be an
absurd load for RF, but i had nothing non-inductive - any hints?)
Anyhow, here are my problems & questions:
I'm pretty much RF illiterate, and don't have an operator's license. I
remember thinking of getting one as a kid, but code didn't come too
easy.
Some HAM at a swap meet told me that code is no longer required - is
there
a
site where I could download a sample exam / list of requirements? An
appy
which I could download so I could hook up to a soundcard of my computer
to
encode /decode Morse code (I could build any required peripherals)? A
FAQ
for this NG? Any info on NYC swaps (I just moved from Boston a while
ago,
the MIT swap was amazing...) Any hints /tricks? Any info (schematics
/manual?) on the ECI linear amp (no model on the case (chrome with 2
meters
& machined aluminum knobs wgich look just like the early AKAI knobs), a
bunch of gas voltage regulators, and a single octal / top plate output
toob,
can't remember the name, looks like an oversized 2e26.
Any info / feedback would be nice,
Thanks in advance,
-dim