RadioBanter - View Single Post

November 24th 05, 03:53 AM posted to rec.radio.amateur.boatanchors

wrote:

All,

I've occasionally seen homebrew tube transceivers on Ebay that range
from really good to too gnarly looking to seem safe. I am thinking of
creating a line of clean-looking, attractive, rugged tube equipment for
casual or missionary use with a reasonable price/output performance
that is easy to repair and adjust, based on schematics and design
principles that have gone into the public domain.

Would there be an audience? Comments?

The Eternal Squire

I don't think there is an audience. Here's why I feel that way...

Anybody that wants the hassle of a 'homebrew' tube xcvr just for giggles
is well advised to just pick up a $50 HW-100 (or similar) on ebay. You
get a slippy dial drive, you get to re-address old problems that were
inherent in its original day, you get to fork over the sale price once
again for a good set of finals and a few other tubes.

I dealt with some missionaries in the 70s and the LAST thing they wanted
was a tube rig. Plug-n-play, never-fail solid-state are where that
market is. If you're in the Amazon backwaters of Brasil you don't want
temperamental stuff. You can't just check into an internet forum like
this and beg a few new tubes and they show up in the mail a week later.

As for home-based hams...there's a definite thrill of using a homebrew
rig but all that is lost when its somebody else's homebrew rig.

I'm a proud Galaxy V owner, nice rig, cheap enough, I've got enough
sweat equity into it to where I have an affinity for it. I can't
imagine anyone else liking it as much as I do.

-Bill