"Roy Lewallen" wrote in message
...
Dale Parfitt wrote:
"John Smith" wrote in message
...
I have gotten back into SWL'ing lately ... (ain't like it used to be
either!)

Got a couple of old Hallicrafter receiver rigs and replaced the front
end tubes with some GaAs semi circuits, done on a pcb board and serves
as a direct replacement for the tubes--except for the need of filament
current, they are "work-a-likes" ... gawd, bet those old boys wish they
would've have had those when they engineered the rigs ... I just love
the look of these old "solid" rigs! (solid as in "weighs a ton!)

I am interested in anyone else who has "tweaked" old rigs with various
"kludges" and gotten good results? Comments? Advise? Construction?
Results? Ideas? Unique construction? Anything? ...

Now, this post might NOT be "right on topic" for antennas, but darn
close, we DO have to consider what our antennas feed, right?

Warm regards,
JS

Hi John,
You might want to post in the boatanchors group or the shortwave group
also.
I well recall collecting "tubistors" at Dayton some years back for a
friend who wanted them for his S line. They were plug in replacements for
the tubes.

Dale W4OP

Wes Hayward had a picture of a KWM-2 partly protruding from a bin labeled
"Old Junk". I believe he included it in his _Solid State Design for the
Radio Amateur_. The explanation is that it had been modified by replacing
well designed, high dynamic range tube circuits with much poorer solid
state circuits by someone who didn't understand the principles of high
dynamic range circuit and receiver design. The result was a receiver with
very poor intercept values and consequent severe problems with intermod
and other spurious responses. The well-meaning modifier had turned a very
good receiver into Old Junk.

Roy Lewallen, W7EL

I'm not surprised to hear this Roy. I also believe the tubistors were a
short lived product- sought after by BA collectors.

Dale W4OP