tjbitt wrote:
CAn anybody tell me how to align
the plastic freq dials so they correspond to the received freq?

Yes. Put the skirt and the knob back on and remove the top cover.
You'll find a bunch of gears at the front of the PTO (and behind the
knob). The gears are held in a meshed condition with spring loaded
arms. These arms can be disengaged with your finger and you can then
spin the dials freely. Alignment of the dials to actual working
frequency is then fairly straightforward -- although sometimes somewhat
tedius.

The frequency not corresponding with the dial indicators is not an
indication that the radio is "blowd up". The dials are simply not
aligned. This seems fairly common with Drakes that have been shipped.
I suspect the guys at UPS have been playing tackle football with your
receiver.

There are pictures at the following web page (scroll down to the bottom,
Step 5):

http://www.wb4hfn.com/DRAKE/DrakeArt.../Drake_PTO.htm


Another problem appears to be the the R4C is only operating in AM mode

Bad or missing filters? Broken wire? Dirty switch contacts?

Sign yourself up on the drakelist email reflector. It's an incredible
resource for anyone with an interest in Drake gear.

http://www.zerobeat.net/drakelist/

BTW, to answer your other question as to how to hook an antenna to an
R-4C, the absolute *BEST* way is to pick up a Drake T4X-C. Then you use
an RCA to RCA cable from the R-4C to the T4X-C and a PL-259 from the
T4X-C to the antenna system. As a bonus, you now have a transmitter!!

73,
-HZ