Hi all, got another Drake question. I got my R4C on Wed and it appears
to be in working condition but needs some work. It appears the freq
dial readout is off by about 65 khz. CAn anybody tell me how to align
the plastic freq dials so they correspond to the received freq? Is
there a way to crank the tuning dial all the way clockwise to the
bottom end of the band and realign the the 10 khz and 100 khz dialfaces
to 0 and 0? I took the tuning knob and skirt off but didn't have a pair
of split ring pliers to remove the split ring cliparound the tuning
dial shaft?. Am I completely off or is this an alignment problem. I was
told the alignment was well within specs.

Another problem appears to be the the R4C is only operating in AM mode
when I switch over to SSB the receiver mutes with no signal heard over
the speaker its like it is completely dead. Not sure what this could be
but makes the rig useless for SSB or CW monitoring. Again any thoughts
would be most appreciated I have no friends or elmers to help locally.
Thanks again. Ted---KQ4mz

Did you buy it from Radio-Mart?



"tjbitt" wrote in message
ps.com...
Hi all, got another Drake question. I got my R4C on Wed and it appears
to be in working condition but needs some work. It appears the freq
dial readout is off by about 65 khz. CAn anybody tell me how to align
the plastic freq dials so they correspond to the received freq? Is
there a way to crank the tuning dial all the way clockwise to the
bottom end of the band and realign the the 10 khz and 100 khz dialfaces
to 0 and 0? I took the tuning knob and skirt off but didn't have a pair
of split ring pliers to remove the split ring cliparound the tuning
dial shaft?. Am I completely off or is this an alignment problem. I was
told the alignment was well within specs.

Another problem appears to be the the R4C is only operating in AM mode
when I switch over to SSB the receiver mutes with no signal heard over
the speaker its like it is completely dead. Not sure what this could be
but makes the rig useless for SSB or CW monitoring. Again any thoughts
would be most appreciated I have no friends or elmers to help locally.
Thanks again. Ted---KQ4mz

6.5 Khz ok, but 65 ???
Sounds "blowd up"

"tjbitt" wrote in message
ps.com...
Hi all, got another Drake question. I got my R4C on Wed and it appears
to be in working condition but needs some work. It appears the freq
dial readout is off by about 65 khz. CAn anybody tell me how to align
the plastic freq dials so they correspond to the received freq? Is
there a way to crank the tuning dial all the way clockwise to the
bottom end of the band and realign the the 10 khz and 100 khz dialfaces
to 0 and 0? I took the tuning knob and skirt off but didn't have a pair
of split ring pliers to remove the split ring cliparound the tuning
dial shaft?. Am I completely off or is this an alignment problem. I was
told the alignment was well within specs.

Another problem appears to be the the R4C is only operating in AM mode
when I switch over to SSB the receiver mutes with no signal heard over
the speaker its like it is completely dead. Not sure what this could be
but makes the rig useless for SSB or CW monitoring. Again any thoughts
would be most appreciated I have no friends or elmers to help locally.
Thanks again. Ted---KQ4mz

"tjbitt" wrote in message
ps.com...
Hi all, got another Drake question. I got my R4C on Wed and it appears
to be in working condition but needs some work. It appears the freq
dial readout is off by about 65 khz. CAn anybody tell me how to align
the plastic freq dials so they correspond to the received freq? Is
there a way to crank the tuning dial all the way clockwise to the
bottom end of the band and realign the the 10 khz and 100 khz dialfaces
to 0 and 0? I took the tuning knob and skirt off but didn't have a pair
of split ring pliers to remove the split ring cliparound the tuning
dial shaft?. Am I completely off or is this an alignment problem. I was
told the alignment was well within specs.

Another problem appears to be the the R4C is only operating in AM mode
when I switch over to SSB the receiver mutes with no signal heard over
the speaker its like it is completely dead. Not sure what this could be
but makes the rig useless for SSB or CW monitoring. Again any thoughts
would be most appreciated I have no friends or elmers to help locally.
Thanks again. Ted---KQ4mz


Ted -

The Drake 4-line is now over 30 years old -- and requires proper maintenance
for reliable operation. Unfortunately many Drake items being sold on eBay
these days are either from estates or former CBers operators -- with had no
technical knowledge, BUT used golden screwdrivers on the equipment -- when
problems occurred.
I picked up a Drake R-4C from an estate earlier this year -- and I have
spent considerable time (2 months) cleaning and deodorizing this receiver
(former owner was a heavy smoker).

This R-4C now looks and smells like it should -- and will complete my work
this winter (minor issues - since this receiver was obviously used daily) --
before I send it to Jeff later this winter for a full alignment.

I would recommend sending your Drake R-4C to Jeff Covelli (WA8SAJ).
http://www.wb4hfn.com/DRAKE/DrakePartsService.htm

Pack the receiver well and enclose a list of all issues that you have
noticed so far.
After he address the repair issues -- ask him to perform a full alignment on
the receiver.

w9gb

Yea, I hate to admit it but bought the R4C from Radiomart. Had never
read anythig bad previously, til I started checking into him further.
The radio truly is in great cosmetic condition, little dust under the
hood, the bottom side of the chassis is clean. The radios main prob is
no ssb and the dial calibration way off. Martyn said to return it and
he would fix it. The more I find out, the less sure I am I even want
to send the radio back to him. It's a bigger waste to pay shipping back
to him and wonder if it will ever be right.

What's the consensus? I think I will take up the suggestion to send the
rig to Jeff Covelli and get it fixed right, and even though I will
spend more than I wanted to on the radio, at least it will be in good
working order and a keeper. The other alternative doesn't appeal to me.
What do ya think.? I sure wished I'd come here first...... guess your
never too old to make a mistake though-----Ted KQ4MZ
w9gb wrote:

"tjbitt" wrote in message
ps.com...
Hi all, got another Drake question. I got my R4C on Wed and it appears
to be in working condition but needs some work. It appears the freq
dial readout is off by about 65 khz. CAn anybody tell me how to align
the plastic freq dials so they correspond to the received freq? Is
there a way to crank the tuning dial all the way clockwise to the
bottom end of the band and realign the the 10 khz and 100 khz dialfaces
to 0 and 0? I took the tuning knob and skirt off but didn't have a pair
of split ring pliers to remove the split ring cliparound the tuning
dial shaft?. Am I completely off or is this an alignment problem. I was
told the alignment was well within specs.

Another problem appears to be the the R4C is only operating in AM mode
when I switch over to SSB the receiver mutes with no signal heard over
the speaker its like it is completely dead. Not sure what this could be
but makes the rig useless for SSB or CW monitoring. Again any thoughts
would be most appreciated I have no friends or elmers to help locally.
Thanks again. Ted---KQ4mz


Ted -

The Drake 4-line is now over 30 years old -- and requires proper maintenance
for reliable operation. Unfortunately many Drake items being sold on eBay
these days are either from estates or former CBers operators -- with had no
technical knowledge, BUT used golden screwdrivers on the equipment -- when
problems occurred.
I picked up a Drake R-4C from an estate earlier this year -- and I have
spent considerable time (2 months) cleaning and deodorizing this receiver
(former owner was a heavy smoker).

This R-4C now looks and smells like it should -- and will complete my work
this winter (minor issues - since this receiver was obviously used daily) --
before I send it to Jeff later this winter for a full alignment.

I would recommend sending your Drake R-4C to Jeff Covelli (WA8SAJ).
http://www.wb4hfn.com/DRAKE/DrakePartsService.htm

Pack the receiver well and enclose a list of all issues that you have
noticed so far.
After he address the repair issues -- ask him to perform a full alignment on
the receiver.

w9gb

"tjbitt" wrote in message
oups.com...
Yea, I hate to admit it but bought the R4C from Radiomart. Had never
read anythig bad previously, til I started checking into him further.
The radio truly is in great cosmetic condition, little dust under the
hood, the bottom side of the chassis is clean. The radios main prob is
no ssb and the dial calibration way off. Martyn said to return it and
he would fix it. The more I find out, the less sure I am I even want
to send the radio back to him. It's a bigger waste to pay shipping back
to him and wonder if it will ever be right.

What's the consensus? I think I will take up the suggestion to send the
rig to Jeff Covelli and get it fixed right, and even though I will
spend more than I wanted to on the radio, at least it will be in good
working order and a keeper. The other alternative doesn't appeal to me.
What do ya think.? I sure wished I'd come here first...... guess your
never too old to make a mistake though-----Ted KQ4MZ

I would not return it to Radiomart- who knows what the result would be, or
his skills.
Get it done right, and do everyone a favor and leave negative feedback if
the radio was sold as being in working order.
Dale W4OP

Yea, I hate to admit it but bought the R4C from Radiomart

This experience is "right out of the book."
No doubt it was "one of the finest ever offered, from my personal
collection, I tested all the tubes, and there are no issues", etc etc.
He avoids negative feedback by offering to let you return it, heard that all
before.

Get it done right, and do everyone a favor and leave negative feedback if
the radio was sold as being in working order.


The reason you can't is that you then leave yourself open to negative
feedback from him in retaliation. And that can be the kiss of death for
you. That's the big problem with ebays feedback system.
RM keeps his feedbacks good because he offers to take things back. So he
says "Hey what are you complaining about? I offered you your money back."

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

Just a followup, I decided to forego radiomarts offer to "fix" my
"Immaculate Collectors Condition" Drake R4-C I got from him and sent it
to Jeff Covelli, (WA8SAJ) . He replaced Q-5 used for the bfo and some
shorted tuning caps, reworked the PTO and realigned to spec's and now
the receiver works great. Jeff even replaced the bluing in the meter
and dial, the white lens and put in a new dial window and rewhited the
lines on all the knobs. Three things learned from this experience:
1.)Beware who you buy from on ebay. 2.) Great help on
rec.radio.amateur.boatanchors and 3.) Jeff Covelli is the man!!!
definately recommend his services. Quick turnaround, great
communication and nice work!! Thanks again for everyones help and
recommendations---Ted---KQ4MZ

w9gb wrote:
"tjbitt" wrote in message
ps.com...
Hi all, got another Drake question. I got my R4C on Wed and it appears
to be in working condition but needs some work. It appears the freq
dial readout is off by about 65 khz. CAn anybody tell me how to align
the plastic freq dials so they correspond to the received freq? Is
there a way to crank the tuning dial all the way clockwise to the
bottom end of the band and realign the the 10 khz and 100 khz dialfaces
to 0 and 0? I took the tuning knob and skirt off but didn't have a pair
of split ring pliers to remove the split ring cliparound the tuning
dial shaft?. Am I completely off or is this an alignment problem. I was
told the alignment was well within specs.

Another problem appears to be the the R4C is only operating in AM mode
when I switch over to SSB the receiver mutes with no signal heard over
the speaker its like it is completely dead. Not sure what this could be
but makes the rig useless for SSB or CW monitoring. Again any thoughts
would be most appreciated I have no friends or elmers to help locally.
Thanks again. Ted---KQ4mz


Ted -

The Drake 4-line is now over 30 years old -- and requires proper maintenance
for reliable operation. Unfortunately many Drake items being sold on eBay
these days are either from estates or former CBers operators -- with had no
technical knowledge, BUT used golden screwdrivers on the equipment -- when
problems occurred.
I picked up a Drake R-4C from an estate earlier this year -- and I have
spent considerable time (2 months) cleaning and deodorizing this receiver
(former owner was a heavy smoker).

This R-4C now looks and smells like it should -- and will complete my work
this winter (minor issues - since this receiver was obviously used daily) --
before I send it to Jeff later this winter for a full alignment.

I would recommend sending your Drake R-4C to Jeff Covelli (WA8SAJ).
http://www.wb4hfn.com/DRAKE/DrakePartsService.htm

Pack the receiver well and enclose a list of all issues that you have
noticed so far.
After he address the repair issues -- ask him to perform a full alignment on
the receiver.

w9gb