This Range Gain was given to me by a neighbor whose father bought it new in the 60's. It turns on but needs a major 200,000 mile overhaul. Translation, $$$$! Not sure I wanted to put that kind of cash into it.
So I have had a wacky plan for a year or so to "merge" a 148GTL/TR-296 into the Regency Range Gain case.
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First things first....had to make the 148GTL function. Well that part is almost done. There are still a few obstacles to overcome-such as to get the scratchiness out of the audio, get output power stable etc...As time permits, I have poked around the inside of it a dozen or more times but never had a good hour or two to dig in hard. It has been re-capped, replaced the clarifier pot and CT3 (I believe?) trimmer.
After taking a further look at the two, it appears the 148GTL board is about the same size as the Range Gain chassis. Little room left for a power supply and limited front panel "Real Estate" to accommodate all of the pots and switches to make the 148 circuit board fully functional. Time for another plan.
The same neighbor gave me a Realistic Pro-Niner. I did re-cap this radio and it functions as new though it just sits on the shelf and collects dust. Since it already has a 12v supply, maybe this is my "Base Station Hybrid" project. It does have the "On the Air" and "Modulation" indicators on the front panel, the large multi-function meter (with SWR scale), large front panel "Real Estate" with almost enough potentiometers already there to incorporate the 148GTL circuit board.
The plan is set! Granted, this is not a highly sought after Base Station platform (Tram, Browning, Demco, etc) but will be a learning experience and not an average ordinary, run of the mill Galaxy, RCI either. This will not be a quickly completed project but one of those projects to do "just because I can" and when I can!
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73's
David
