FINALY PURCHESED A MADISON.

[Stellasarat]

Granted it's not the president but the final edition Madison with the digital clock. I'm gonna have my Tec unlock clarifier, add upper and lower and change out the digital clock with a frequency counter. I would like to add the counter that fits perfectly and looks like a factory install. I would like to purchase the counter that way I can give it to my Tec when he does the other mods. Has anyone added a frequency couter to a Madison in place of the digital clock? If so what brand and model number of that counter? Any sugestions would be apreceated. Even if you haven't done this mod you advice would be greatly apreceated.

 

[Robb]

Think LooseCannon has done this a few times; maybe he will add to the discussion.

Congrat!

 

[unit_399]

Contact this seller on Ebay. fasttrack*09 or email him at backwoodsrf@gmail.com. His name is Ralph. I purchased a 6 digit display from him that was a bolt-in replacement for the clock on my TRC457. He makes them for the Madison too. Excellent quality. Congrats on the new rig. Good luck, 73s.

- 399

 

[loosecannon]

yes, Ralph's counters work great. it will fit in your Madison.
your tech will have to pop that plastic cover off of the faceplate, as the kit comes with a different one.

i dont see any of his kits on ebay right now, but thats probably just temporary.

do yourself a favor and have a look at some pics of this install.
i personally dont like the size of LEDs he uses (too small IMO).
and i think that the freq counter not being centered in the "box" doesnt look quite right. i also think that the piece of plexiglass that comes with the kit should be tinted instead of red or blue.

here is a link to my last madison project. (im doing it differently right now, pics will be coming soon)
http://www.worldwidedx.com/station-mobile-pics/67494-custom-president-madison-pics.html

this thread may give you some ideas.

the counter in that one is one that a friend built for me, and no, he is not still doing radio work like that.
it looked a bit crowded to my eyes with that sixth digit in there, and the new one im doing has five digits and the spacing is a bit different. looks much better IMO. i also went back to a red color.

im afraid that Ralph's kits are about all thats out there unless you want to build your own, so i hope you like the look of his kits.
LC

 

[Birddog2009]

The fast track counters are junk. They don't read right on SSB... :-(

 

[Stellasarat]

FASTTRACK PROBLEMS?

I apreceat and respect all your input. I'm glad I read the last post on the page . I was ready to contact Ralph before the one negative post.The reason for the Madison purchase is ssb. I enjoy my Sonar on am and will be using the Madison sticky for ssb. It's important that the frequency couter I install work both on ssb and am. Can you exsplain what the problem with Ralphs counter is on ssb . Anyone using Ralphs counter on a Madison and have you had any problems with it on ssb or am? I really want to do it right the first time. Thanks for those Madison pictures, sweet. This rig will complete my station and I will then be proud to post pictures of the setup I've wanted since I caught the bug.

 

[357magnum]

Congrat's on your purchase an Sweet Job on the radio Loosecannon !

 

[LittleWhiskey]

Granted it's not the president but the final edition Madison with the digital clock. I'm gonna have my Tec unlock clarifier, add upper and lower and change out the digital clock with a frequency counter. I would like to add the counter that fits perfectly and looks like a factory install. I would like to purchase the counter that way I can give it to my Tec when he does the other mods. Has anyone added a frequency couter to a Madison in place of the digital clock? If so what brand and model number of that counter? Any sugestions would be apreceated. Even if you haven't done this mod you advice would be greatly apreceated.

Sounds like yours is the same version as mine. Mine is original and has the original speaker.

 

[loosecannon]

Stellasarat,

im not sure why he called the counters "junk", as they do work just fine on AM and SSB.

the thing is that they read the SSB offset, meaning that if you are on channel 20 AM (27.2050) and you switch to USB, the counter will read 27.2065.
if you go to LSB, it will read 27.2035.

this is how all counters work, but some, like the one in the 2000GTL has circuitry to allow the counter to read out 27.2050 in all modes.

to me, it doesnt really make any difference. obviously not everyone feels that way. LOL
LC

 

[unit_399]

im not sure why he called the counters "junk", as they do work just fine on AM and SSB.

I agree. I haven't had any problems with Ralph's counters. They read correctly AM and SSB. The clock on the 457 uses the small readouts, and the counter I got from Ralph has the exact same size readouts as the original 457 clock.

- 399

 

[Grogan]

I think the digital clock looke nice on the radio, Why not have a jacp put on the back .for an external counter or build one in an external speaker for the other side of the radio or in a second speaker housing.

 

[2RT307]

REALLY nice work, loosecannon. Pretty tricked out rig, that's for sure. And congrats stellasarat on the new to you rig. If your tech isn't up to the task of doing the mod loosecannon did, or you want to keep the rig original looking, then I'd do the outboard frequency counter. I know it can be hard wired to do both receive and transmit.

73,
Brett