FT-101 11-meter burn, ca 1996

[nomadradio]

Some days cleaning up at my shop feels more like archaeology. Here's a sign a former tech put up after a customer zorched the finals in his FT-101. The other one cracked, this one only cratered on one side. About 30 years ago.

Get glass hot enough and it gets soft.

A stab from the past.

73

 

[AudioShockwav]

Some days cleaning up at my shop feels more like archaeology. Here's a sign a former tech put up after a customer zorched the finals in his FT-101. The other one cracked, this one only cratered on one side. About 30 years ago.

Get glass hot enough and it gets soft.

A stab from the past.

73

Looks like a couple of 811's I have known in the past.....

73
Jeff

 

[nomadradio]

Ahh the 811A. To quote my old friend Toll Free, "All the linearity of a half-wave rectifier".

73

 

[AudioShockwav]

Ahh the 811A. To quote my old friend Toll Free, "All the linearity of a half-wave rectifier".

73

A few months ago I talked to him , he was getting ready to go do some volunteer work in Jamaica, Hurricane recovery stuff
I miss talking to Shane
Years ago I could park on the top of Guadalupe grade in the mobile and talk to him when he lived in the Tehachapis on channel 6.

73
Jeff

 

[N8YX]

Fun Fact:

When I got into radio the progression went something like AM/FMBCB DX -> SWL -> CB -> Amateur -> wide-range scanning -> esoteric modes. All of which I still participate in.

CB was near the peak of the boom. As a young comms/electronics enthusiast I made a LOT of friends in the serious-user community. These were the types which didn't buy their radio and antenna at a K-Mart or Sears store. Think Cobra, DAK, CPI and all the other high-end rigs of the day.

One in five of that crowd was running an FT-101 of some sort. The exception was a high-school buddy and his dad, who had a complete (everything) Drake 7 line.

I personally didn't know anyone who cooked a 101, and I only know of one which hit our local shop for repairs. Most kept a pretty low profile when running that type of equipment on the Class D allocation.

But they sure managed to break a lot of the other stuff.

 

[AudioShockwav]

Fun Fact:

When I got into radio the progression went something like AM/FMBCB DX -> SWL -> CB -> Amateur -> wide-range scanning -> esoteric modes. All of which I still participate in.

CB was near the peak of the boom. As a young comms/electronics enthusiast I made a LOT of friends in the serious-user community. These were the types which didn't buy their radio and antenna at a K-Mart or Sears store. Think Cobra, DAK, CPI and all the other high-end rigs of the day.

One in five of that crowd was running an FT-101 of some sort. The exception was a high-school buddy and his dad, who had a complete (everything) Drake 7 line.

I personally didn't know anyone who cooked a 101, and I only know of one which hit our local shop for repairs. Most kept a pretty low profile when running that type of equipment on the Class D allocation.

But they sure managed to break a lot of the other stuff.

I started with a 3 channel RS cb and worked up to the 101 had a B and a E series.
I was fortunate that I had already progressed past the defeated limiter AM junkie mentality when I bought them.
The B had Toshiba tubes with the green stripe and I limited it to 20 watt carrier on AM and they lived for years like that.
It was the guys trying to run 75-80 watt carrier levels that were always down at Thrifty drug store buying new tubes.


73
Jeff

 

[BC Coyote]

It was the guys trying to run 75-80 watt carrier levels that were always down at Thrifty drug store buying new tubes.

You just reminded me of the days when every drug store (and electronics retailer) had a tube tester! As a pre-teen I would visit the local dump, extract as many tubes as I could from dead TV's and radios, and then haul them all down to drug store in bags to test them. Good memories. I still own and occasionally even use a vintage Hickock 533A tube tester, complete with its original wooden case.

 

[AudioShockwav]

You just reminded me of the days when every drug store (and electronics retailer) had a tube tester! As a pre-teen I would visit the local dump, extract as many tubes as I could from dead TV's and radios, and then haul them all down to drug store in bags to test them. Good memories. I still own and occasionally even use a vintage Hickock 533A tube tester, complete with its original wooden case.

Thrifty drug store and GBS Hardware had the biggest selection of tubes, I think a 6js6c was $7 back then.
( Bill the guy who ran the TV repair shop always charged $.50-1.00 more)
Yessir we scavenged old TVs/radios for tubes as well
The good ole days

73
Jeff

 

[N8YX]

I never owned an FT-101 though I've used and worked on a bunch of them.

My 101 setup is the FR/FL series. I'm on my second transmitter and 3rd/4th/5th receiver. Now have one of each; the S, D and late-model D (w/ red LED readout). All have every available option and I've added 12/17M to the late receiver and the transmitter. Found several sets of green stripe 6JS6Cs and they are carefully packed away just in case.

The station is set up in memory of my late friend Stan, ex-KB8JLV. Met him on CB; Elmered him into the amateur ranks. One of his first stations was the Yaesu twins. He loved those rigs.

My only gripe: Why didn't Yaesu include a Rejection Tuning control as they did with the FRDX-400? It's very handy on SSB.

Another serious operator in the region had an FT-901DM. I don't know how he added 11M TRX to his but if you do it the right way and activate the hidden Aux Band it's significantly more involved than just dropping in a crystal. I'm on my 3rd - and 2nd/3rd FT-902DM. My 901 transceives on the 30M band and on the Aux band, though changing segments requires reprogramming its counter. I'm eventually going to drop the Counter and Display Unit from a junked 902 into it, so it's nearly a crystal swap at that point.