I finally got my DX-60B on the air

[Captain Kilowatt]

After sitting in the basement for the last 15 or more years I finally have my old Heathkit DX-60B transmitter on the air.I cleaned the chassis up and it looks like new.I did have to make a small interface box to handle antenna switching to the receiver and the PTT line as the function switch was blown apart.I put it on 80m and ran a little AM about an hour ago.I use a D104-SE microphone and the matching HG-10 VFO.My receiver for it right now is a Kenwood R-1000.I also have the matching HR-10 receiver but it is a basket case right now so the Kenwood will fill in for a while longer.Can't wait to check into the Maritimes AM Net on 3.735 MHz Sunday morning at 9:00am ADT.

 

[fasteddy]

Garth, don't get bit by the AM bug!!! I hear the side effects are painful and long lasting. Like 10 miunute keydowns and hearing constant hetrodyne . Thats cool tho, those old transmitters are neat pices of gear. Now you know what the old timers used to deal with.
73
Ed

 

[Captain Kilowatt]

Well the AM bug has already bit,that's why I dug out the rig.
I want to have a bit of fun the way ham radio used to be.I need to do some work on the audio feeding it as it has nothing for lows but I have the gear to solve that problem.I just need the room on my desk for all of it.The thing about running screen modulation with this rig is that it is almost a necessity to watch your modulation on a scope.Things will change as the antenna loading is changed! I forgot what running tubes was like.I started to get real paranoid and almost panicy when I started to smell something wierd and could not see anything wrong. :shock: Then it hit me. Oh yeah.This thing has tubes that not only glow in the dark they add to the ambiant aroma of the room as well. There is just something about the smell of a tube radio as it warms the shack. Now I need to get working on a big amp so I can join the boys on 3.880. :roll:

 

[Captain Kilowatt]

Well I made the Maritimes AM Net this morning and was greeted with nothing but flowers. The only thing I was told about was that I had a slight lack of lows and that has since been taken care of (hopefully) by changing the series feed capacitors in the audio chain.It sounds better listening on a separate RX anyway.The real test will be next Sunday morning when I get on the net again.There are several fellow broadcast engineers on there so I respect their feedback.I do declare that the AM bug has indeed bit and I have a fever as a result.