PALOMAR TX 100

[5 X 5]

Bought a dirty Cobra 29 LTD Classic side mic model with power mic and external speaker for $1 this morning. I will stack them to the ceiling at that price.



Went to an estate sale this afternoon and saw the common pile of wires, antennas and more wires wrapped around a crappy Uniden in the corner of the garage. I think it was marked $20 and to be honest I wouldn't have taken it if it was free. Then off to the side I spot this Palomar TX 100 in decent shape priced at $10. SOLD!



Got it home and found a warranty sticker in the heatsink showing it was sold in 1980. There is also a seal bridging the gap between the chassis and the heatsink that is unbroken so it's a good chance the inside is clean.



I can't seem to find much if anything about this model searching the forum or online. Most Palomar TX 100's I find are blue, have more watts or more bells and whistles. What I can find is that a lot of Palomar amps were copied with lots of fakes out there, but the warranty makes me doubt that. Also that it probably requires a low power input (2-4w) but no specifics for this gold version I found.

Thoughts and information appreciated.

 

[Ranch55]

Quite a lot different from the Palomar TX 100 I just recently refurbished .......

 

[5 X 5]

Very clean under the hood.



Can't read the transistors under the copper bands but I found what might be the correct schematic, not sure. ETA: WRONG SCHEMATIC


At around 100 watts, now I am wondering if this amp would be a good match to drive the straight 6 Fatboy I came across a few weeks back...?

 

[5 X 5]

Quite a lot different from the Palomar TX 100 I just recently refurbished .......

Do you know what year yours was made? I watched parts of a few refurb videos and they did not seem as complex as the one I have. I thought maybe mine was older but now I don't know?

 

[Ranch55]

The schematic you posted above is NOT the schematic for this amplifier ......
The schematic above is for the Palomar TX-100 that I just refurbished last month. They are quite different .....

 

[5 X 5]

The schematic you posted above is NOT the schematic for this amplifier ......
The schematic above is for the Palomar TX-100 that I just refurbished last month. They are quite different .....

Thanks for the clarification. I have no idea what I have now haha!

 

[Ranch55]

But it does look to be a clean little amplifier ....
It appears that it may be AB biased also, which is good for SSB use ......
Yeah, about 2 1/2 ~ 3 1/2 watt input drive would be about right .....

 

[5 X 5]

I still can't find anything about this amp. Just emailed pics to info@PalomarElectronics.com. Hopefully they can shed some light...

 

[5 X 5]

Got a reply from Palomar:

"Ron
Thanks for the email. That unit does not look familiar. I don't think this was made by us. Sorry.
Eric"

I guess I can test it to see if it works but would like someone to put in on the bench and find out what is up.

Here is the vertical board towards the back. Receive preamp maybe?

 

[ExitThirteen]

That looks like an old Messenger amp on the inside! That's a nice, clean box. It should drive a 6 pill nicely if that's what you want to use it for. Keep the deadkey about 2W input and you're golden. Those have MRF455's in it, and is biased class AB. The vertical board in the back has the keying relay and pre-amp circuit on it.


~Cheers~

 

[Rwb]

Now we find the guy who sells all the estate sale radios bought cheep n priced high ... Lol just kiddin looks like you did well

 

[5 X 5]

That looks like an old Messenger amp on the inside! That's a nice, clean box. It should drive a 6 pill nicely if that's what you want to use it for. Keep the deadkey about 2W input and you're golden. Those have MRF455's in it, and is biased class AB. The vertical board in the back has the keying relay and pre-amp circuit on it.


~Cheers~

Thanks for the info! That should give me something to go on as I have been coming up empty handed, browsing for hours. Never heard of Messenger but they must have had a decent size operation going, good clean work.

 

[5 X 5]

Now we find the guy who sells all the estate sale radios bought cheep n priced high ... Lol just kiddin looks like you did well

Maybe one day but so far I can't part with anything I have found!

 

[nomadradio]

There was a free-for-all putting the name "Palomar" on CB linears in the 80s. The folks who made this amplifier probably had nothing to do with the company in Escondido who made the name famous.

Or infamous.

But most of them were built in rented storage garages to avoid the "permanent address" risk of FCC attention. And who's going to sue you for using that name? If the FCC can't find you, the trademark owner can't either.

I would have said it looked like a Messenger inside, but there appear to be THREE relays on the relay/preamp board.

The only reason to do that would be so you can use the preamp alone, without turning on the transmit side. Don't ever remember seeing a Messenger with that feature.

Never.

This is a rare feature. The extra parts this needs will boost the production cost without making it sell any better. Only one that comes to mind is the Palomar 300A.

Hmmm. A coincidence?

Can't say I have seen one that looks like this inside for 25 years or more.

73

 

[357]

its for sure a messenger.

Heres a messenger, same RT initials