The "Havana Taxicab" is for sale.
It started out life as a Pride KW-One amplifier.
Then it got trashed. Seems to be what always happens to that model.
The name reflects how many of the original-type main parts remain in it. The cabinet, the meter, the Plate-Tune control, the tube socket and the coax sockets. I may have missed a part or two, but that's the big picture. We rebuilt it as a DX-300 model. Mainly it served to show that substitute parts can be made to take the place of transformers that you can't buy any more, or would pay an arm and a leg to have made custom.
Naturally, it has our printed-circuit boards in the power supply. The blower is an obvious substitute. The center hub protrudes, and makes necessary the ugly hole in the rear of the top cover.
RF Parts Inc still sells new top covers. Twenty-five bucks plus shipping. Just remember you'll have to make your own, new ugly hole in the rear to provide clearance for the blower hub. They will sell it to you for the same price they sell it to me, so there's just no incentive for me to buy one.
NO SIDEBAND SWITCH! Bad idea, anyway. DOES HAVE A HARD-KEY JACK! To use it on SSB, a foot switch will prevent the relay chatter.
*** Better yet ***. Install a relay in the radio, and key it with a RCA patch cord between the radio and the amplifier. That way, the amplifier stays keyed so long as the mike switch is closed. Releases as soon as you unkey the mike. No delay to cut off the other station's first word when he replies.
The screws that hold the bottom cover in place are famous for stripping the holes. Sheet-metal screws are not meant to remove and put back repeatedly. Machine-thread screws now hold the lower cover in place. These machine-thread inserts are made of aluminum, so you have to be nice to them. So long as you don't cross-thread and crank them, they will last a long time.
The "Band" knob in the center is now the bias control. You can reduce the amplifier's carrier level to match a radio that does not have that knob on it. Max AM carrier out of this thing should NEVER exceed 150 Watts. Sweet spot is closer to 125 Watt carrier.
No preamp.
No wattmeter. Only reads plate current.
Low drive. A wimpy stock Cobra 2000 with 14 Watts PEP should still get you a proper 500 Watts pep on High side. A radio with 18 Watts PEP should get you up to the 600 Watt PEP level.
ANY MORE DRIVE THAN THAT WILL BLOW IT UP.
HONEST!
It will come with a tested, spare used tube. That way you can ignore my warnings about driving it too hard, and have a spare tube to use after you come to your senses and find out that I'M NOT MAKING THIS STUFF UP!
Six hundred bucks. Plus six percent KY sales tax.
But here's the kicker:
LOCAL PICKUP ONLY.
And one other small requirement.
BRING YOUR RADIO AND YOUR WATTMETER!!!!!
This is the only way I have found to eliminate gripes after the sale. If your radio is too big for it, I'll get to see this myself. And if your wattmeter shows a different reading from mine, YOU'LL get a chance to see that.
YES, THESE ARE SOME PRETTY RESTRICTIVE REQUIREMENTS.
MIGHT NOT SELL ANY TIME SOON WITH THOSE RESTRICTIONS ATTACHED.
Tough.
If I were in a hurry, it would go on Ebay. Might not. Probably too risky, anyway.
It is currently listed at Craigslist, but I'm not getting any nibbles there, yet.
Yes it's ugly. Made no attempt to pretty it up.
But I'm not in a hurry. Just don't need it any more. Served its purpose. Time it got a new home.
And, uh, NO! I won't ship it to you.
73
It started out life as a Pride KW-One amplifier.
Then it got trashed. Seems to be what always happens to that model.
The name reflects how many of the original-type main parts remain in it. The cabinet, the meter, the Plate-Tune control, the tube socket and the coax sockets. I may have missed a part or two, but that's the big picture. We rebuilt it as a DX-300 model. Mainly it served to show that substitute parts can be made to take the place of transformers that you can't buy any more, or would pay an arm and a leg to have made custom.
Naturally, it has our printed-circuit boards in the power supply. The blower is an obvious substitute. The center hub protrudes, and makes necessary the ugly hole in the rear of the top cover.
RF Parts Inc still sells new top covers. Twenty-five bucks plus shipping. Just remember you'll have to make your own, new ugly hole in the rear to provide clearance for the blower hub. They will sell it to you for the same price they sell it to me, so there's just no incentive for me to buy one.
NO SIDEBAND SWITCH! Bad idea, anyway. DOES HAVE A HARD-KEY JACK! To use it on SSB, a foot switch will prevent the relay chatter.
*** Better yet ***. Install a relay in the radio, and key it with a RCA patch cord between the radio and the amplifier. That way, the amplifier stays keyed so long as the mike switch is closed. Releases as soon as you unkey the mike. No delay to cut off the other station's first word when he replies.
The screws that hold the bottom cover in place are famous for stripping the holes. Sheet-metal screws are not meant to remove and put back repeatedly. Machine-thread screws now hold the lower cover in place. These machine-thread inserts are made of aluminum, so you have to be nice to them. So long as you don't cross-thread and crank them, they will last a long time.
The "Band" knob in the center is now the bias control. You can reduce the amplifier's carrier level to match a radio that does not have that knob on it. Max AM carrier out of this thing should NEVER exceed 150 Watts. Sweet spot is closer to 125 Watt carrier.
No preamp.
No wattmeter. Only reads plate current.
Low drive. A wimpy stock Cobra 2000 with 14 Watts PEP should still get you a proper 500 Watts pep on High side. A radio with 18 Watts PEP should get you up to the 600 Watt PEP level.
ANY MORE DRIVE THAN THAT WILL BLOW IT UP.
HONEST!
It will come with a tested, spare used tube. That way you can ignore my warnings about driving it too hard, and have a spare tube to use after you come to your senses and find out that I'M NOT MAKING THIS STUFF UP!
Six hundred bucks. Plus six percent KY sales tax.
But here's the kicker:
LOCAL PICKUP ONLY.
And one other small requirement.
BRING YOUR RADIO AND YOUR WATTMETER!!!!!
This is the only way I have found to eliminate gripes after the sale. If your radio is too big for it, I'll get to see this myself. And if your wattmeter shows a different reading from mine, YOU'LL get a chance to see that.
YES, THESE ARE SOME PRETTY RESTRICTIVE REQUIREMENTS.
MIGHT NOT SELL ANY TIME SOON WITH THOSE RESTRICTIONS ATTACHED.
Tough.
If I were in a hurry, it would go on Ebay. Might not. Probably too risky, anyway.
It is currently listed at Craigslist, but I'm not getting any nibbles there, yet.
Yes it's ugly. Made no attempt to pretty it up.
But I'm not in a hurry. Just don't need it any more. Served its purpose. Time it got a new home.
And, uh, NO! I won't ship it to you.
73
