Vintage QSL Cards: The Printing of the W9AC Card!

This is a QSL card.  QSL is part of the traditional "Q" signals used in radio telegraphy and telephony for over one hundred years.  It was used aboard the Titanic when MGY Marconi operator Phillips told the Telefunken operator aboard the Frankfurt to clear off: ( "QRT  QRT  -  in QSO Cape Race" - which means, literally "pull your plug, or 'get off the air', I am talking to Cape Race" . . . often interpreted as "shut up".  It did not mean that, but that's another story for another day....

This is a QSL card.  QSL means "Confirmation of Contact", and has been in use for about as long as the Q-signals have been round as a means of confirming, or proving a contact. When a person is contacted, and they request a QSL card . . . perhaps to put up on their wall or QSL board (ham radio shacks used to be literally wall papered with QSL cards!) - or perhaps to send off to a contest bureau for the Worked All States or Worked All Continents awards, which proved you indeed did contact that rare station in the middle of the Indian Ocean.

The data contained on the QSL card usually has standard radio log book information, such as the date and time of contact, the frequency of the contact - or where on the different Amateur Radio Bands did this contact take place, the quality of the signal, the signal strength, the name of the operator sending the QSL card, the call sign of the respondent, almost always printed on the card, and the call of the recipient - hopefully the fella you contacted will send one back to you in the return mail.

In the older cards of the 1920s and 1930s, a brief description of the transmitter, receiver, and aerial (or antenna) was usually given, largely because all was home built.  As time went on, this became less and less a feature as more and more rigs were being purchased as a manufactured product.

The older cards are become quite collectible, and surprisingly, NON-hams even purchase these from eBay, Craigs List, and other places where they turn up for sale.  They have become a category for post card collectors and Philatelists who specialize in these sorts of postal ephemera.

Much after World War Two, and especially much after 1950, QSL cards became a mass produced product, but in the 1920s and 40s, and most of the 40s, they were very frequently printed by the local printer.  More often than not, the local printed used the same press upon which he printed bill heads, stationery, business cards and other "job" work - the Trusty Letterpress.  Often, these were hand-set cards using what the printer had in the shop as far as typemetal and wood fonts.  Others had images made into "cuts", copper or zinc dies produced from photo images (a process that dates back to the 1870s).  Some even carved wood cuts and lino cuts.  

Offset printing became much more common during the fifties and sixties, owing to it's very fast production time and relatively simple plate making systems which could produced in-house for multiple colour runs.  Still later, digital printing became increasingly popular.  

Today, such conformation is normally made via the internet, but still there are those who prefer 'snail mail' QSL cards.  I among them!  And along with me, several folks that still traffic the airwaves using traditional Amateur Radio equipment, tube-type gear that dates back 50, 60, sometimes even 90 years : Morse Code is experiencing a surge of popularity, especially hand sent code on traditional keys which are still being manufactured!

Paul, who's card is under discussion in this blog entry,  is among this group, and when he found out that I had a letterpress shop and knew a bit about the Old Cards and their designs, he contacted me to print a couple hundred for him.  We went over several 1920s and 30s designs, taking elements from several, and produced a design that is very traditional to, say, 1930.

One challenge in the design we chose had to do with the original wooden font used for the call.  We really liked the out-sized serifs and almost 19th-century newspaper headline look.  But . . . the font does not exist anymore!  Many of the American Type Founder's fonts have been digitally reproduced, but not this one!  In fact, it's name, "Foster", has been re-branded!  Fortunately, one of my best resources for this sort of research is my trusty . . . somewhat dissected . . . ATF Specimen Book, circa 1915.  We found a positive match:

While the complete alphabet was not shown, enough of the letters were found on the four sample pages that I could piece together elements of character structure so as to sort of reverse engineer the whole alphabet.  This was accomplished on my faithful and trust vector IDE: Macromedia FreeHand MX.    What is particular unique looking over these sample paragraphs are the figure '4' and the lower case 'g'.  There was more than enough to cobble together the call "W9AC".

I opted not to use process green, which was my original plan.  Paul wanted a vintage feel.  Now, when these cards were new, the whites were vibrant, the blacks were clear and crisp, the green was deep and fresh.  In time, these things mellow . . . as do we all . . . and so we chose a soft buff card stock, process black, and for the call, I would custom mix the ink.  No charge to Paul, however, normally custom mixing carries a fee.  I do this by eye and by colour wheel.  While I do not use the Pantone System, I do get help in printing ink proportions from a Pantone Swatch book.  As such, we came up with a great green that edged on the border of olive.  Just enough to suggest a vintage feel.

Yes, fellow Letterpress Practitioners: those are Dave's Ink In Tubes.  I love tubed inks, they just plain last longer!  Higher initial cost, but having just tossed out several 5 lb cans of canned inks that I spent good money for owing to having dried out - especially the rubber based, for some reason - in the long run the tubes are cheaper.  Save yourself and your clients some bucks!  That is, of course, unless you have so much business that you go through 5 lb cans regularly.

Here are the two dies.  The top photo is the text block, process black.  Font chosen was one made popular by the NY Times back in the 1920s (methinks!) - Times Roman, or better known as "Times New Roman".  It's not new, and was available in foundry metal from ATF for most of the 20th Century.  It is traditional, and from a personal point of view, it's easier to read than Century School Book, another common text font.

This is an "overlay impression", printed on a transparency.  This is the preliminary set up for the first run, the black text.  Under this transparency I can slide the card stock to position it using the impression printed on the transparency as a guide.  Then the transparency is removed, wiped down, and used again at another time for another impression.  In this case, the call sign.

There are about twenty-five such oil ports that must be filled before a day's run.  As old as my press is, it runs smoothe as silk.  First we oil her up, then we apply ink to the ink disc. Then turn on the press to spread the ink.  Then comes the platen packing, then the dies are inserted, the rollers leveled, the platen packing adjusted. Then trial impressions are printed on the transparency to establish and set the cards to be printed. Once all the above is done, then we can get to printing!

Here she is, all packed, inked, and ready to run!  The stock, of course, has been pre-cut at the shop's  "bindery", which is located in Orange City, the next burg over.  

All told, it took about six hours to print both colours.  It took about three hours to re-create the call-letter font, Add this to the week - to  week and a half  delivery time for the dies and paper.  The whole process takes, usually, about three weeks.

I thought I might share the video that I made during the printing of this card.  It pretty much takes you from beginning to end of the process.  From time to time you might catch a few shots of my station, itself pretty vintage in and of itself.  In fact, at the end you might pick up a little code in the background. 

That's about it for this installment!  I hope it's been informative and perhaps a bit entertaining.  Probably nowhere is the Letterpress intertwined with Wireless than in the printing of Radio Stationery.  It is part of what we do at the Paper Wren, and if anyone is interested in having their very own genuine 1920s - 30s - 40s QSL cards printed for their Station - not copies, but originals - please contact me at paperwrenpress@gmail.com, or my personal account at wd4nka@aim.com.

Oh, and before I forget: the photos of Paul's card at the top showed the Crane Lettra run.  I made these cards on two types of card stock: on was hard, friendly to fountain pens, the other friendly to ball point, and which leaves that very nice depression, or "deboss" in the paper.  If one is going for the most traditional, the harder stock would be preferable.

-gary // the Paper Wren  (Paper Wren Press)

Update: I have had several inquiries regarding the printing of Letterpress QSL cards.  I thought I might share what we have arrived at for pricing.

First, we are using two types of paper.  The first is the more authentic light buff hard surface 90 lb card stock.  This paper is fountain pen and typewriter friendly, which would have been used in the 1920s through 1950s, for the reason that fountain pens were the pen type used before the day of the Ball Point. Many hams chose to type, rather than write out their cards, thus the card stock used had to be able to physically fit into the typewriter!  If you fall in this category, this would be the paper we recommend.

The second type is the type you see in the photos in this blog entry: Crane Lettra, 110lb "Pearl".  This paper is what we use for our fine press announcements and business cards.  It is a very velvety, dense stock that leaves that nice indentation, or "deboss" which you see in the photos.  It really leaves a stunning image!  This paper will cause free-flow ink ( fountain pen or calligraphy dip pens) to bleed, however it can handle ball point pens quite nicely, and can even be photo imaged. It may, however, be a tad thick for the trusty Remington or Royal ( typewriters ).  But if you want a stunning card that can ONLY be produced via the ancient Letterpress, this is the stock to get.  It comes in Arctic White (very bright), Pearl (which is an off white, the most commonly used) and Ecru (which is a light amber-honey)  This paper has the distinction of being the same stock Crane sells to the U.S. Bureau of Engraving and Printing - sans silk fibres - for currency.  It is 100% cotton.

Prices for 250 two colour, single sided cards:  

with hard stock, $150.00  plus $6.00 shipping.
with Crane Lettra, $200.00 plus $6.00 shipping.

I do take PayPal, which adds $3.00 to the order. 

Turnaround time averages three weeks.  This is owing to the time it takes to have the printing dies made and the paper shipped in.

Yes, this is a LOT more expensive than your regular process cards which are either offset printed or digitally printed, but I might invite those interested to Google "Letterpress" and check out the prices that post card sized two colour items are normally charged, which is usually twice to four times higher.  I have reduced my normal fees for the Amateur Radio Community for QSL cards and other Radio oriented custom orders.  Letterpress is one of the two most labour intensive - and beautiful - printing methods on the planet.

 

Ham Radio Horizons: Building the Fifty Watt Rig!

About six months before I took and passed my Novice Amateur Radio Licensing Exam, I became a charter member of what I believe to be the best magazine ever written with the Novice in mind.  It was the brain child of Skip Tenney, then with Ham Radio Report (HR Report).  The other fellow was contributing author James Fisk. There were, of course, more folks involved, HRH was a daughter magazine of HR Report.

Unlike any other Amateur Radio "rag" up to this time, it was the only one entirely devoted to the Beginning Ham, or Ham-to-be.  It was chocked full of articles that showed you how to select your first rig either at a store or on the Ham Fest swap table (or under those tables, in my case!).  There were articles on theory that even I could understand.  How to fix and repair older rigs once you got it home from the Swap Meet.  Bill Orr contributed a masterful series of Wireless History articles and a few projects involving the building of those old breadboard rigs.  There were other radio history articles, adventure stories ("Incident at Terralingua Creek" comes to mind...)  Even articles about how a Ham Radio License can earn college credit and lead the young ham to a lucrative career at several different levels!

This magazine was absolutely void of politics!  Absent were the jaded comments about the ARRL or about Wayne Green or about who most influences the FCC and how they don't represent all hams, ad nauseum.  In fact, both the ARRL, 73 and CQ got their two cents in this magazine at one time or other.

It was this magazine that inspired me to write for the Electronics Hobby Industry.  Not that I was a prolific writer.  My stories always wound up in private radio publications such as "Harmonics", America's oldest ham radio publication in continuous print.  I think it pre-dates QST by a year or so.  My stories also appeared in several ARC newsletters and publications all around the country.  Never made a dime. Made a lot of connections and most importantly, friends.  73 did pick up one article, but just before the issue that carried it was put to bed, the publication folded.  (sigh)

Yes, HRH was a very special run of magazines, and to date, I have them all.

So, what happened to HRH?  Where did it go?   I don't have any specifics, but I think I have a good guess: Jim Fisk passed away suddenly.  That left Skip editing both HRH and HR Report.  I think it also complicated publication contracts with writers.  So, sometime 1981 we charter members were contacted by HR Report informing us that our subscription would be converted to HR Report, who would incorporate HRH articles in it's publications.  That meant one or two stories, maybe three.  At the time, HR Report was very heavy into the new digital programming technologies, and there simply was not enough space.  After a year of HR Report, our subscriptions lapsed, and that was the last connection I had with HRH/ HR Report.

But golly, it was a fun run.  And besides, I was getting involved with writing and corresponding with other authors for tips and help on how to negotiate with publishers.  Mr Trauffer, Mr. Ingram, the then editor of CQ magazine, all via the new media of the Internet, were opening new doors via eMail, weblogs, newsgroups and e-Zines.   

My articles were mostly human interest.  My goal was to involve un-involved family members in the hobby of Amateur Radio.  At some point I'll post a couple of my own articles, but for now, I want to share a classic project series originally published in the July 1978 issue of HRH, in the form of installments.  July '78 was the first installment of:  Bill Wildenhein, W8YFB's . . .

A Beginner's 50-Watt Rig.

 

 One of the things I appreciated about HRH was it's diverse art work.  I would have loved to been part of their graphics department.  Their cartoons were not highly stylized to the point of corniness. This duo-tone image is a very typical layout, quite cutting edge in 1978!

At the time of this publication, it was still possible to locate junked TV sets.  This new phenomena called the "Flea Market" was gaining momentum, and parts from old table top tube radios could be had for a few bucks.  In 1978, collector focus was on Victrolas and Gramophones.  Vintage Radio had very little traction amongst  collectors then.  Hams were dumping their big SP-600s for less than fifty bucks (my friend Ron, now KA4USN, then WD4NFU, picked up his in trade for a CB walkie talkie!!  It was pristine.)   I remember not being able to sell a well kept HQ-180 for forty-five dollars because I did not have the owner's manual!  Suffice to say, tube-oriented parts and what became known as "Boatanchors" were still out there for folks on the cheap, like me.  This had the effect of keeping Novices like me - in 1978 - pretty well stuck in the '40s and '50s.  Which, frankly, suited me just fine.

But change was in the wind.  We were witnessing the sunset of an era.

Bill's article was not just another "cook-book" article.  Here, following the HRH prime directive of education and equipping the young ham, he attempts to instruct the reader how to design this transmitter around available tubes/ valves.

Recall that in 1978, military surplus stores were still selling items like JAN (Joint Army Navy) 807s for a quarter, JAN 6L6GYs (the really really huge "S" envelope type) for about the same, 6AG7s went two for a quarter. Unused bakelite and phenolic octal sockets sold at five for a quarter. I bought a new-in-the-box BC453 for twelve dollars!  So the old war surplus market was still alive, but within a few years signs of depleting supplies would start to show.  At the time, a 150 watt B+ power transformer could still be had, new, for less than fifteen dollars.  Broadcast type 365 and 400 pF single, dual and triple ganged variable capacitors abounded. Chassis were still being sold at Lafayette Radio Electronics, and cabinets, new and used, were everywhere if one cared to look.  The world was still smiling on the tube homebrewer.

In this article formulas are given to compute voltage requirements based upon tube selection, and impedances which the final RF amplifier section requires for maximum power transfer based upon tube reference chart specs.  Examples of actual circuits are given, helping the builder perform his or her own calculations.

I wish all construction articles were written like this!!  If you click on the photo and look close, you will see dash-lined squares representing circuits built as a unit.  Modular construction!  This rig is built, progressively, one module at a time. Note that I posted these photos such that you can save them and enlarge them.

In 1978, very few people had a programmable calculator or personal computer, although all that would change soon.  Rather than be "math heavy", nomographs are used.  Easier to work with, they also just plain look friendlier - especially to new hams!  I prefer formulae because I can do modifications to them as needed but in 1978??  Gimmee a nomograph any day!!  Ken Cornell, in his Low and Medium Frequency Scrap-book, used the same thing, rather than going to the mathematics.

Today I use Excel and a few HTML calculators that I wrote in Javascript back when Sun Microsystems were first introducing it in the 90s.  This was, in turn, adapted from my still older "O-Henry" set of calculator algorithms written for the HP-86 computer in BASIC back in 1988.

As the builder progresses through this first installment, part 1, the author spends time going over a little theory regarding how the circuits work.  And why bypass caps are used, and how they shunt higher fequencies to ground, and why this minimizes TVI.  Also, why screen dropping resistors are inferior to a regulated screen voltage.

The how's and why's of amplifier neutralization are explained on this page.  Along with a good shot of the transmitter layout, which will be better described in the next installment, part 2, which was featured the following month, as it will be here as well.

A very well laid out parts list.  You could still order parts from JW Miller back in '78, and as well Allied and Arco!  Barker and Williamson coils could still be ordered like they could in the 1950s!  It was great to be a Novice in 1978!  Especially if you were a builder on a budget!

I couldn't help but chuckle when I saw Jan Crystals on this suppliers list. I ordered soooo many xtals from them!  The " Mighty Midget Receiver " project filter xtals came from there.  My grandmother lived right across the street and down the Tamiami trail from their factory on Crystal Drive, Ft. Meyers Florida.  They were Home Town folks!  Somewhere I still have some FT-243 xtals from Jan.  Look over this suppliers list and tell me your memory doesn't take you on a trip!  A couple are, of course, still around.  I think Whitehouse is still around, and I know Fair Radio is.  You might have to come up with a new supplier list, though, if you plan to build this rig!

I'll sign off with Bill's parting word of advice: "Don't be in a great rush to get the transmitter done . . .  you want to plan each move carefully, so that you'll have a unit that not only works will but also looks great in your station."

I love the old magazines.  And . . . some of the not-so-old!

de wd4nka.

"Operation QSL" : Letterpress QSL Cards for the Vintage Station.

I thought "Surely . . . surely, in this world of re-invested technology from the past, in a world where the ancient Letterpress has come to almost dominate the Wedding Announcement / High End business card / Premium Stationery market . . . surely someone out there is regularly addressing the Amateur Radio community with QSL cards that correspond with the vintage/ quality/ nostalgia factor that obviously drives the "Boat Anchor" crowd.

I am amazed at the multiple thousands of vintage radio dollars which are exchanged daily either over or via eBay or Craigs List or at Hamfests or via the various News groups, FaceBook pages and Pinterest!  I myself have quite an investment in Hammarlund, Drake and vintage Yaesu equipment, not to mention a  Homebrew code station built following lines of the late 1930s QST projects.  Yes, I'm in that mix, too.  Which is why I want QSL cards and stationery to reflect that!

I already waxed lyrical over the art and tradition of the QSL card in a prior post.  In this installment, I would like to share what WD4NKA, the Staff and the Management at Paper Wren Press ( which houses WD4NKA!) is planning to do to address the "Vintage Wireless Stationery Void", with any luck and a bit of support - which is to . . .

. . . Offer a humble selection of vintage Letterpress QSL cards!  At a price that may not cover all our costs, but one that is fairly competitive with current prices. Cards that reflect not only your vintage, lovingly restored or meticulously hand built rigs, but also the Era when your fifty to sixty-pound gems were the State of the Art!  

The Project:

In general, I culled about twenty five years of QSL designs from 1919, and on into the War Years.  I identified what I believe to be primary design elements, most of which are pretty obvious.  For one, almost all are either balanced in their appearance by symmetry or by what we called in photography "Rule of Thirds", which balances asymmetry.   Normally the call letters are a pronounced complimentary colour, and more often than not, red.  Basic QSL information corresponds to what most log books of the era called for.  Unless you were an ARRL member and had the "diamond" printed, there were very few extraneous logos tacked on, although there were a few.  Just not enough to rise to the level of standard design.

They looked official.  They did not look like travel post cards like many do today.  They were not glitzy.  They were, in fact, almost spartan, save for the Otto Eppers and Phil Gildersleeve cards that were actually limited edition art cards!  (We are also contemplating an Otto Eppers design, btw.  Maybe Robert Crumb, too!)  

For those who do follow this blog regularly and are unfamiliar with Letterpress, let me share with you a video I made some time ago, showing myself printing a Wedding Announcement:

This second video shows a little about the actual Letterpress itself.  This is actually a short documentary of the Kluge that Nick Sambrata and myself got working at Mama's Sauce printery, Winter Park FL.

Needless to say, these old Iron Horses are amazing animals, and carried the bulk of the printing needs of the Western World for over one hundred years.

The Designs:

Here are the three designs we will be working with Owosso Graphics, Owosso MI, to produce in hardwood mounted copper:

This one is for the NRR folks.  But the design can be modified as a "custom order".  These cards have a pre-printed black shell containing the telegraph key design, title, and qsl info, and the morse code "nrr" that serves as the top and bottom borders.  This card will be standard post card size, 3.5 x 5.5 inches. 

This card is much more traditional, and is largely lifted from about three different pre-depression era QSL cards.  This has the traditional spaces to record your transmitter, receiver, power output and antenna (aerial) data.  This one is for the Dyed in the Wool 1929 "Post Cairo" op who designs his or her rig from the ground up.  Not for sissies!  This card will be standard post card size, 3.5 x 5.5 inches.

This card is more mid- 1930-ish, although examples exist as late as the 1960s.  There has always been a following for this card design, it seems.  My actual examples came from cards that immediately preceded the WW2 ban.  But I have seen these used even when I was a Novice in 1977!  I guess that would mean it's a "timeless" design, for a Timeless Station.  What do you think?

In Summary:

There are a number of QSL printers out there that do great work at a fraction of the prices I am asking.  That is the whole point of modern printing!  To drive down prices, and they do, for sure!  But not without sacrificing that tactile dynamic that can only be made by direct impression of a die or plate against paper.  And engraved plate, or handset metal type produces an effect that two generations have grown up never knowing.  

 

Probably the best way to describe the difference between modern printing and the ancient contact printing modes might to consider a high quality photocopy of a Dollar Bill.  Not that I am suggesting do this, it's illegal.  But if you held that photocopy in one hand and a real dollar bill in the other, you would know instantly which was real.

That's what we're after here.  At about sixty-cents per card for 250 2-colour cards.  $150.00, with a 2-3 week turnaround time. 

 

Well, this is what has been keeping our creative juices flowing at the Print Shop at WD4NKA / Paper Wren Press.  Hoping to hear back from some of you.  Contact me via Face Book or at my email box at wd4nka@aim.com or paperwrenpress@gmail.com.

More will be posted as we make progress with this project. Once again, Wireless meets Letterpress.
 

vy 73, de wd4nka.

Resurrecting the Drake TR-3 and AC-3 Transceiver and Power Supply.(Part 2)

Having finished the AC-3 power supply, and upon being satisfied that it was operating to specifications, it was only natural to try it out.  I already had an idea of what would happen, but I plugged the supply up anyway, attached it to the TR-3 via the big Cinch Jones plug, ramped her up, and voil'a!  

Pop, snap, fizz.  And a mild aroma of ozone filled the air about me.

There is no doubt that the TR-3 was dead.  This must be distinctly understood, or nothing wonderful can come of the story I am going to relate. The relay would not key.  The lights would not illuminate.  Smoke whisked from the audio section.  Various sparks flew from the Vox and Anti-vox potentiometers.  Nary a sound made it's presence known through the headsets.  Not so much as a hum.  The TR-3 was as dead as a door nail.

Mind!  I don't mean to say that I know, of my own knowledge, what there is particularly dead about a door-nail.  I might have been inclined, myself, to regard a stripped cabinet screw as the deadest piece of ironmongery in the trade.  But the wisdom of our ancestors is in the simile; and my unhallowed hands shall not disturb it, or the Country's done for.  You will therefore permit me to repeat, emphatically, that the TR-3 was as dead as a door-nail.

Not being one to follow a straight line, even with coloured pencils and Magic Markers, I set about to do what most geeks like me do when we don't know what else to do: hunt down all the paper, moulded and electrolytic capacitors / condensers, identify their values and replace them.  And to be sure, this is Standard Operating Procedures.  It's not that these capacitor types might be bad, the are bad!  The results were to reveal that such was no more so than it was with the TR-3.

The truth is, there really are not that many to replace!  There are five paper caps and two electrolytics, almost all types the same value.  The papers were replaced by polymer and one orange dip, and the electrolytics were replaced by new electrolytics.

All of these caps are found on small upright phenol boards mounted either near the side of the radio where the control pots and jacks are (Vox, Anti-vox, Meter Zero, Mic, Headphone and Key jacks) - or center rear.  The paper caps are pretty obvious,  they are identical white tubular types, all 0.47 uF save for one, which is .01 uF.  The above photo shows their appearance and the boards they are mounted to...at least, in the early model TR-3s.

The ideal removal tool for these components is a small flush cutter.  The following describes the technique I used to replace them :  I cut them out by cutting their wires as close to the component itself as possible.  This leaves the two original wires soldered into place.  These wires will serve to mount the new component by providing something to solder to without disturbing the original solder.  I found over the years that things go a lot better if you avoid disturbing original terminal solder connects.  That is, if they are good solder connects!

Now, most of these boards can be removed, but go slow. If you can, keep a digital camera that can do micro-zoom handy.  Almost all of the inexpensive digital cameras like the Canon Power Shot will do nicely.  I recommend this because not only are these boards held in place by one or two bracket screws which must be removed, but they are also hard wired to adjoining circuitry at multiple points.  Most of these wires must be cut.  As you cut them, leave them in position so you can re-align them with the wires on the board when you re-install them. 

 

As you can see from this example, the vertical board is held in place by two angle brackets screwed to the chassis, and is also soldered into place by 20-gauge bus wire, plus insulated wire leads.  These insulated wires are not necessarily colour coded, so be observant!  Take good notes, perhaps do a drawing, or best, take a photo.  Digital camera technology is your friend here!  Digital Cameras are part of my restoration tool-box.

 Be sure to photograph, or at least make notes on the wire attachment to each side of these boards!  There will be bus wire cuts, insulated wire cuts and component (resistor/ ceramic disc capacitor) cuts that will need to be re-attached.  I might add that there were two boards whereas I found  I could leave the wires intact, requiring that I simply remove the bracket screws and lift the board a bit.  All I need to do is snip the cap out and have sufficient room to re-solder a replacement component into place.

I wanted to show this photo.  The smoke I mentioned earlier came from this 3.3k half watt resistor which bridges these two component boards.  There was an associated ceramic disc capacitor on the other side of the board, a small bypass cap, that had shorted, creating a path to ground that permitted too much current for this resistor.  In these tube type Drakes, you want to be mindful that they create a lot of heat in confined areas where ventilation is limited.  Many owners will mount muffin fans on the cabinets to force additional air exchange, which isn't a bad idea!

Convention almost implies that we be mindful only of replacing Paper, Moulded and Electrolytic caps. The tendency (and often read written opinion) is to leave the ceramics and silver micas alone.  I say look at everything!  There IS no hallowed component.  They are ALL prone to failure with age.  It doesn't mean you go out replacing all the caps, but don't assume all ceramics and micas are innocent or somehow unaffected by age, time, and heat.  Pay attention to any associated resistors.  A brown or discoloured resistor is your clue to higher currents, which may be due to either a value change in that resistor due to age, or a high current short nearby - normally a cap.  And, beware of strictly going by continuity checks alone.  Most of the shorted caps in my experience showed open continuity on a VOM.  However under high voltages and operating currents, these opens will close!  As such, do not be in a hurry, and keep your variac handy.

 BTW, I replaced that 3.3k resistor three times until I figured out what was going on.

The technique employed here involves the use of Squigs, or "Pig Tails" as we used to call them.  I already made a blog entry about the use of these items.  At one time you could buy them, but these days, I make them from 22 gauge tinned bus.  For details, visit my corresponding blog entry "Resurrecting a Drake TR-3: Pigtails!"

Here is a shot below deck showing the replacement caps having been "squigged" into place utilizing the original wires that were left soldered to their terminal points. You may have to click on the photo to get a good look at these solder connections.  Note the rear boards are not yet bolted down. I was still in the process of squigging their connections back together.

Touching on other things that were going on besides the circuit work, I pulled every tube/ valve, every crystal, one by one and gave them a thorough bath of DeOxit.  You can see the bottle in the photo with the hypodermic cap.  Relays, sockets, any place where metal contacts metal is treated to a liberal dose of DeOxit.

The white metal covers that cover the mA meters and the planetary dial were removed, sanded, repainted with white semi gloss, and replaced.  Possibly a better choice may have been flat white.  But no matter, the blue dial filter (acetate) diffuses any light bouncing around behind the dial.  Make sure there is electrical contact with the slide-on light bulb sockets. Those areas might be best sanded to ensure grounded contact with the bulb holders both for the dial and the mA meters.

Accompanying these activities was the treatment of the cabinet.  The cabinet was awful.  The TR-series Drakes use a clam-shell cabinet which is held in place by twelve machine screws - six for the top, and six for the bottom.

I opted to do the wrinkle finish on the top, and use flat black for the bottom, just to provide an interesting visual break.  I did the same combination when restoring an enlarger, and it was quite attractive!  To read more about how handle wrinkle finish treatments, refer to my prior entry concerning the rebuilding of the AC-3 Power Supply. 

It takes about twenty four hours for the wrinkles to "set" to the point where the cabinet sections can be safely handled. As such, a lot of patience is required. This patience is amply rewarded once the project is completed!  I think Drake should have used Wrinkle Finish too. Again, just my opinion.  I have a lot of those.

Here is another view of the cabinet, under natural light.  All sides wrinkled very nicely owing to the even distribution of heat due in large part to the ventilation holes.

Wrinkle Finish is like a letterpress printed piece.  You have to behold it up close and touch it to really appreciate it.  Wrinkle Finish provides a very robust, tactile surface that engages not only the eyes, but the sense of touch.  This is why I especially like to use it, when appropriate. 

Up to this point we are finished with the circuitry, we finished  the de-oxidation, we finished painting the inside and outside metal work, we also replaced the feet.  What next?  Why....fire her up!

I loaded her into a 60 watt bulb to see if there was anything like output.  And yes!  As it turns out, she is willing to yield about 100 watts cw, and later when I tested her on SSB, about 120-150 watts on voice peaks.  Her finals are old, but are themselves, replacements.  I suspect they were replaced sometime in the 1980s.  I have the originals, where are blown, with cracked glass. 

Here she is, all buttoned up and ready to be parked next to the 2B.  My intention from the start was to use the TR-3 as (gasp!) a cw transmitter!  This was because I had no idea that she would ever speak with a voice again!  She performs marvelously in this capacity!  Flipping her over to cw position, she immediately emits a very weak signal perfect for spotting.  Since this is in transmit mode and the changeover relay is already in transmit position, I can start sending immediately.  When I switch back to the 2B and switch out of the cw position, the spotting signal ceases.  Having grown up with home-brew transmitters and separate receivers and never owning an RF activated ATU in my life, I am used to flipping switches between transmit and receive.  Part of what geeks do!  I did the same with that Gonset shown in the video and one of the photos  which . . . is no longer there as of this writing.  It is now comfy in it's new home at AF4Ks shack.  The Drake is now filling her shoes, and quite nicely so!

A few things still need to be done with the TR-3.  I need to re-wire the filament voltage to the mA meter and dial housing pilot lamps.  The sideband selection switch lights are, however, working fine.  The mic gain is a bit crackly, that will be ultimately replaced. I would like eventually to find a new face plate, too. The TR-3 is, however, dead on frequency.  The power supply is running smoothly.  I do wish to, eventually, replace both mA meters.  It is not uncommon for the d'Arsonval movements to become magnetically gaussed and sticking.  I have to tap the S-meter to break it loose from it's internal magnetic charge.  The rig's mA meter simply isn't working.  All tuning is done using the metering on my Dentron MT-3000A.  But again, I am used to meter-less rigs.  

So, there she is.  But the story isn't over.  What about phone?  

I had thought to let that go.  But curiosity got the best of me.  I did not have the proper plug for the mic jack,  and honestly, I was tired of having to mail order everything.  Our local MilSurp store which used to have bins of these connects had none.  But since I was there, I purchased a 1/4" jack, and retrofitted the original.  Of course, I am keeping the original to replace when the time comes.  But at least I was able to wire up the Shure 444 mic and give her a spin.

And spin it did!  Wow!  ....and talk about great reports!  As of this writing I have worked quite a number of stations under sorry band conditions, all on forty meters, and all say the same thing : the voice "punches" through!  AF4K reports that this TR-3 is a "DX-machine!"   Signal reports aren't bad, either.  As I said, I am seeing 125 - 150 watts on voice peaks.  That's low for these rigs, but the tubes are old, too.  

Hey!  So long as nothing smokes!

The receiver is awesome.  I suspect the passband to be around 2kc.  Upper and lower sideband filters are performing fine.  I might address the carrier null, but it is fine as it is.  Just a wee bit of carrier heard through the HQ-170.

So, there you have it.  The "Resurrection" of a TR-3.  Satisfaction level from 1 - 10: 12.  She is QRO and Go, both SSB and CW.   What about AM?  Well . . . that's for another installment.  My coffee is getting cold.

vy 73 es God bless u es urs!

de wd4nka

(BTW: I published this soon as I was done with only cursory proof reading.  If you find blatant, glaring grammatical or factual errors, check back again.  I proof read these after publication and edit them over time  because, well, that's me, I guess.)

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Resurrecting the Drake TR-3 and AC-3 Transceiver and Power Supply.

When I was gifted by an elderly ham friend with a few parcels from his ham shack, the focus was on a Kenwood TS-420, a Dentron MS3000A and two Ham-M rotors with control boxes.  Almost incidentally tossed in was a rather neglected, somewhat dirty  Drake TR-3, and not far in the storage area where it was kept (incidentally  NOT where the other items were kept!) I found it's equally dirty power supply, the AC-3.

The storage area was the corner of a garage attached to a mobile home.  You from Florida might have an accurate picture what I mean by that.  No climate control, constant 90-100 degree heat 10 months out of the year, no climate control, and lots of crawly things.  Well . . . it wasn't quite that bad, no crawly things, but the lack of climate control was evident.  This poor Drake probably had not seen air conditioning since the 1980s!

Early Drake radios used a copper clad chassis which looks awesome when new.  Get some age and the copper stains become very evident.  Oxidation is a no-brainer.  Fortunately the chassis are heavy enough to maintain their integrity over the years, in this case, fifty of those years.  I would say this radio was decommissioned and set out to pasture about twenty  to twenty five years ago.  It had been re-tubed sometime in the 1980s, from what I might tell.  The original finals and drivers - in fact ALL the original tubes - were boxed in the boxes of the tubes which replaced them.  You can tell an original Drake valve, or tube: Sylvania.

At some point I decided to attempt to resurrect the AC-3 and the TR-3.  I figured that while I more than likely will not "restore" it, I may be able to resurrect it, for use, perhaps, as a cw transmitter to pair off with my Drake 2B.  It was worth a shot, anyway.

The first object of my attention would be the power supply.  It was an obvious disaster just looking at the electrolytics.  So the first thing I did was search and download any image I could find that might show what the below-deck wiring should at least look like.  Sure enough, Google Images turned up the perfect photo.

I had already determined that this was going to be a rebuild from parts that I either already have, or could easily procure.  There are, of course, rebuild kits for these power supplies, but the AC-3 kit is the most expensive, and requires a bit of body-work to mount.  The manufacture of these kits obviously favour the AC-4 supply, which is a direct bolt-on device with a price tag twenty dollars less!!   If I was going to have to take my tools out, then I'm gonna do it all the way, "Old School" style.  Besides, I had, actually, small hope that this project would actually be successful, but I had to try.

The transformer tested good as far as voltage went.  I expected more from the secondaries at first, but then I recalled that this was an era of Sweep Tubes and voltage doubler supplies.  So, I located a schematic to verify.  (Read: I pulled my TR-4 / AC-4 manual and schematic that I already had. There are essentially no electrical differences between the AC-3 and the AC-4)

Looking over the supply schematic, I noted that the electrolytic filter caps did not show polarity.  This wasn't a problem . . . . until I looked over the negative bias supply.  Then it dawned upon me that I only read about bias supplies, I never actually handled one with my own hands.  I might guess the filter caps have grounded positive terms, but was I missing something?   After a lot of verification I found that indeed they do mount in reverse.   And, if you look closely at the schematic symbol, the caps DO show polarity.  The symbol has two parallel lines, of course, however one is straight, the other is slightly curved.  This is consistent with the traditional printed condenser/ capacitor schematics, historically.  The curved line represents the ground side, in the case of polarized caps.  And indeed, the bias supply caps have the curved line on the top, consistent with the negative bus.  All this may seem logical and inanely elementary.  But I get like that sometimes.  Ever look at a simple word long enough and it starts looking weird?   Like it isn't spellt correctly?  Yeah, as a letterpress printer, that happens to me, too.   

 . . .Sigh . . .

Ok, so I literally gut the whole chassis, remove the transformer, caps, strip it down entirely.  Now, what to do about the caps?  There are five gaping holes in the chassis.  I would like to keep a vestige of the original "look", I already knew this project was not going to be a restoration.  It was going to be a resurrection.

Early in the game, back when I was a Novice, I was in love with gear from the 1920s and 1930s.  And back in the 1970s, there was a lot of it around.  A lot could be had cheaply, too.  Back in the 70s, the big focus was on restoring Victrolas and Gramaphones, not vintage Radios.  I was a lone wolf, or so it seemed. I learnt then that everything looks better in Black Wrinkle Finish!  Yes.  And I still feel that way.  It handles heat better than any other paint (in my humble opinion) and it covers a multiple of ills.  And it looks right crack!  (very nice.  Professional.  Sanitary.  Choose your American adjective.).  

When I first painted this chassis, which had to be done in stages  (one side at a time, and the top separately), the first thoughts of ultimate success - in some manner - began to germinate in my small mind.  Wrinkle finish paint does this, Brethren!!  It inspires success!

You can get Wrinkle Finish at many Automotive supply stores.  I got mine at Auto Zone.  It's not the cheapest can of paint on the block.  Here is my technique:

First, understand that this paint was not intended to be sprayed on primer.  It's a bare metal application.  We used this on exhaust headers back when I did motorcycles, it goes directly on valve covers, and parts that get very, very hot.  You spray it directly on the metal cold, then heat it with a heat gun.  This means that you have to do small areas at a time.  For radio cabinets and chassis, I spray one side well.  Don't spray too thick, but don't spray too thinly.  A generous coating is fine.  I do not mask off the side I am not spraying : overspray isn't a problem.

I take the piece inside the shop and begin to use forced hot air on the spray painted side.  I move the heat gun back and forth, for usually about fifteen minutes, and after a while one corner will begin to wrinkle,  You can see it in the reflected light.  Then that wrinkle will spread across the painted surface to the other side.  It's fun, actually, to watch this phenomena.   You can control areas that have less wrinkle that other areas by focusing the heat on that side.  It takes a bit to develop the touch, but after a while a feel is developed.  After you achieve the level of wrinkle that suites, the process is repeated for another side.  Again, over-spray isn't really a problem because the wrinkle dynamic hides any overlap.  After a while I found that Wrinkle finish painting can be a very intuitive and individual process.  Almost an expression, an art.  Wow.  Making an artistic statement with your transmitter.  Imagine.

In the meantime, I tested the voltages present on the transformer windings.  When I took the AC-3 apart, I tagged all the wires, but good to double check, anyway.  The HV and the LV windings checked at 280 and 125vac respectively.  Both of these windings see voltage doublers with an output of 650 and 250vdc.  The bias supply checked in at 65vac and the filament winding at 10vac.

The caps were all bad and the diodes were questionable.  I replaced them all with 1000v piv silicone diodes, my standard go-to power supply diodes.  As for the caps, I purchased several 100uF/ 450v filter caps.  These were used either singly or in series (in the case of the HV line) with their original equalizing resistors across them.  Since I had these large holes in the chassis which originally facilitated the original wafer sockets which held the above deck filter caps, the decision was made to utilize these holes, as already mentioned. To accomplish this, I used a combination of cardboard tubing painted black, black plastic 35mm film canisters, wrinkle-finish painted pill vials and a hot glue gun..

I began to rebuild the cap that would filter the 650vdc "Hi Voltage" line.  Using a 1.25" diameter cardboard tube, I cut a base from phenal to become the mounting platform for the cap's internal structure.  The photo above gives you a pretty good idea how it came together.

A close-up of the series junction.  The junction between the caps is tapped as a voltage doubler. Black electricians tape cover the two 1-watt resistors.

The wires are all fed through the bottom disk which I just sawed and cut to fit the bottom of the cardboard tube.

Another veiw of the base showing how the wiring is arranged at the bottom.  The red wire is the HV bus, the yellow is for the center tap.  The uninsulated bus is for grounding.

After the tube is slid over the caps, it is sealed to the original wafer that held the original filter cap, with Hot Glue. When the glue cools, the wires are held in position, and when this happens, the series soldered caps in the cardboard tube are braced and held firmly in place.

The larger of the three filter caps is the HV filter cap we just described above.  The smaller two are filters for the LV voltage doubler, only these are housing only one cap.  The covering for these smaller caps are 1.25" diameter pill vials.

The bias supply needed filters too, so we used the remaining two holes on the chassis to mount yet another pair of filter caps.  These were covered by black plastic 35mm film canisters.  The mounting bases are the caps for these canisters. 

Note that I did not paint the rear apron of the chassis?  That was so to preserve the original printing on the rear deck.

I opted for point - to - point hard-wiring, not only to preserve the original "look", but also because this resurrection was going to be accomplished using parts on hand or parts easy to procure.  As it was, I used the original equalizing resistors, I merely supplied all the caps and new terminal strips and diodes.

The re-built caps now mounted, the transformer in place, the wiring under-deck being complete, I now add the rest of the hardware, the bias adjusting pot, and the cabling.  Once finished, another round of voltage checking and smoke testing was undertaken to make sure that the Drake TR-3 had every good chance of having proper operating voltages applied.

. . . and here she is, the completed AC-3 in her new make-over, dressed in wrinkle finish black, sporting new caps, new diodes, fuse and fuse holder, original bias pot, transformer and cables. Total cost to me was under thirty dollars.  Thirty "year 2015" dollars.  Not too bad, I might add.  A decent "junque box", a few runs to the military surplus store (Skycraft, Orlando FL) and a sprinkling of creativity, and she's ready to roll with all voltages checking to manual specification.

Stay tuned for the next installment: Resurrecting the TR-3!

de wd4nka

Resurrecting a Drake TR-3: Pigtails!

This was something I found once in a parts drawer at a TV Repair Shop in Altamonte Springs, Florida back in the early early seventies.  A friend of mine worked there. (His prior job was designing Monsanto's 'Circle Vision' projection screen exhibit at Walt Disney World!  His other love, aside from repairing tube-type TVs was being the projectionist at the Prairie Lake Drive In, right off Hwy 17-92!  Can you dig that?  Einstein with a Soldering Gun.  His name was Jim . . . .)

Where was I? 

Ok. In that parts drawer lay several very small, tightly wound coils of what looked like 22g wire.  They were tinned.  Jim called them "pig-tails".  Their use?  To solder together two pieces of wire, of course!  

I cannot tell you the mountain of frustration I climb whenever I have to get into tight spaces with a soldering gun, and when you mess with point to point wiring in some of these older rigs, you need a hefty soldering pencil.  Why is it that the one thing that has to be pulled is always a multi-point solder in a tight corner that either requires a complete dis-assembly or a very dangerous de-soldering?  You can't get a braid in there, and forget the solder sucker.  I never liked the sucker anyway.  The braid isn't bad . . . but you need a fairly open area.  Both are unwieldy,  IMHO.

TV repair guys were in tight spots all the time.  These little pig-tails saved them a lot of time (and mess).  "Pig-Tails" are not generally available these days, so I began making my own.  I thought I might share how I do these little items, and if you are new to this sort of thing, I'll also include a few shots of an actual repair I made on my last project, the AC-3 power supply rebuild for a Drake TR-3. 

Here goes:

First, I picked up a spool of 22 gauge tinned bus wire.  Next, I went to Hobby Lobby and got a pair of very small double-round needle nose snipes, the kind that florists use to make tight little loops in . . . whatever it is they make tight little loops with . . . 

Holding the wire at the very, very tip of one jaw of the snipe, I twist the wire in such a way as to make a look about the holding "jaw", and then slide that loop up one layer for the next loop.  I always make the loops at the very tip of the snipe jaws to make the smallest possible aperture. If I want a larger diametre hole, then I will wind the looks further down the snipe jaw.

See how the resulting 'pig tail' progresses up as I wind each loop, or "pi"?  You can wind them as long as you wish, and as wide as you wish.  See how the snipe jaws are conical?  The lower you wind, the wider the diametre.  I usually wind mine such that the two wires that I am joining together might have a little overlap room.  When the loop is finished, simply cut it off.  You can also leave a little stub of wire available to hold the pig-tale in place if you are in a tight enough spot.  This can be handy because you have to slide the pigtail over one wire, and guide the other wire through the pig-tail from the other side.  In a tight spot, it might be handy to have a length of pig-tail wire available for a "third hand" jig to hold, leaving both your hands free.  I rarely have to do this, but just an idea.

So,  how do we use a pig-tail?  Well, let's take a look: the above repair was the result of a mis-wired filter cap.  See the limited length of wire I had to work with?  That multi-point solder would have been a disaster to desolder.  Better to keep the original solders . . . if they are good solders . . . alone.  So, in this case, I will pig-tail that length of red insulated wire to that center ground wire from the potted cap you seed there.  (It's not really potted, I made that cap.  It's a re-built paper cap, I use hot-glue to set the bottom and hold the exiting wires in place.  They do not get hot.)  BTW, this is a filter cap for the AC-3 negative bias supply.  I had to flip the polarity, dumb me.

There you go.  The pig-tail you saw on the snipes is being used here.  Pretty obvious what is happening here.  The two wires meet and slightly overlap.  All that is needed is a touch of solder.  Remember, the wire used for the pig-tail is already pre-tinned, so solder flows readily, affecting a very solid connection with a minimum of heat exposure to the surrounding components.  In this case, I will do what Drake always seemed to do:  use very little insulation if buses carrying high voltages are far enough to not be in danger of touching another wire or ground.  Flip over a TR-3 or TR-4 sometime, and look at the sparsity if insulation used!  But then, heck, I remember a time when house wiring was bare, too.  That's why you wanna watch your head when crawling around the attic of a house that was built much before 1940!  Bare wire and stand-off insulators!

Solder applied.  A good solid connect.  The only thing I might add to this narrative is that if you are so inclined, dear reader, you might locate some heat shrink tubing if you have a fear of cross connections with another, nearby bus.  You can find small diametre heat shrink tubing at "Just Radios".  I usually find my replacement caps here, too.  Read their hints and tips page regarding cap replacement!

Just in case you were curious where we were doing this solder connection, let's step back and get a wider panorama.  There it is, upside down AC-3, my "Third Hand" jug, and my 30-watt soldering pencil that dates back to the days of Lafayette Radio Electronics.  Yup, it's about forty years old.  Still kicking.

Ok, gang, that's it!  My little "Tip Of the Day".  Nothing new, but it may be new to some of you.

As I progress on the TR-3 Restoration, I will post here.  There will also be some totally unassociated Letterpress stuff coming up, too.  I have four new dies coming in!

Stay tuned!   de wd4nka.