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Radio

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All the old Eddystone, Racal and other similar items are much sort out by aficionados as are the 'bottles' that are part of them. Some years ago I sold, at rallies, those sort of things to make space for newer items. Regarding cost of nerwe products, well, I have an old adage' there's no pockets in shrouds'! :D
 
Radiorails said:
All the old Eddystone, Racal and other similar items are much sort out by aficionados as are the 'bottles' that are part of them. Some years ago I sold, at rallies, those sort of things to make space for newer items. Regarding cost of nerwe products, well, I have an old adage' there's no pockets in shrouds'! :D
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alan i had one out of a Hercules bomber for years. then i bought a yaesu
 
When I came of the RAF in 1957 I had about 300 (mainly B7G) bottles that I'd taken home at weekends and added loads of EF50s & similar items out of the government surplus stuff I had bought. When I moved south in 1961 I had to get rid of them and gave most of them away to friends - in those days you could still buy them for a bob each or 1 / 3d and the semiconductor age was already with us. Now they're around three quid each and made in Russia - that's if you've got much use for them!

Maurice :cool:
 
sospiri said:
When I came of the RAF in 1957 I had about 300 (mainly B7G) bottles that I'd taken home at weekends and added loads of EF50s & similar items out of the government surplus stuff I had bought. When I moved south in 1961 I had to get rid of them and gave most of them away to friends - in those days you could still buy them for a bob each or 1 / 3d and the semiconductor age was already with us. Now they're around three quid each and made in Russia - that's if you've got much use for them!

Maurice :cool:
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B7G was that a mini valve holder?..... i have SEEN EF50 at rallys for a lot more than.£31577981587287.png
 
B7G was used for things like 6C4 triodes, EF91 & EF92 pentodes and the battery portables like 1T4, Pete. EF50s used a B9G base. I know I should have hung onto them, but you can only transport so much gear about. When I lived in Bournemouth my middle son (an avionics engeer at that time) had crammed my garage with all sorts of aircraft bits - I could not get in there. When my youngest son bought the house, his first job was to take it all down to the tip becauise his elder brother had nowhere to store it! The middle son now has loads of recording studio equpiment stored in a commercial store on which he is paying £150 a month. Crazy!

Maurice :cool:
 
sospiri said:
B7G was used for things like 6C4 triodes, EF91 & EF92 pentodes and the battery portables like 1T4, Pete. EF50s used a B9G base. I know I should have hung onto them, but you can only transport so much gear about. When I lived in Bournemouth my middle son (an avionics engineer at that time) had crammed my garage with all sorts of aircraft bits - I could not get in there. When my youngest son bought the house, his first job was to take it all down to the tip because his elder brother had nowhere to store it! The middle son now has loads of recording studio equipment stored in a commercial store on which he is paying £150 a month. Crazy!.

Maurice :cool:1577984688149.png
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i have a battery lift up lid radio in my loft. always wanted a akai recorder.
 
The red EF50 reminds me of the 'Viewmaster' TV made by my dad. He modified it so that it could be used as a radio during the day, (TV didn't start up until the early evening). He was quite pleased with that modification because when you switched to the TV position it was almost 'instant start' as most of the valves were already warmed up. (I think we have gone backwards with digital tuners, they must be slower to 'warm up' than the old valve sets!)
 
I remember seeing them in Ireland, Police and some army units had them, pretty useless, as I remember, no good in the Divis Flats, or any high rise, or mountain area's. Paul Ref#249
 
Hi Pete,

That Wessie brings back some memories, although I never had one.
But I did have a load of AM10 Cambridges, one I converted to 2 metres FM,
and another to a receiver for VHF airband - I think the rest were broken up for
spares or sold.

Incidentally, for anyone who likes Sailing By, if you have a short wave receiver,
the Netherlands Coastguard broadcasts the forecast for the North Sea twice a day
at 0940 and 2140 UTC in English followed by Dutch. Frequency is 3673kHz (80M band),
and mode is upper sideband.

Kind regards
Dave
 
paul stacey said:
I remember seeing them in Ireland, Police and some army units had them, pretty useless, as I remember, no good in the Divis Flats, or any high rise, or mountain area's. Paul Ref#249
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true they were useless. Back to back unless they went through a repeater to boosed them. or a talk through unit.
most utilities. the gas,water electric.AA. RAC. the emergency services had them as well. They were reliable but very bulky.
 
Pedrocut said:
From the Autumn 2020 Garden Thread. Do any old radio chaps have trouble with sunspots ?

In the Garden 2020

hope so pete...will keep an eye out for him lyn
birminghamhistory.co.uk
https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct...propagation/&usg=AOvVaw2QYwuJZnS2xDnsw5OvqFhb
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shure do,and "less of the old":grinning:

HF Radio Propagation and Sunspots »
Sunspots and Propagation | Ham Radio School.com

Flares and CMEs can send enormous amounts of energy and charged particles hurtling into collision with the Earth's atmosphere, where they can cause magnetic storms that disrupt or alter radio and cell phone communication and can wreak havoc with electrical grids. ... ...............:grinning:nuff said or i will be a geek
 
Hi,

Anyone buying EF50s these days would probably only want them as spares for
a piece of equipment that used them, rather than building something new.
I think these days you would probably havea task trying to find the B9G bases too.

Incidentally, for those who have never had one apart, they are not a metal valve
like the black American Octals, they are glass valves with a metal screen.

Kind regards
Dave G0ELJ
 
Dave89 said:
Hi,

Anyone buying EF50s these days would probably only want them as spares for
a piece of equipment that used them, rather than building something new.
I think these days you would probably havea task trying to find the B9G bases too.

Incidentally, for those who have never had one apart, they are not a metal valve
like the black American Octals, they are glass valves with a metal screen.

Kind regards
Dave G0ELJ
Click to expand...

I've sold a few valves with one of the electrical wholesalers I worked for early 70's that was. Ones I remember being PCL 805/85, EF, DY, Transistors BF etc
 
Dave89 said:
Hi,

Anyone buying EF50s these days would probably only want them as spares for
a piece of equipment that used them, rather than building something new.
I think these days you would probably havea task trying to find the B9G bases too.

Incidentally, for those who have never had one apart, they are not a metal valve
like the black American Octals, they are glass valves with a metal screen.

Kind regards
Dave G0ELJ
Click to expand...
thanks. om. your rts is 5/9. hi .de pete gw7/mw0
 
sospiri said:
There are m,any like that, Dave, with their free conversations to a full licence.

Maurice :cool:
Click to expand...

Hi Maurice,

In my case I seem to have a mental block at about 15wpm, and I am at the
moment having a final go at improving with the very able assistance of the
radio community here in Norfolk. Fingers crossed!

Kind regards
Dave
 
Dave89 said:
Hi Maurice,

In my case I seem to have a mental block at about 15wpm, and I am at the
moment having a final go at improving with the very able assistance of the
radio community here in Norfolk. Fingers crossed!

Kind regards
Dave
Click to expand...

I learned morse aged 11 when I moved in with my step father (now silent key) and he said the best way to learn is to listen, turn your radio on, leave morse on in the background and do something else, read a book or something. One day you'll be sitting there listening and "a switch will flick in your brain" and all of a sudden you understand the code...thats exactly what happened with me; it really is a case of putting in the hours of letting your brain associate the sounds with words/letters. The hardest part for me was learning the 'text speak' hams use.

I had a break from ham radio lasting forty years between age 20 and 60 when I retired and took up the hobby again. It took a while to get my speed back up to scratch. These days I'm a happy CW QRPer and get a kick out of DX on a few Watts.

Setup shop/shack in the garden shed back in May, running a little Chinese SDR rig (Xiegu G90) through a G5RV and X-80 vertical and its great fun. When the loft conversion is finally finished the loft will be my shack and I'll rig up with something like an ic-7300 which seems a firm favourite with hams these days and the G90 will be my mobile rig...its the best £400 I've spent in years, superb value for money.

Keep listening, keep safe and 73.
 
richardinwales said:
I learned morse aged 11 when I moved in with my step father G5IW (now silent key) and he said the best way to learn is to listen, turn your radio on, leave morse on in the background and do something else, read a book or something. One day you'll be sitting there listening and "a switch will flick in your brain" and all of a sudden you understand the code...thats exactly what happened with me; it really is a case of putting in the hours of letting your brain associate the sounds with words/letters. The hardest part for me was learning the 'text speak' hams use.

I had a break from ham radio lasting forty years between age 20 and 60 when I retired and took up the hobby again. It took a while to get my speed back up to scratch. These days I'm a happy CW QRPer and get a kick out of DX on a few Watts.

Setup shop/shack in the garden shed back in May, running a little Chinese SDR rig (Xiegu G90) through a G5RV and X-80 vertical and its great fun. When the loft conversion is finally finished the loft will be my shack and I'll rig up with something like an ic-7300 which seems a firm favourite with hams these days and the G90 will be my mobile rig...its the best £400 I've spent in years, superb value for money.

Keep listening, keep safe and 73.
Click to expand...
i have loads of fun with a BaoFeng BF-F8 :grinning: a very usefull handy.73
 
Learning morse is like riding a bike, once you have mastered it you never forget. I was aircrew wireless operator for 8 years in the RAF 1948 - 56 but because of a weak eye was 'grounded' for the last 12 months and worked in a signal centre at Bletchley where we took messages down on a typewriter at 25 wpm (about 18 wpm during my flying days) I doubt if I could do that speed now. Incidentally if you were a w/op in the RAF you could apply for your 'Ham' licence without taking the test Eric
 
mw0njm. said:
i have loads of fun with a BaoFeng BF-F8 :grinning: a very usefull handy.73
Click to expand...

I've got a the earlier one U5RV IIRC and that works well, lets me into a couple of repeaters but to be honest 2m is dead round here.

On the Xiegu G90 I've been playing with CAT control/FT8 digital and thats a bit of fun. My shed has served me well, started off running off a battery but put power in there for the rig and a heater but I am looking forward to the loft being finished. It would have been done by now but covid etc coming along put a stop on the works so I'm looking at end of March/April now. Its a good hobby, cheaper than golf ;)
 
richardinwales said:
I've got a the earlier one U5RV IIRC and that works well, lets me into a couple of repeaters but to be honest 2m is dead round here.

On the Xiegu G90 I've been playing with CAT control/FT8 digital and thats a bit of fun. My shed has served me well, started off running off a battery but put power in there for the rig and a heater but I am looking forward to the loft being finished. It would have been done by now but covid etc coming along put a stop on the works so I'm looking at end of March/April now. Its a good hobby, cheaper than golf ;)
Click to expand...
and her 2m has had it. i use 70cms. and hf. uhf 446. i have a marine license as well.. my 570dge has done me well, i bought a blackbox yaesu 897,that is good. the kenwood 2000 was poo so i sent it back,it was deafer than i am lol. 73 de pete
 
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