Thanks again Alan for a great series on the 2-B; gonna have to pull mine out and follow along as required. One comment from a old "...one hand behind the back" type - as much as we hate taking our wedding bands off, we may want to think about doing that when digging into our boatanchor rigs; don't remember getting bit by a transistor but tubes, yeah, that's a different story (found myself on the other side of the high school electronics lab after getting hold of the 400VDC plate supply of my homebrew Novice rig back in the dark ages!). 73 - Dino KL0S
+Dino Papas I remember watching my dad working on an old tube CRT TV when I was a kid, and he made a mistake. The electricity picked him up off of his stool and threw him back in the air into the wall. He took a break for a while.
+Dino Papas I hit my wedding band across a guitar transistor amplifier power supply line. While I didn't get shocked, I did get blinded for a minute and blew a notch in the golden ring. Yea, hand behind the back - ring in pocket.
+Robert Calk Jr. Buddy, that surely made a deep impression on you as a boy. That's as close to mythical as it gets: an unseen but respected force throws one's father across a room. My shock was from a staticky roofmount vertical. It was arcing and snapping, and I got close enough to become that arc's new special friend. I too, took a break for a while.
Nice demonstration. I found it useful to follow while aligning my own Drake 2B using the manual. Seeing the adjustment points being accessed made things easier. -- Nick, WA5BDU
Great series! Tnx. My 2B will arrive on Friday. I have the Garey Burrell, K4OAH (SK), CD on the 2B with all the very clean photos and parts labeled. Between that CD and your series I am confident that any problems with that 2B can be resolved. Vy 73 Rich K7SZ
Great series! I found it very informative. There is a chance that I will buy a Drake 2-B from the estate of a local ham later this spring, I hope. 73 Paul AA1SU
Great tutorial! you made this Very easy to understand . Please do a National 183D if you get the opportunity. I have not found a decent video on that one yet. Thanks for sharing
Great! You got your 10 meter band now! And you did it without a single zorch! BTW...... I don't have any of the super special test equipment Drake used either! lol RW
Great video. I’ll point out that you didn’t say what the amplitudes were of the injected signals. Lots of other good details like pointing out the thru terminator, DC blocking cap, but not test signal amplitudes. An experienced tech knows, but not the newbs. Might want to leave a comment about that or how to select the general test signal levels based on the alignment task.
I find it amazing at just how stable these old tube units are considering the technology. This is a great "how to" video for any one wanting to know the overview of aligning a radio. Have you ever had the opportunity to operated an older regenerative receiver? I've not, but I look forward to doing so.
+bain5872 Some of the old tube rigs are stable, some aren't. The old Swan rigs were notorious drifters. I listened to this 2B for a few hours, and rarely had to retune any stations due to drift - amazing for 50 year old technology (and parts). I played with a regen receiver years ago, but not recently. I am thinking about building one of the ones that was on +AA7EE blog.
***** Thanks for that tid bit of info about the Swan. Being I'm a seasoned newb to radio, I have very limited knowledge about the different brands and their history, something I intend to correct. I'm learning radio, with your help of course. I too, am preparing to build a regenerative receiver. I've been procrastinating! I do hope you plan on posting it? If so, I'm sure there is some details of your build I could steal from you. LOL!
+bain5872 Well - it's on my "to-do" list, but who knows when i'll get to it. You might get yours done before I do mine. If you haven't seen AA7EEs blog on the regen, I highly recommend it.
Same here. Yes, I had intended to visit AA7EE's blog from your previous post and I will do so. Thanks for steering me to it. I look for to your videos and thanks for sharing,
+bain5872 I've built a couple of regens and it's pretty amazing how sensitive they can be; selectivity, not so much but hey, when you're talking about such a simple circuit they're pretty cool.
I'll be honest with you. I am versed in audio engineering at a fairly detailed (but intermediate) level. I still have troubles understanding the underlying concepts to receiver (and transmitter) alignment and setup. Knowing when to zero beat and when to tune for maximum amplitude. Audio people understand filters--in the audio realm. I would love to see an "Amateur Radio Bootcamp for Audio Engineers."
Thank you for posting this video! I used it to align a Drake 2B I purchased on ebay! You're instruction helped me get through an intimidating process! Do you have any antenna recommendations for the 2B? I have limited space, (an attic), and I am only receiving, not transmitting. Thank you!
quite useful, although I prefer a counter to zero beating...since most cannot hear beat note lower than 50 cycles..and as we know..some cannot hear 100 cycles ! when aligning IF's the final test needs to be done by ear for quality as sideband cutting can happen when 2 if stages are stagger tuned.. each is peaked but center freqs are not the same..a common problem in ssb rigs that simply dont sound right..because they the quality step was omitted. Something wrong with the highest 10M xtal osc...bad xtal or ? dirty switch or socket or ?
Hello! Awesome video! I have a signal generator for the 50KHz signal with a couple of banana jacks, one for ground and the other for signal. Does the capacitor go across these two or just on the signal terminal of the generator and then to pin 1 on V5? Thank you for the info!
I was just wondering Alan, whether it would ever make sense to monitor the beat "tone" on the scope, perhaps in addition to the loudspeaker. It struck me that the reason it seems to go into a "dead zone" where you have to interpolate is because the frequency drops below audible frequency and/or perhaps below the low frequency cutoff of the audio amp/loudspeaker. I suppose it's not critical enough to warrant the extra effort to get it dead on, but thought I'd venture the question :)
+Steve Canny Yes, a scope could help get closer to true zero beat, provided you could monitor the signal at a spot that didn't have a LF cutoff (like the audio circuits have, as you correctly surmised). For a rig with a digital readout where you can visually see 10 or 100Hz frequency offsets, this is more important. For an old analog, slide rule reading rig like this, the precision of your ear and the interpolating between audible points on either side of zero beat will get more more than close enough. Great observation though.
Thanks Alan. I notice that your tuning rate is far slower than my unit. As far as I can tell I have the string installed correctly but the tuning rate is a bit too fast. I wonder if you have any insight into this? Many thanks for the series.
I noticed that too. The main tuning shaft on my unit is a little different than others I've seen - the diameter of the shaft where the dial cord wraps around it, is smaller in diameter than the rest of the shaft. I don't know if this was a factory option or modification, or if a previous owner had removed the shaft and turned it on a lathe in order to slow-up the tuning rate.
@@w2aew Interesting Alan and thanks for the reply. In fact my tuning shaft also has the smaller diameter section where the cord runs which makes it a bigger mystery! Perhaps the big pulley diameters are different in that case? I also wonder if different diameter dial strings would make any difference? I would not think so but then I never was too good at figuring out pulley mechanisms hi. 73 Dick N4HAY
Hello, In one of the Drake 2B videos I heard you mention doing the resistance measurements as specified in the users manual. I measured the resistance values on pin 6 of V9 and pin 7 on V10 and my ohm meter jumps all over the place and I can't get a reasonable reading. The manual specifies 24K Ohms, do you recall if that is what you got? Thank you!
+Kevin Elliott No. The part number you mentioned is a 10x attenuator. The unit I used is a 50 ohm feedthru termination. It is a Tek 011-0049-0x, same as Pomona 4119-50.
+Digger D Well, I actually spent a few hours listening to it on 40m last night - worked great. I thought about adding an on-air segment to the end of the video, but since it was over 20 minutes long already, I didn't want to make it any longer. Maybe I'll do a "band sweep" video with it in the future.
This was a very good series! I really like your manner of presentation...very clear, calm, and informational. Thanks for posting.
Quick and easy alignment, why I love old stuff. Thanks for sharing.
Thanks again Alan for a great series on the 2-B; gonna have to pull mine out and follow along as required. One comment from a old "...one hand behind the back" type - as much as we hate taking our wedding bands off, we may want to think about doing that when digging into our boatanchor rigs; don't remember getting bit by a transistor but tubes, yeah, that's a different story (found myself on the other side of the high school electronics lab after getting hold of the 400VDC plate supply of my homebrew Novice rig back in the dark ages!). 73 - Dino KL0S
Yes, I should've taken it off. I didn't think of it until I saw the video frame that UA-cam picked as the thumbnail. My bad!
+Dino Papas
I remember watching my dad working on an old tube CRT TV when I was a kid, and he made a mistake. The electricity picked him up off of his stool and threw him back in the air into the wall. He took a break for a while.
+Dino Papas I hit my wedding band across a guitar transistor amplifier power supply line. While I didn't get shocked, I did get blinded for a minute and blew a notch in the golden ring. Yea, hand behind the back - ring in pocket.
+Robert Calk Jr. Buddy, that surely made a deep impression on you as a boy. That's as close to mythical as it gets: an unseen but respected force throws one's father across a room. My shock was from a staticky roofmount vertical. It was arcing and snapping, and I got close enough to become that arc's new special friend. I too, took a break for a while.
+JC Haywire Electricity can do some funny things sometimes.
Great video! Very informative and you really cover the information well. I hope I am successful with my project. First time attempt.
Every radio has a different procedure, but the basic process is the same.
An excellent presentation of getting the Drake bake in optimal condition. Thanks for sharing.
Thanks Alan. Always a pleasure watching your videos.
Nice demonstration. I found it useful to follow while aligning my own Drake 2B using the manual. Seeing the adjustment points being accessed made things easier. -- Nick, WA5BDU
Great series! Tnx. My 2B will arrive on Friday. I have the Garey Burrell, K4OAH (SK), CD on the 2B with all the very clean photos and parts labeled. Between that CD and your series I am confident that any problems with that 2B can be resolved.
Vy 73 Rich K7SZ
I still love the sound of Hallicrafters or a Drake tube radio.
I think that is such a cool receiver...would love to own one..
Great series! I found it very informative. There is a chance that I will buy a Drake 2-B from the estate of a local ham later this spring, I hope.
73 Paul AA1SU
excellent tutorials.. loved every minute of it.
Great tutorial! you made this Very easy to understand . Please do a National 183D if you get the opportunity. I have not found a decent video on that one yet. Thanks for sharing
Great! You got your 10 meter band now! And you did it without a single zorch! BTW...... I don't have any of the super special test equipment Drake used either! lol RW
Great video. I’ll point out that you didn’t say what the amplitudes were of the injected signals. Lots of other good details like pointing out the thru terminator, DC blocking cap, but not test signal amplitudes. An experienced tech knows, but not the newbs. Might want to leave a comment about that or how to select the general test signal levels based on the alignment task.
I find it amazing at just how stable these old tube units are considering the technology. This is a great "how to" video for any one wanting to know the overview of aligning a radio. Have you ever had the opportunity to operated an older regenerative receiver? I've not, but I look forward to doing so.
+bain5872 Some of the old tube rigs are stable, some aren't. The old Swan rigs were notorious drifters. I listened to this 2B for a few hours, and rarely had to retune any stations due to drift - amazing for 50 year old technology (and parts). I played with a regen receiver years ago, but not recently. I am thinking about building one of the ones that was on +AA7EE blog.
*****
Thanks for that tid bit of info about the Swan. Being I'm a seasoned newb to radio, I have very limited knowledge about the different brands and their history, something I intend to correct. I'm learning radio, with your help of course. I too, am preparing to build a regenerative receiver. I've been procrastinating! I do hope you plan on posting it? If so, I'm sure there is some details of your build I could steal from you. LOL!
+bain5872 Well - it's on my "to-do" list, but who knows when i'll get to it. You might get yours done before I do mine. If you haven't seen AA7EEs blog on the regen, I highly recommend it.
Same here. Yes, I had intended to visit AA7EE's blog from your previous post and I will do so. Thanks for steering me to it. I look for to your videos and thanks for sharing,
+bain5872 I've built a couple of regens and it's pretty amazing how sensitive they can be; selectivity, not so much but hey, when you're talking about such a simple circuit they're pretty cool.
Excellent....! Thank You sir!
Ever figure out the damped Smeter issue? Maybe I missed it. Just bought a 2B & your vid was very helpful. 👍
No, never dug into it...
Great video. Thanks
Great series on a historic receiver. 73 WA4GIM
I'll be honest with you. I am versed in audio engineering at a fairly detailed (but intermediate) level. I still have troubles understanding the underlying concepts to receiver (and transmitter) alignment and setup. Knowing when to zero beat and when to tune for maximum amplitude. Audio people understand filters--in the audio realm. I would love to see an "Amateur Radio Bootcamp for Audio Engineers."
Exc video, thanks.
You make it sound al so easy ;-)
Hello, Allen great video- Is that 50 ohm probe you used a tektronix part ? I am looking for a lash up just like that . Thanks, John
Thank you for posting this video! I used it to align a Drake 2B I purchased on ebay! You're instruction helped me get through an intimidating process! Do you have any antenna recommendations for the 2B? I have limited space, (an attic), and I am only receiving, not transmitting.
Thank you!
No specific antenna recommendation - for receiving, just a long wire around the perimeter of the attic.
quite useful, although I prefer a counter to zero beating...since most cannot hear beat note lower than 50 cycles..and as we know..some cannot hear 100 cycles ! when aligning IF's the final test needs to be done by ear for quality as sideband cutting can happen when 2 if stages are stagger tuned.. each is peaked but center freqs are not the same..a common problem in ssb rigs that simply dont sound right..because they the quality step was omitted. Something wrong with the highest 10M xtal osc...bad xtal or ? dirty switch or socket or ?
Hello! Awesome video! I have a signal generator for the 50KHz signal with a couple of banana jacks, one for ground and the other for signal. Does the capacitor go across these two or just on the signal terminal of the generator and then to pin 1 on V5? Thank you for the info!
The capacitor goes in series between the signal line from the generator to the pin1 of V5
I was just wondering Alan, whether it would ever make sense to monitor the beat "tone" on the scope, perhaps in addition to the loudspeaker. It struck me that the reason it seems to go into a "dead zone" where you have to interpolate is because the frequency drops below audible frequency and/or perhaps below the low frequency cutoff of the audio amp/loudspeaker. I suppose it's not critical enough to warrant the extra effort to get it dead on, but thought I'd venture the question :)
+Steve Canny Yes, a scope could help get closer to true zero beat, provided you could monitor the signal at a spot that didn't have a LF cutoff (like the audio circuits have, as you correctly surmised). For a rig with a digital readout where you can visually see 10 or 100Hz frequency offsets, this is more important. For an old analog, slide rule reading rig like this, the precision of your ear and the interpolating between audible points on either side of zero beat will get more more than close enough. Great observation though.
Thanks Alan. I notice that your tuning rate is far slower than my unit. As far as I can tell I have the string installed correctly but the tuning rate is a bit too fast. I wonder if you have any insight into this? Many thanks for the series.
I noticed that too. The main tuning shaft on my unit is a little different than others I've seen - the diameter of the shaft where the dial cord wraps around it, is smaller in diameter than the rest of the shaft. I don't know if this was a factory option or modification, or if a previous owner had removed the shaft and turned it on a lathe in order to slow-up the tuning rate.
@@w2aew Interesting Alan and thanks for the reply. In fact my tuning shaft also has the smaller diameter section where the cord runs which makes it a bigger mystery! Perhaps the big pulley diameters are different in that case? I also wonder if different diameter dial strings would make any difference? I would not think so but then I never was too good at figuring out pulley mechanisms hi. 73 Dick N4HAY
Nice. Did you have the output of the sig gen at a specific level?
For the RF input, I was running it at 30uVrms. For the IF signal injection, it was 100mVpp.
+w2aew Very good. Thank you
Hello,
In one of the Drake 2B videos I heard you mention doing the resistance measurements as specified in the users manual. I measured the resistance values on pin 6 of V9 and pin 7 on V10 and my ohm meter jumps all over the place and I can't get a reasonable reading. The manual specifies 24K Ohms, do you recall if that is what you got?
Thank you!
Sorry, I made this video about 7 years ago, so I don't remember.
Is there a Tek part number for the blocking cap inline with the scope probe? Sure would be a handy thing to have here. de John, K8NN
Unfortunately Tek doesn't make them anymore, but they can be found in the open market by other manufacturers. Search for BNC DC Block.
I see that the one adapter on your scope is marked 50 ohm - 2 watt. Is that unit the same as this "Tekronix 50 ohm 2W 10X Attenuator 011-0059-01 BNC"?
+Kevin Elliott No. The part number you mentioned is a 10x attenuator. The unit I used is a 50 ohm feedthru termination. It is a Tek 011-0049-0x, same as Pomona 4119-50.
Alan - what is the value of the DC Blocking capacitor you are using or does it make that much difference?
Kevin - KG0MN
+Kevin Elliott It doesn't make that much difference, as long as it's series impedance is reasonably low at the operating frequency.
thanks Alan
Nice job, BUT - you should have tuned in some on air signals just for the "job done" satisfaction ;)
+Digger D Well, I actually spent a few hours listening to it on 40m last night - worked great. I thought about adding an on-air segment to the end of the video, but since it was over 20 minutes long already, I didn't want to make it any longer. Maybe I'll do a "band sweep" video with it in the future.
***** That would make a nice wrap up.
+w2aew I too was waiting to see you check out the bands to see how the radio sounded. Thanks for the videos!
Lets put a 1/2 drop of oil on the S Meter.