W8MHV's "Heavy Metal"
Station
This setup is the W8MHV "Heavy Metal" station, so called because this old radio equipment is plenty heavy. I never intended to become a radio collector, but slowly I slipped into this facet of the ham radio hobby. I enjoy taking an old radio in terrible condition and turning it into a perfectly functioning gem. All gear in my collection is in near "as new" working condition and finds regular use.
This is the classic
amplifier that I use for both the main and "heavy
metal" stations, the Sigma XR-3000D. This 1970s era
amplifier was given to me by W8PG after the filament transformer
blew. I replaced the transformer and other components that went
with it. It is a brute, fully capable of the legal limit. By
contrast is the Amp Supply LA-1000 in the third photo which I
have converted to use Svetlana EL-509 output tubes. This linear
is capable of 400 Watts output and is small enough to be used for
portable operations.
The HRO-500 is my favorite
receiver. Introduced in the early 1960s, it was a ground-breaking
piece of equipment and the first solid state professional
communication receiver to be marketed by a major manufacturer. It
used germanium transistors and employed an innovative but complex
design. A complete alignment requires extensive test equipment
and plenty of time. But the effort results in a radio that sounds
and works great. Of course, it lacks the dynamic range and
frequency precision of modern rigs, but it is sensitive and
readout to 1 kHz is possible.
I am also fond of Drake, and have owned 4-line equipment since 1970. This TR4CWrit is one I acquired from Drake expert Jeff WA8SAJ. It is a late serial number example, perhaps manufactured on the last day of production. The TR-7, Drake's first entry in the solid state transceiver market, was enormously popular. Although it lacks modern refinements such as memories and DSP, it remains a pleasure to operate.
The KWM-380 was Collins' first and last effort to manufacture a solid state amateur radio transceiver. It was far ahead of its time in many ways. It employed a synthesized VFO, could be adapted to direct keypad entry and memories, and had pass-band tuning capability. However, the radio was very expensive and never gained the popularity of the KWM-2 and KWM-2A transceivers it replaced.