TCS-12...we're ready to roll.....

radiorich · Posted: Nov Wed 04, 2009 1:10 am

Hello Jim,
Well thats sure great find Far as working with it one thing I say is give your back a rest Very Happy

.
That bugger should have wheels mounted to it .
Sincerely Rich
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Curt Reed · Posted: Nov Wed 04, 2009 1:15 am

Aw come on now! The receiver and the transmitter both weigh in at 49 pounds each and the dynamotor power supply at 28 pounds. That barely makes it into the real boatanchor class! Laughing

Curt
_________________
Curt, N7AH
(Connoisseur of the cold 807) CW forever!

Jim Koehler · Posted: Nov Wed 04, 2009 2:02 am

Yeah, but the shoreside power unit weighs in at a hefty 89 lbs!

I still have to get some 8 ga wire to run from my truck battery, but I have half a notion that the dyno supply is gonna be on the advertised.

Still lookin' for the Remote Cable. I realized the cable was a double female. (of course, it wud have to be) Probably easier to go look for one....building it wud take about the same time....

A tip?.....

Most of anything that has a fine wrinkle finish is loaded with dirt, nicotine etc. Cleaning it isn't rocket science. But I've found that using a toothbrush and scrubbing in a circular motion gets that original wrinkle finish in surprisingly nice shape....
_________________

See the Calliope in action... (Boat anchors Aweigh)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8GP0gFes1rE

radio-tuber · Posted: Nov Sat 14, 2009 5:14 pm

OMG! $175! I would've sprained my wrist getting the money out of my pocket fast enough.

I just noticed that the baby has its unobtanium mounting clips between the RX and TX. Could you post some photos of these? I have a pal who is a machinist.
_________________
Jim Falls
K6FWT
Eureka, CA

"Feels like heaven seeing happy 211's "

Jim Koehler · Posted: Nov Sun 15, 2009 1:35 pm

Yes I will Jim....
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See the Calliope in action... (Boat anchors Aweigh)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8GP0gFes1rE

Jim Koehler · Posted: Nov Thu 19, 2009 3:55 pm

Hi Jim....

Here ya go.....

The brackets look to be punched. Made of brass, .115" thick.
If you need all the dimensions, I can mike it up for you.

I have a little time between repairs so I started cleaning up the cases. I decided not to strip the wrinkle finish off. There was enough original paint left and so a light coat of gloss Krylon Black did the job nicely.

Trivia....(maybe)
Did you know that the left and right back corner shock mount screws (2) cannot be removed from their respective holes? It seems that the guide pins sitting just above each one holds them captive. I tried to remove the guide pins but I was afraid that any more twisting force would've broken free the thread hole for the angle bracket screw.

...I left it alone.

...Jim
_________________

See the Calliope in action... (Boat anchors Aweigh)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8GP0gFes1rE

Curt Reed · Posted: Nov Thu 19, 2009 6:32 pm

Just an aside comment, but something that makes you look twice and wonder was in the shack of a ham I once knew. He had the transmitter and receiver mounted vertically, but bass ackwards. He had the receiver on the top and the transmitter on the bottom!

dit dit dit dit......dit dit

And he complained to me how hard tuning the receiver was when he was tuning the bands, and how his arms got to aching. I did not have the nerve to tell him that he had them mounted upside down. Laughing

Curt
_________________
Curt, N7AH
(Connoisseur of the cold 807) CW forever!

Jim Koehler · Posted: Nov Thu 19, 2009 8:48 pm

Heh...

I've often wondered how my "Dream Listening Post" would ever look like with the stable of rackmounts I own. Aerial and power connections aside, the operating desk itself would have to be unusually wide. And the racks positioned behind the desk. Let's imagine, for a minute, that the racks were only four feet high, making the highest mounted BA in each rack level with the desk top. Well, that's fine...for the first, say, five units. You just move your chair over to the one you want to operate. But how'sa 'bout the ones below the desk?....
My idea to go about operating the below board BA's would be to mount a small electrically powered hydraulic lift mounted under each rack bottom. And at a push of a button, I can raise and lower each rack to the BA I wanted to operate at desk level. Or, maybe a cable lift system mounted up in the above floor joists. (make sure the desk is near the foundation sill plate for that idea)
But when you think of it, unless you're a commercial outfit, or just storing the radios, racks IMO are really a poor choice when it comes to actually using the radios. You're only comfortable at one height...the rest is window dressing.

That's my idea...what's yours?
_________________

See the Calliope in action... (Boat anchors Aweigh)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8GP0gFes1rE

Curt Reed · Posted: Nov Thu 19, 2009 10:11 pm

My idea is exactly the same as yours is.
Curt
_________________
Curt, N7AH
(Connoisseur of the cold 807) CW forever!

tesla92 · Posted: Nov Fri 20, 2009 12:41 am

Wow you got a nice set there. I got an original AC supply for the TCS as well, but in far worse condition, until I restored it!

I took out each individual choke, transformer, capacitor and sanded then repainted them then put them back into their correct order, after repainting the chassis with black wrinkle paint. Took quite some time to turn a rust bucket into a good show piece. Serial number on this unit was like 89 as I recall. I also got the matching dynamotor repaired and working smoothly. Quite a nice set!

Curt Reed · Posted: Nov Fri 20, 2009 12:44 am

Beautiful iron there, and plenty of it, for sure. Makes the modern day power supplies that don't use chokes a bunch of wimps in my opinion. To handle power, you need iron, and the more iron, the better! Laughing

Curt
_________________
Curt, N7AH
(Connoisseur of the cold 807) CW forever!

Jim Koehler · Posted: Nov Fri 20, 2009 2:10 am

Way to go, Tesla!....

I have a pair of those 5R4's also, but they're almost dead. Remember, they had a hold down assy that I didn't see on your rig. I have one shaft of the assy, but I don't have the top of it. Stay tuned....someone might have a picture of the complete assy.

Cleaning the rx today and when I took all the knobs, handles, nomenclature off, I came across these numbers....

now, this was right under the nameplate.

Any idea what this means?

BTW, the serial number on the plate is 7549.

Ruminations welcome....
Tnx...
...Jim
_________________

See the Calliope in action... (Boat anchors Aweigh)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8GP0gFes1rE

tesla92 · Posted: Nov Fri 20, 2009 2:41 am

Are you talking about the mounts for the rectifier tubes? I had 2 shafts on mine, just one of the brackets and wingnut were missing for the 6X5's. The bracket is just plain metal bent in a somewhat trapezoidal shape and then fastened with a wing nut. The pic isnt of high quality in the last one where I have it fastened. In the previous pics, I took of the bracket.

Jim Koehler · Posted: Nov Fri 20, 2009 2:47 am

Tes....

I cud use a picture of the bracket. I just have the short shaft that sits on the 6X5 side. The 5R4 assy is completely missing on my PS.
_________________

See the Calliope in action... (Boat anchors Aweigh)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8GP0gFes1rE

tesla92 · Posted: Nov Fri 20, 2009 4:57 am

Oh, I don't have the power supply anymore. I traded it and a TCS unit for a complete DAK unit a while back. I'll see if I can dig up any more photos of the power supply. The stem piece shouldn't be too hard to fabricate for the 5R4's. It's slightly taller than the 6X5 stem. I don't remember the exact length, but I guess you could estimate by the couple pictures I have posted (worst case).

tesla92 · Posted: Nov Fri 20, 2009 11:56 pm

Also, has anyone ever tackled the single dynamotor supply for the TCS set? I managed to get a dual dynamotor set working with repacked bearings and other refurbishing. Is there anything special in the single dynamotor supplies compared to the dual dynamotor power packs?

Curt Reed · Posted: Nov Sat 21, 2009 12:04 am

There is nothing special with the single dynamotor power supplies. Just do the usual things concerning the dynamotor like refreshing the grease in its bearings and such, and you are good to go. I have a single dynamotor power supply as well as the dual dynamotor power supply. When I was using the rig, I used the dual dynamotor supply. Why, the only reason I can think of is because it had TWO dynamotors instead of only one and I love dynamotors! Laughing

Curt
_________________
Curt, N7AH
(Connoisseur of the cold 807) CW forever!

Jim Koehler · Posted: Nov Sat 21, 2009 4:29 am

Finally got the units all cleaned and ready to go......

Every relay and open switch assy is burnished. That roller-ductor assy is gleaming. Just about all bases are covered. I know the receiver is working fine. All the tubes in the tx are a go. I have 30 feet of 8 ga. cable to run from the truck to the dynos...

Saturday is going to prove to be an interesting day.
_________________

See the Calliope in action... (Boat anchors Aweigh)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8GP0gFes1rE

Tubenut · Posted: Nov Sat 21, 2009 8:17 am

Nice work Jim! Now you have to figure how to play the Calliope and push the PTT at the same time Very Happy

Curt Reed · Posted: Nov Sat 21, 2009 1:12 pm

Beautiful setup, Jim. And you will get many years of enjoyment out of that setup.

You might have already done this, but make sure you clean the relay contacts in the transmitter. These things operate full break-in on CW and it is disconcerting sometimes to hear the background noise change levels between keying. It was immediately corrected by cleaning and burnishing the relay contacts on the antenna relay in the transmitter.

I also notice that you have a replacement antenna connector on the receiver. I would be looking around for a correct spring loaded connector they came with. At one time I had a spare connector here, but I used it to replace a BNC fitting that some previous owner had substituted for it and that looked like crap.
Curt
_________________
Curt, N7AH
(Connoisseur of the cold 807) CW forever!