B&W 5100B was a much better transmitter when it was introduced into the market. B&W took all the 5100 fixes, corrections, updates, etc. and made a much better and more reliable transmitter. Although I have a 5100B, I rarely use it. Much prefer the Central Electronics 100V or my Heath Apache for over all performance, ease of use, easily repairable, functionality, and cosmetics. The most reliable rig in my shack is the Johnson Viking II. Since 1958, it has never required a tube or part replacement.
Pete. WA2CWA On Sat, 23 Nov 2002 10:47:09 -0800 (PST) Mark Foltarz <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes: > I just finished cleaning up the B&W 5100 I picked up > at the Butler meet last Summer. > > I don't know what prompted me to buy it , but now I am > sure glad I did. Maybe it was all the great food ( > including Russ's fabulous baked beans of mass > destruction HI!) > > What strikes me the most about this radio is how well > it is designed and constructed. My only complaint > about the design is that the mode switch intereferes > with access to one of the audio input shield screws - > boo hoo. > > Other than that, this is by far the best built radio I > own in terms of construction, ease of servicing and > overall engineering. Better than my Collins, > Halicrafters, WRL, Drake, Eldico etc. The only thing > that comes close is my TMC gear or the T-368 - but > these were obviously not for the amateur market. > > Modular construction allowed for easy replacement of a > few parts in the modulator. I essentially replaced > several .001 with some .02 and two out of spec > resistors. > > The use of an oil filled cap in the filter was a nice > change. Typically one has to take a small loan for > direct replacements or cobble up a string of > electrolytics with eq. resistors. In fact I only had > to replace three electrolytics - the double 20 @ 450v > and a 20 @150v. > > A wire brush was very useful cleaning up the milled > edges on the knobs. > > I plugged all the interconnects and applied power > through a variac. No problems at all in ramping up to > 120v. Soon I had 150w CW and 100 phone output. > > I am really impressed how well the B&W 5100 is built > and how easy it is to work on and put back on the > air. > > I'll lug it upstairs and put it on the air for the > DX-60 net tomorrow. > > So I ask you fellow buzzard ops, what is your favorite > "best built ham transmitter?" > > 73 DE KA4JVY > Mark > ncreases necessitate this change. First major across the board increase since 1994. ________________________________________________________________ Sign Up for Juno Platinum Internet Access Today Only $9.95 per month! Visit www.juno.com
