Mark, of passing interest- you mentioned the T-368- guess who
designed it? Note the use of all that nice ceramic. Yes, the 5100 is
a cool radio. The modulator is just a bit small but?
You would get some boo-hoos from Collins people, but I think a good
close second. Definitely easier to work on. I have a early
5100 [1000 serial number] 1953 vintage, in real good original
condition, its definitely one of my better BAs. I does need a good
1/2 hour warm-up, but its real stable after that. Russ.
From: Mark Foltarz <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Reply-To: [email protected]
To: "[email protected]" <[email protected]>
Subject: [AMRadio] B&W 5100 Possibly the best built ham transmitter? (imho)
Date: Sat, 23 Nov 2002 10:47:09 -0800 (PST)
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
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