Hi Terry,
Many thanks for the FB note...
Yes, I've re-sanded crystals here, too, to get higher up in frequency --- but
only the larger, more user-friendly FT-243 types, & NOT the sealed & soldered
HC-6/U variety.
I've read where it can, indeed, be done --- but I've just never had the
gumption to give it a go...
I shouldn't let THAT stop me, now though, should I...? Hi Hi
Maybe I'll try the "surgery" on one that I have...not too sure as to what,
exactly, I'll find inside when I open one up though...
~73~ Eddy VE3CUI - VE3XZ
*****************************************************
----- Original Message -----
From: Terrell Hamilton
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Sent: Sunday, February 17, 2008 9:40 AM
Subject: RE: [drakelist] Crystals To Swap...?
Hi, Eddy -
Do you think you could "sand down" the frequency on a crystal
close to the one you want? I don't know what kind of crystals are in your
receivers, or even +how it would work for receivers, but it worked for me for
transmitting on my old homebrew rig.
Way back in the day(late 50's), when I was a teenage novice with not much
money, I remember sanding down crystals that were given to me by other hams.
It worked pretty good and gave me different frequencies to use on my crystal
controlled 6146 xmtr.
The crystals had to be the kind that are in a plastic case that opens up and
It only worked one way, of course - can't add material to them, unfortunately -
and I forget if sanding them made freqs go up or down - it seems to me that it
would make the freq higher the more you sand, but that's just an educated (?)
guess. I remember opening up the little plastic case, sanding them down,
putting them back in the case and then transmitting and monitoring to see what
new frequency they were.
Sometimes I broke them, or went too far out of the novice band, but
eventually I had a few crystals that I could switch out if the band got crowded
on my single frequency xmtr.
It was kind of tedious, but it gave me a pretty good "poor man's VFO". If
you've got lots of crystals that you don't mind experimenting with, it might be
a possibility that could work.
What do you think, folks? Rcvr crystals are probably different, don't open
up, and there's probably some technical reason that makes this a ridiculous
suggestion.
Terry
K7WLD
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of EP Swynar
Sent: Saturday, February 16, 2008 10:34 AM
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Subject: [drakelist] Crystals To Swap...?
Hi All,
I'm curious if anyone reading this might be interested in possibly swapping
HC-6/U crystals for use in the R-4 series of receivers...
I have a bunch here of various frequencies, but none in "0.1" or "0.6"
increments, unfortunately --- they're "oddball" when it comes to what the R-4
prefers to see, but for casual SWL'ing they still work A-OK...
I sure would like something in & around the 20.6-MHz range, so that I might
be able to listen to at least a portion(s) of the 9-MHz SWL BC band (one of my
favourite places in the spectrum back some 39 years ago).
So, what say...? What might you have to trade out there, & what particular
"rocks" are you looking for that I might have here...?
~73~ Eddy VE3CUI - VE3XZ
