Steve -
The KEY jack was on the front panel in the early T-4X transmitters. It was moved to the back panel,
probably in Version 3, but it was never on the side.
I was working at NASA in Huntsville, AL when the 2-B came out. I had been out of radio for a while,
school, girls, marriage, all got in the way! I picked up a QST on the newstand one day, and I was
hooked again. There was an ad from AES for a NEW HQ-170 for like $270, and since the last receiver
I had used was an HQ-129X it seemed a reasonable choice. Off went the check, and about five days
later here comes a letter saying that they were now OUT of the HQ-170 but would offer me the brand
new HQ-170A for about $25 more. OK.
About a week later, here comes the HQ-170A. I set it up on the kitchen table (one bedroom
apartment) and turned it on. Sounded great, tuned around the bands, played with the controls,
cool. Then I noticed that the CW signals weren't very stable, they were ALL drifting up in
frequency. Hmmmm. Came back a couple of hours later, and it's still drifting up. Meanwhile, I
had pulled out the manual and looked at the schematic and noticed that the VFO tube had its own
filament transformer that was 'always on'. So I gave up for the evening, leaving the receiver
plugged in, but turned off.
Next day, I come home from work and turn on the HQ-170A. Didn't take long to realize that the thing
was STILL drifting UP!! Wherever it is, it's probably up past S-Band by now! So I stuck it in
it's box, hauled it to the car, and drove to the local ham emporium, Electronic Wholesalers. I had
had a Drake 1-A earlier, (yeah, I know...,) and now there was a 2-B! Not very impressive, no cast
front panel, little slide switches, BUT it seemed to be sitting very still on frequency. The sales
guy used the '2-B Demo' of tuning in an SSB signal, lifting the front end of the receiver off the
counter by a couple-three inches, and dropping it. The signal 'boinged' a bit, but came back
exactly on frequency! I left the 40 pound HQ-170A and took home the 15 pound 2-B. It fit better in
a one bedroom apartment anyway! :-)
The rest, as they say, is history! :-)
73, Garey - K4OAH
Glen Allen, VA
Drake 2-B, 2-C/2-NT, 4-A, 4-B, C-Line
and TR-4/C Service Supplement CDs
<www.k4oah.com>
Steve Wedge wrote:
The KEY jack being located to the back, I can't really say that I thought that anything else was
possible.
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