"We have no problem discussing the modifications, certainly they
are HIS [Jim] radios to destroy as he sees fit, and I can keep mine as
pristine as I choose."
Ouch, that one hurt, Garey. I would hope that not everyone agrees a
modified Drake can no longer be "pristine." Apart from my near-complete
wrecking-out of an R-4B, it's about as cosmetically restored to pristine as
they come. I do think if anyone on the group actually experienced my R-4B
with its almost zero cabinet heat, 0.05 % THD/1kHz at 4-watts, flattened
audio passband (+/- 1.0dB 50 Hz to 3.5 kHz), no hiss, no hum, no buzz,
improved Fast AGC -- and inspected it for cosmetics, then maybe, just maybe
they would change their mind! Or not...
I'm almost feeling a need to replace the aluminum front panel and remove any
reference to "Drake." Kinda' like when a retail store closes and its
corporate leadership obliterates any prior association to protect its brand!
Paul, W9AC
----- Original Message -----
From: "Garey Barrell" <[email protected]>
To: "lee" <[email protected]>
Cc: <[email protected]>
Sent: Tuesday, January 03, 2012 12:31 PM
Subject: Re: [Drakelist] Sherwood Mods
Lee -
I understand what you are saying... I too am one that prefers to keep
'vintage' gear, Drake or
otherwise, as it was! The quirks and shortcomings of these radios is 'who
they are', and modifying
them changes them from 'vintage' to 'just another radio'.
When they were new, and Rob Sherwood and others suggested/made modifications
to improve a function
that was omitted due to either cost or design decisions, and actually
_improved_ it, the 'state of
the art' was advanced. A Sherwood R-4C was just about the best receiver _FOR
CONTEST OPERATION_
available at any price at that time. For general use on the amateur bands,
not so much. Yeah, once
every week or two you might have someone snuggle right up against you and
the mods would make the
difference, but that was the exception. You could just turn on the amp and
they'd move! :-)
Today, however, there ARE better receivers available, some even cheaper than
a Sherwood R-4C, PLUS
digital frequency readout, computer control, and all sorts of other
'features' that are of value to
a contest operator. Once again, even those 'features' are only really of
benefit to a contest
station. Yes, it's fun setting them up, and then sitting back and watching
the radio operate the
contest for you, but .... :-) What was it that the QST article said some
years ago?? Start your
station for a weekend contest, go to the beach or the mountains, and check
when you get home to see
how you did in the contest!!
The example some have used of the braid ground lead on the PTO is an example
of a 'field change'. If
you keep the gearbox rider bar clean, and use light oil in the ball bearing,
you really don't NEED
the braid. But the braid makes the radio less susceptible to failure, so why
not. The braid became
standard on late C-Line and all 7-Line PTOs.
I do NOT think we need a separate group to further segregate the Drake
community. We have members
who feel as I do, and others like Jim(!) who just can't wait to take a
soldering iron to a
previously unmolested radio!! :-) We have no problem discussing the
modifications, certainly they
are HIS radios to destroy as he sees fit, and I can keep mine as pristine as
I choose. I'm
interested in what he does, he tolerates my Luddism, and we get along just
fine. At least until
now... Dividing our 'almost' always non-combative group seems
counter-productive to me. Sharing
ideas, even wrong ones (!) is healthy! We ALL have a DELETE key if something
REALLY bothers us....
Full disclosure, the DrakeRadio group that I 'own' was 'inherited', and I
agreed to take it on just
to keep it from dying. DrakeRadio is typically a little less busy than
Drakelist, and when I see a
new call over there I tell them about Drakelist and suggest that they join
both. I think most Drake
people are members of both groups.
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>
lee wrote:
This may be true but I can tell you I purchased a lot of new Drake gear
from Drake dealers and when I ever talked to the factory regarding them,
without naming names, it was expressed very clearly each and every time
their/his disfavor of those mods. I happen to agree with those remarks. I
would never consider them. In fact, I am thinking of starting a new Drake
reflector or wish someone else would open one where it would be forbidden
to discuss foreign mods except for those really needed because of lack of
old parts. I personally consider the mods offensive and consider a radio
with these mods no longer a Drake product.
I know not everyone agrees with me, but I know some may agree with me. Don’t
get me wrong. If you own a radio, I believe you can do anything you want
with it and you can believe anything you want about your mods. I just don’t
agree with this philosophy at all. I am not trying to start a war here or
call someone stupid for altering his Drake gear. I am not telling you you
are nuts for doing this but I would consider myself foolish for installing
them in my Drake radios. Those are my thoughts. If I was going to buy a
radio with them, I would discount the value before making an offer. If my
offer would be accepted, I would remove the mods and if they were too
extensive, I’d refuse to buy the radio in the first place. Again, these
are my feelings and I don’t expect someone else with other ideas to have
to conform to my standards. Just do what you want to do. I also enjoy
using my unmodified C lines more then my B line. Again, I know some don’t
agree with this. Thaty’s OK with me. I just know my thoughts do not agree
with a lot of things I read on here.
There is a British Paraset Group which is really radical, even for me. You
are not expected to join unless you agree to only use the built in hand
key rather then using an external hand key, bug, or paddle with memory.
You also are expected to only use a long wire as operatives used with this
transceiver during WW2. Now these are really extreme rules! I could not
live up to them so declined membership.
But getting back to a real Drake reflector for unmodified Drakes for guys
wanting the experience of using a Drake rig as it was offered by Drake
without discussion of major mods, is there any interest in a group for
guys wanting to discuss their unmodified radios and want to keep them that
way? Or am I just a peculiarity among Drake owners? (Easy to set up on
Yahoo. I’m really interested in hearing from guys thinking as I do rather
then from those saying they would not join a group as I described. Anyone
not liking the idea needs not join the new group. Simple enough). I have a
lot on my plate and would prefer someone else open such a group, but I’d
be willing to do it if nobody else would step up to the plate. If I’m the
only guy feeling this way, the idea can just then die and I’ll just keep
using my delete key .
Again, this is not intended to flame anyone.
Lee, w0vt
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