TS-520S

[KK4OBO]

Just have a few questions concerning my New (old) radio.
1st I am new to HAM never made a contact.
I bought a 520S used and they said it worked. With the deal I also received what looks like a cushcraft R7000, it is cushcraft but not sure of model just looks like it in pics. Also included a Moonraker AV-140.

I have the cushcraft hooked up and the top is about 50' high, base starts about 10' from top of house, it is mounted next to house. house is surrounded by taller trees but not to close.
I have been working 20 meter for the last several days, I can hear several good contacts but cant get any response when I try to contact.
Set up radio per manual and I see nothing out of place there.
The antenna mast is in ground but otherwise it has no ground going to it.
The radio also has no ground attached.
I know, I got in a hugh hurry, hope I haven't damaged anything.
So after a long wait my main question is how do I know if I am really sending a transmit signal?
How do I know if the antenna traps etc are damaged?
I have no electronics experience at all, so If you can please feel free to dumb it down for me.

Thanks for any help
Dennis

 

[cabletech]

Contact your local ham club, explain the problems you having and I am sure you will get several people that will be willing to come check your equipment.

Good luck

 

[Eickerman]

Just have a few questions concerning my New (old) radio.
1st I am new to HAM never made a contact... So after a long wait my main question is how do I know if I am really sending a transmit signal?

When you are transmitting on SSB you should see the meter responding to your voice in either the Ip position, ALC position, or RF position.

Of course the basic assumption here is that you have "tuned up" the TS-520S in accordance with the operating manual. If you don't have the manual or are unfamiliar with how to tune it for transmitting, please say so and we can get into that. In the mean time see below...

If you are using the VOX setting, having the transmitter flip into transmit (you hear the relays click and the receiver mutes) is a good sign that the microphone audio is working, but if you don't have the mic gain control turned up the radio will not actually put out any RF, so you have to make sure that is turned up enough to get some action out of the ALC or RF output.

Another thing that will tell you what is happening is watching an SWR meter if you have one. You should see some forward power indications along with your voice. Also it would be good to check the SWR which should be something under 3:1. If you have almost as much reflected power as transmitted power (anywhere from 10:1 to Infinity:1), you are unlikely to be heard by too many people either, and that leads us to checking your antenna itself.

I have noted on mine recently that the microphone gain pot must be getting a little intermittant and I can end up activating the VOX but have no transmit audio until I tweak things.

These rigs are about 40 years old, so that sort of trouble is to be expected and one of these days I will get in there and clean it.

Curtis Eickerman

 

[KK4OBO]

Thanks Curtis
I have tuned per manual.
And when I speak into mike with setting on RF the needle peaks at about top of ACL meter.
When I adj my mike gain for needle deflection on ACL in order to keep needle from pegging it has to be turned down to about 2. as soon as I move dial it pegs.
I have found manual for antenna and that may be my trouble, I just put it together and had no Idea distance between traps was critical.
I am in the process of looking for SWR meter but don'e have one yet.
I plan to take antenna down tomorrow and check spacing.
Can an antenna poorly adjusted receive well but not transmit?
Thank you for your time,
Dennis

 

[KK4OBO]

Thanks Chris
I have a downloaded manual and have tuned to the best of my ability.
I don't have an SWR meter yet.
When I transmit I am on the RF setting and the needle peaks on the ACL scale.
It generally doesn't move much at all during receive even though signal is clear.
The mic gain is on 2 or so, because it pegs out reall quick when I try to tune.

I think I may have found some of the trouble. I just found a manual for the CC 7000 and had no idea
i was supposed to set the distance between traps, so I just put it together and tightened clamps.
I will check all spacing tomorrow.

Is it possible to have a good strong receive but no transmit because of this setup?

Thanks for your help
Dennis

 

[Eickerman]

Can an antenna poorly adjusted receive well but not transmit?

The short answer is, yes it can receive while not transmitting very well. The good news is that your radio itself appears to be working.

On receive, with a misadjusted antenna, you might be getting a signal that is lower from the stations you are hearing, but it might still be completely understandable because the noise is also lower. For the station on the other end you signal is lower, but his noise is not lower and you may not be heard.

Yes the spacing is very important with regard to getting an antenna to work properly. With a poorly adjusted antenna, your TS-520S may be developing 100 watts, but maybe only 1 to 10 watts is actually being radiated by the antenna.

Ultimately, obtaining and learning to use an SWR meter is something that you will find helpful. It gives you an idea how much power is being reflected back by the antenna and doing you no good. An SWR above 3-to-1 is not very good, and I expect yours is much higher than that. If you get the SWR down under 2-to-1 or close to 1-to-1 you should do pretty well. SWR is not the whole story, but I think it is a significant factor in your situation.

Even at that, not all antennas are equally effective, and there will still be times when people do not hear you, but at least you should be able to talk with someone. For example, I made 5 contacts last Sunday from my car while on my way to breakfast using 100 watts and a simple mobile antenna. Not the greatest, but it was heard in several states on 20 meters.

Curtis Eickerman

 

[KK4OBO]

Thanks again Curtis.
I pulled Ant down and set to specs.
I can still receive but no apparent transmit.
So, I am going to leave it until I get either a tuner or swr meter.

So I have a few more questions if you don't mind
1. Is it best to have a tuner or swr meter 1st?

2. I am looking at LDG AT-200 pro ll, It is tuner with SWR led's, but it says compatible with most
transmitters, will it work with an older model tube radio? (it's ok for an opinion I won't blame you if
I get it and it doesn't) I'm sure I can use it later.

3. I am also looking at the Diamond SX-200 SWR/Power meter, but I prefer the tuner.

Again, thank you for your time
Dennis

 

[N8IAA]

Dennis, have you taken out the driver and final tubes to make sure they can provide the power to the radio? There might be some paper caps and electrolytic parts that will inhibit transmit. Almost forty year old transceivers have their problems.
My first hf radio was a Swan 350C. Man, did it ever eat up the finals:lol: Ended up buying all the tubes I could find and eventually sold the radio.
Larry

 

[Eickerman]

So I have a few more questions if you don't mind

No problem.

As you noted, generally antenna tuners include SWR meters. So getting a tuner is fine and takes care of both at the same time. In fact most of them will also tell you the output power of your rig which is nice too.

The meter itself can tell you if something is really wrong with the antenna in the first place while the tuner can actually make it possible to load up a short circuited piece of coax cable to the point where everything looks great but doesn't work worth a darn.

You still may be dealing with sheer luck (or lack of luck) in getting someone to answer you. It's often best to start with someone locally where you can coordinate things over the phone and they can tell you exactly what they are or are not hearing. I've done exactly that with people who are just getting started or trying out some new equipment.

If they are local (within 10 miles), you generally don't have to deal with propagation issues that can prevent someone from hearing you. It looks like there are about 54 other hams in your zip code and 481 other hams in your county, so there should be someone nearby who could help out in this way.

Curtis Eickerman

 

[KK4OBO]

thanks for the replys.
1st for larry I have no idea how to check tubes but I will DL service man and hopefully find something I can understand.

also curtis I will try and get in touch with the club nearby and see if I can find help.
I intended to do that but i really wanted to wait until I had a little more knowlege.
I was told before I got my license that if I wasn't and electronics engineer that I shouldn't even get
in this Hobby, I understand what they meant now, but I'm not going to qquit.
Thanks for all the help and suggestions.
Dennis

 

[N8IAA]

thanks for the replys.
1st for larry I have no idea how to check tubes but I will DL service man and hopefully find something I can understand.

Hopefully, you can find someone in your area with a working tube tester. Otherwise, I don't know what you can do to test them.
Larry

 

[Eickerman]

I was told before I got my license that if I wasn't and electronics engineer that I shouldn't even get in this Hobby,

Whoever told you that is (pardon me) ignorant and their opinions should be given no further consideration.

I AM an engineer (for 38 years) and a Ham for 49 years (yes been one since I was 12). You not only don't need to be an engineer, but the most interesting people I have talked with on ham radio were NOT engineers. For example: a writer for All in the Family, Three's Company, Adam !2 and other TV shows... a Treasury Agent (yes, Secret Service), Herbert Hoover III (yes grandson of the preseident), a B52 Weapons Officer, a County Council lawyer, a real estate Title Searcher, several MD's, and a lot of other average everyday people who were just plain facinating to talk with like researchers at the south pole. At the same time I have listened to but not talked with people like: Tom Christian ("Mutiny on the Bounty" descendant on Pitcairin Island), Art Bell (yes the UFO guy), and a lot of others.

As far as testing the tubes in the 520, if you see that it is putting out a reasonably correct amount of output power, that is a better test than anything you can do with a tube tester. Also with a tube type output rig like the 520 you can do something that is almost as good as a power meter real cheap.

You take a piece of coax with the right kind of connector (PL-259) for your rig. Then attach the other end to something like one of those old porcelain wall mount light sockets (just handy because it will sit upright on a table). Then screw in a standard old time (not CFL or LED) 100 W light bulb. So, yes, you are going to use a 100 W light bulb as a "dummy load" and tune up your TS-520 into that. If everything is working right it will light up just like it is being powered from 120 VAC.

Unfortunately these days finding the 100 W standard light bulb will be the hardest part of the problem. You can use a lower wattage but it might burn out (the 520 will survive that if it should happen). It's a little more complicated, but you can also connect two 60 watt light bulbs in parallel with two sockets and they are still available in stores.

The 100 W lightbulb is a reasonably good poor man's dummy load and power meter at the same time. It gives you very simple feedback (brightness of the light) for what is happening while tuning up the transmitter and how well it is doing at delivering power. Then when you talk on SSB you should see it flashing in step with your voice. On SSB you will notice it never gets to full brightness because with voice on SSB the average power is really only about 30 to 40 watts when the peaks are 100 watts. You will also notice that when you enable the "Compressor" on the 520 that flashing brightness will be a little brighter because the compression increases the average power a little (makes your voice sound a little louder at the receiving end too).

Curtis Eickerman

 

[WB4CS]

Whoever told you that is (pardon me) ignorant and their opinions should be given no further consideration.

I AM an engineer (for 38 years) and a Ham for 49 years (yes been one since I was 12). You not only don't need to be an engineer, but the most interesting people I have talked with on ham radio were NOT engineers. For example: a writer for All in the Family, Three's Company, Adam !2 and other TV shows... a Treasury Agent (yes, Secret Service), Herbert Hoover III (yes grandson of the preseident), a B52 Weapons Officer, a County Council lawyer, a real estate Title Searcher, several MD's, and a lot of other average everyday people who were just plain facinating to talk with.

Agree 100%! Sure, being an engineer helps understand the intricate details of how radios work, but it's by no means necessary for the hobby. Don't let that person get you down.

Best of luck of getting the radio to work, and if it doesn't work then find one a little newer and get on the air.

73's

 

[k8krh]

When you think it is working...which the xcvr sounds like it is, tune up on 7240<40 meters>, there is a net every day 10-noon and SATURDAY 10-11 near you..they should hear you if all is working.
Also if you have the time make a quick antenna..dipole...look forhttp://www.hamuniverse.com/dipivcal.html on the net, they should show you, you only need some wire...a center insulator and 2 for the ends....or look up a 40 meter dipole on the internet, many articles..and it wont take long to build, then you can see if the vertical is working or not..any wire will receive,
DOCTOR

 

[KK4OBO]

thanks again for all the replies.
I think I will try the light bulb trick, sounds kinda fun at least.
I do a lot of wiring at work so I do understand basic circuits just NO electronics.
I am not going to let them get me down, I am getting myself there, but I am still driving on.
Looking at maybe an IC-718 if I can't get the oldie working but not giving up yet.
Thanks and look foward to making voice contact in the future.
Dennis