My little corner of heaven

[Radioman77]

 

[buddrousa]

Nice setup is that a TRAM D201 beside the coffee cup?

 

[Radioman77]

Not sure which one your talking about the DX-160 or Yaesu FT-101zd.

 

[Radioman77]

Just took another look it is a Tempo one.

 

[buddrousa]

Just left of the coffee cup same height middle of the desktop

 

[Radioman77]

Ok here's the rundown bottom left desk to right Tempo one Hallicrafters S-53 DX-160
top RS pro 652 2055 x2 Ic 746 TT 1254. Corner desk bottom left FT 101zd TT Orion TT Orion top left TM 331 FT 7900 Ft 8800 Uniden 536 BCT15x x2 TT 526(6n2) TT omni6+ TT triton IV (540) Al-811 Sb 200 amps Hope this answers your question

 

[buddrousa]

I see now I am on my PC it is a receiver

 

[K4EET]

Very nice setup there, @Radioman77 . Your equipment looks like it is museum quality. I have two operational Realistic DX-160 "Solid State Communications Receivers" and one in its original box. Those receivers got my father and I started in Short Wave Listening (SWL) which led to us getting our Amateur Radio licenses. As for the Yaesu FT-101ZD, I have always wanted a FT-101E since back in the 1970s. I could not afford it as a high school student so as a soon-to-be Electrical Engineering student, I bought and built the Heathkit SB-102 series of equipment and used the station to copy Morse Code so I could pass the Novice code test. The rest is history. But your equipment spread puts my current equipment spread to shame. I now know that I must do better... But kudos to your fine masterpiece!

 

[Radioman77]

Thank you. It has been 20+ years of planning and collecting and adjusting to get here. None of the equipment is museum quality. It all has been used a good bit, some needs repairs to get back on the air. All of this started to come together in 2010. Moved to an antenna friendly QTH. retired In 2015 and finally got operational in 2019 (close to where I can relax and enjoy). Finished the desks and connections last week. The S-53 was my first shortwave radio. Got started using old car radio's (tube at that) for BCB dx'ing. Moved to cb and scanners and finally got my ticket and have been having a blast with ham radio. Took my first test in 1997 did all the upgrades by march 2000 then upgraded to Extra in April 2000. Hope ant changes to my setup will be minor from here on out.

 

[spanky15805]

The DX-160. Had to deliver a whole lot of Detroit News to save for that radio. Would do it again.

 

[mass-man]

Yea the DX 160....mowed a lot of BIG yards for mine. Had to order by phone from a Radio Shack about 50 miles away...they shipped it via regional bus line, COD. That was the largest sum of money I had ever spent back then!!!

 

[Token]

In this shot are a DX-150, DX-150A, DX-150B, and DX-160. Also a DX-100 and DX-200. Not shown, but part of my collection, is a DX-75, DX-125, DX-300, and DX-302. The DX-75 is a basket case, but one day I hope to refurb it.

T!

 

[a417]

the very first SWL unit I ever twirled the knobs on, got it passed on down from an uncle who survived the Battle of the Bulge.

Any of the other 160 owners have driftiness-issues? The D-band (4.5 --> 13) has never worked, pure silence, so it's probably a switching issue. I'm thiiiiis close to doing a "Mr Carlson's Lab" teardown and refurb on it. Anyone else ever gone at one to that level?

 

[Radioman77]

I started with a DX-150b that my brother got and built an outboard digital display for. Wish I had kept it. I have plans to recap and clean it up, but that is down road, good little rig. John

 

[gman1971]

Very nice!! Congrats!!

 

[Radioman77]

Thanks

 

[wa8pyr]

Any of the other 160 owners have driftiness-issues? The D-band (4.5 --> 13) has never worked, pure silence, so it's probably a switching issue. I'm thiiiiis close to doing a "Mr Carlson's Lab" teardown and refurb on it. Anyone else ever gone at one to that level?

I picked up a 160 for $5 complete with matching speaker at a hamfest a couple of years ago. The seller and his buddy were giggling about dumping "Mr Drifty" on an unsuspecting sap (me); I got it home and cleaned it up, started playing and to this day I haven't had a lick of trouble with drift. Guess the first guy had it next to a heating vent or something.

 

[N9JIG]

Years ago I have a DX160 or DX150 (I can't remember which) and used it with my MX7000 to decode various forms of RTTY and other data, it worked very well on it and seemed very stable once it was warm. It drifted pretty bad until it had been on an hour or so which I thought was pretty odd for a solid state receiver.

Eventually it went bad and I found a used Panasonic RF4900 which worked even better for data reception at twice the size.

Back in the 1980's there used to be a hole-in-the-wall TV repair shop on the north side of Chicago that had a "shortwave wall" of various HF receivers. He had a large selection of DX150/160's and Panasonic RF-xxxx receivers along with a few other brands of the day. The guy who ran the shop was a total nut, never sober but at least he was obnoxious. I bought several of these radios from him over the years but they usually required a deep cleaning and always had a bad musty smell, like his shop.

As for the OP's shack: Nicely done! So many times these days (myself included) radio shacks are dominated more by the computer than the radio, I like that you have your priorities straight!

 

[Radioman77]

Thanks Rich, I like knobs and buttons. I struggle with the computer but find it a necessary evil in the shack.

 

[VK3RX]

My first commercial receiver was a DX150A bought with my first few pays. That would have been 1971/1972.

Used to listen to SKYKING broadcasts and I think B52's ex Guam & VN.