On Fri, 19 Nov 2004 13:18:06 -0500, Dave Hall
wrote:

On Fri, 19 Nov 2004 13:46:34 GMT, "Eisboch"
wrote:

Short Wave Sportfishing wrote:
On Fri, 19 Nov 2004 07:31:30 -0500, Harry Krause
wrote:

Short Wave Sportfishing wrote:
On 19 Nov 2004 01:39:52 GMT, (Gould 0738) wrote:

Our regional boating magazine is about to observe its 40th year of
publication,
so I'm digging through issues from each of the first few decades to
choose
material for an article to lauch the anniversay year.

~~ snippage ~~

T&G Electronics was advertising some VHF radios. (Remember, these are
1965
prices...) The 75-watt, six channel model was available for $299. A
110-watt
model, also six channel, was priced at $399. The top of the line, very
deluxe
150-watt unit with *8* Channels (!) was a mere $549. (A lot of
middle-class
jobs only paid about $500/month back then. Imagine taking out an
18-month
installment loan to buy a VHF)

And those were crystal controlled with flibberdejibbet tune controls.

I have one in my collection of antique radios - I'll take a picture
today and post it.

Gosh...from the days when Radio Shack was a real electronics hobbyist
store.

First store ever - right across from BU on Commonwealth Avenue in
Boston. I had a Radio Shack short wave receiver from that my Uncle
sent me one Christmas. I was living in WI at the time (before we
moved east) and heard the BBC for the first time when I was around ten
sitting in my room with wire strung all over the place hooked up to
the little transistor "Shortwave" receiver. Sparked my interest in
electronics actually.

Remember Lafayette Electronics? My first FM receiver was a Lafayette
- I'll never forget putting that kit together - took me almost a month
working after homework was finished late into the night. Got it
together and had to tune it and bought my first piece of test
equipment - a signal generator - which was also a kit. :) I
remember my father saying "FM - it will never catch on - all they play
is classical music". WTMG in Milwaukee in fact had the only FM
transmitter in the mid-west at the time. WGN in Chicago was a couple
of years behind them.

Heathkit was also high on my list of stuff every Christmas when they
were still around. At one time I had a ton of Heath amateur radio and
test equipment. My Dad's first color TV was a Heath. That was fun.

Oh - gosh - how could I forget Allied Electronics on Michigan Avenue
in Milwaukee. I used to beg my Dad to take me to work with him at the
Milwaukee Sentinel on vacations so I could hang at the Allied store in
the afternoon and just look at "stuff".

Ah yes - the gud ole' daze...

Later,

Tom

I certainly do remember Lafayette and Heathkit.

We had a wonderful Radio Shack in downtown New Haven. It had some
displays of "manufactured" goodies, but most of the store consisted of
aisles and aisles of red plastic and painted wood parts bins, with every
electronic piece and part known to mankind, or, at least, all that a kid
could imagine. I think the store was that good because it was in walking
distance of Yale's engineering college.

I remember in the 7th grade finding a brand-new Model A Ford spark coil
there, if not OEM, then one built to Model A specs. Well, I really
needed one badly, because my Science Project for that year was to build
a cloud chamber. Which I did...and the damned thing worked. I still
remember exactly how I built it, too...after all these years.

--

Man, talk about flashbacks ...

Back in the late 50's or very early 60's when "HiFi" was the rage my father
and a group of his friends got into building speaker cabinets for their
"systems". They all met 1 or 2 times a week after work at one of the
friend's garage because he had a well equipped wood working shop. I still
remember the cabinet design - V shaped with a tunable slot along the rear
for bass reinforcement. They took me along to the Radio Shack in Boston to
get the speakers and crossover components and I can still remember the
building and the original Radio Shack sign.

A few years later when we moved to CT, there was a Lafayette Electronics
store at a strip mall on the Merritt Parkway. I saved all my lawn mowing
money one summer because I just *had* to have a Lafayette audio amplifier
kit. I built it and it was the center of my music system for years. I think
the kit was $18.95 and my mother, who drove me to the store when I finally
had the money, just couldn't understand why a box of tubes, resistors and
capacitors meant so much to me.

Little did she know, it was the beginning of what ultimately led to a career
and still remains as an enjoyable hobby.

WARNING! Flashback alert! Hide the beanbags and the lava lamps.....

My engineering career was sparked by those "100-in-1" electronic
project kits that Radio Shack used to sell. This led to an interest in
radio, which I cultivated with CB and then Ham radio.

I used to practically live in Radio Shack and Lafayette.

It distresses me to see what Radio Shack has "evolved" into. The have
few parts anymore and are little more than a small time consumer
electronics/toy store. It saddens me to see it that way, but I
understand the market pressures which brought it on. There aren't many
"experimenters" out there anymore who actually use discrete parts.
Most new techies, are into software driven circuits.

Another reason to long for the good old days.....

I had a long discussion many years ago with Wayne Green, W2NSD, who in
his day, was firmly convinced that technical educations came from
learning how to build, break and trouble shoot "stuff". Looking back
on his career, I'd have to say he was right. My kids were all
experimenters and when they broke something, my approach was to have
them fix it and only when they were stuck could they come to me for
help.

Later,

Tom

----- Original Message -----
From: Wayne.B
Newsgroups: rec.boats
Sent: Friday, November 19, 2004 12:20 PM
Subject: From some old archives........


On Fri, 19 Nov 2004 17:01:07 GMT, Short Wave Sportfishing
wrote:
Ultimately, and the stereo system I currently have, is a set of Bozak
Concert Grands (from the late '70s) powered by six McInsosh 50s (with
the Gold Lion 6L6s - now Svetlana 6L6s), a PAT5 preamp and some solid
state Marantz stuff inbetween. I still have my Garrad Z-100 changer,
but don't use it all that much. Had to build a solid state preamp for
the cd changer.

=========================================

Those 6L6s were some versatile tubes. My first ever novice ham rig
had one as the final amp, circa 1957. There was a metal version of
the 6L6 that was supposedly built to withstand the rigors of being
launched in an antiaircraft shell. The function of the 6L6 was to act
as a proximity fuse which would detonate the shell when the circuit
detected that it was near a metalic object.

What do they cost these days and where do you get them?


They were, and still are. Seems like they were used in just about everything
electronic at one time or another. Last winter I came across and was able
to buy a used, custom built guitar amp that uses push-pull 6L6's in the
output stage. The seller included several pairs of new, matched 6L6's as
spares with the amp. Sounds sweet with a Gibson Les Paul. If only I could
play the damn thing.

For Tom - that's a very impressive system ya got there. Love to listen to it
someday.
I got out of the audio stuff for many years, but now am now learning all
over again. Current "best" system consists of a pair of Martin-Logan SL3
electrostatics, Rel sub, B&K Components power amp and a Ascom (sp?) pre-amp.
Very different sound and strictly stereo only. Sounds best with acoustical
recordings and well recorded classical material.

Eisboch

On Fri, 19 Nov 2004 12:20:26 -0500, Wayne.B
wrote:

On Fri, 19 Nov 2004 17:01:07 GMT, Short Wave Sportfishing
wrote:
Ultimately, and the stereo system I currently have, is a set of Bozak
Concert Grands (from the late '70s) powered by six McInsosh 50s (with
the Gold Lion 6L6s - now Svetlana 6L6s), a PAT5 preamp and some solid
state Marantz stuff inbetween. I still have my Garrad Z-100 changer,
but don't use it all that much. Had to build a solid state preamp for
the cd changer.

=========================================

Those 6L6s were some versatile tubes. My first ever novice ham rig
had one as the final amp, circa 1957. There was a metal version of
the 6L6 that was supposedly built to withstand the rigors of being
launched in an antiaircraft shell. The function of the 6L6 was to act
as a proximity fuse which would detonate the shell when the circuit
detected that it was near a metalic object.

What do they cost these days and where do you get them?

About a $100 for a matched quad set of Chinese tubes - slightly more
the Svetlana tubes, although those are becoming problematical.
The Chinese tubes are very well made and they even make some in
different shells for different sounds.

Later,

Tom

On Fri, 19 Nov 2004 23:33:15 GMT, "Eisboch"
wrote:

----- Original Message -----
From: Wayne.B
Newsgroups: rec.boats
Sent: Friday, November 19, 2004 12:20 PM
Subject: From some old archives........


On Fri, 19 Nov 2004 17:01:07 GMT, Short Wave Sportfishing
wrote:
Ultimately, and the stereo system I currently have, is a set of Bozak
Concert Grands (from the late '70s) powered by six McInsosh 50s (with
the Gold Lion 6L6s - now Svetlana 6L6s), a PAT5 preamp and some solid
state Marantz stuff inbetween. I still have my Garrad Z-100 changer,
but don't use it all that much. Had to build a solid state preamp for
the cd changer.

=========================================

Those 6L6s were some versatile tubes. My first ever novice ham rig
had one as the final amp, circa 1957. There was a metal version of
the 6L6 that was supposedly built to withstand the rigors of being
launched in an antiaircraft shell. The function of the 6L6 was to act
as a proximity fuse which would detonate the shell when the circuit
detected that it was near a metalic object.

What do they cost these days and where do you get them?


They were, and still are. Seems like they were used in just about everything
electronic at one time or another. Last winter I came across and was able
to buy a used, custom built guitar amp that uses push-pull 6L6's in the
output stage. The seller included several pairs of new, matched 6L6's as
spares with the amp. Sounds sweet with a Gibson Les Paul. If only I could
play the damn thing.

For Tom - that's a very impressive system ya got there. Love to listen to it
someday.
I got out of the audio stuff for many years, but now am now learning all
over again. Current "best" system consists of a pair of Martin-Logan SL3
electrostatics, Rel sub, B&K Components power amp and a Ascom (sp?) pre-amp.
Very different sound and strictly stereo only. Sounds best with acoustical
recordings and well recorded classical material.

I would think it would. B&K - wow, another blast from the past.

I've been offered big dollars for those Macs from different
audiophiles. Same with the Concert Grands. Ain't gonna sell 'em - no
way, no how. :)

Ain't nuttin' like that transformer/tube sound.

Never mind the warm glow from the tubes at night.

That's why when I get the itch to do some hamming, I usually fire up
my Dad's old Collins S line. Real radios with real tubes. :)

Later,

Tom

Eisboch wrote:
----------------------------------------------------
Man, talk about flashbacks ...
Back in the late 50's or very early 60's when "HiFi" was the rage my
father and a group of his friends got into building speaker cabinets for
their "systems". They all met 1 or 2 times a week after work at one of
the friend's garage because he had a well equipped wood working shop. I
still remember the cabinet design - V shaped with a tunable slot along
the rear for bass reinforcement. They took me along to the Radio Shack
in Boston to get the speakers and crossover components and I can still
remember the building and the original Radio Shack sign.

==================================
Flashback is right!! I still remember buyng the plans from KLA Lab. in
Detroit to build the Electro-Voice Aristicrat cabinets. I think thats
what you're describing. It was called a "folded corner horn" and it was
best used in the corner of a room so as to utilize the walls to expand
the base notes. I used 2 EV 12" wide range speakers with a high freq.
tweeter that I got from Lafayette. I built a stereo integrated
amplifier that I got from
Allied Radio (later to merge with Radio Shack), then scrounged around
and found a Garrard turntable. My son still has the speakers and we
joke that they and he are about the same age. I recall building them
while my wife was pregnant with him.

=====
Norm

On Fri, 19 Nov 2004 20:16:19 -0500, (N.L. Eckert)
wrote:

Eisboch wrote:
----------------------------------------------------
Man, talk about flashbacks ...
Back in the late 50's or very early 60's when "HiFi" was the rage my
father and a group of his friends got into building speaker cabinets for
their "systems". They all met 1 or 2 times a week after work at one of
the friend's garage because he had a well equipped wood working shop. I
still remember the cabinet design - V shaped with a tunable slot along
the rear for bass reinforcement. They took me along to the Radio Shack
in Boston to get the speakers and crossover components and I can still
remember the building and the original Radio Shack sign.

==================================
Flashback is right!! I still remember buyng the plans from KLA Lab. in
Detroit to build the Electro-Voice Aristicrat cabinets. I think thats
what you're describing. It was called a "folded corner horn" and it was
best used in the corner of a room so as to utilize the walls to expand
the base notes. I used 2 EV 12" wide range speakers with a high freq.
tweeter that I got from Lafayette. I built a stereo integrated
amplifier that I got from
Allied Radio (later to merge with Radio Shack), then scrounged around
and found a Garrard turntable. My son still has the speakers and we
joke that they and he are about the same age. I recall building them
while my wife was pregnant with him.

Those were the days, eh what? :)

Allied was a great place and back in the day, made one hell of a
shortwave radio. They also made a QRP rig way back when. I worked a
guy using a 25 watt light bulb as an antenna with one of those. :)

Later,

Tom

On Sat, 20 Nov 2004 00:09:28 GMT, Short Wave Sportfishing
wrote:

That's why when I get the itch to do some hamming, I usually fire up
my Dad's old Collins S line. Real radios with real tubes. :)

===============================================

Oh yeah, real radios for sure. They were the standard that everything
else was measured against. In the pre-digital era Collins and Drake
made equipment that actually performed the way it was supposed to, and
that was unusual for ham gear of its day. Unfortunately the Collins
expertise did not carry over into computer equipment and that was
their downfall, big time.

On Fri, 19 Nov 2004 22:36:35 -0500, Wayne.B
wrote:

On Sat, 20 Nov 2004 00:09:28 GMT, Short Wave Sportfishing
wrote:

That's why when I get the itch to do some hamming, I usually fire up
my Dad's old Collins S line. Real radios with real tubes. :)

===============================================

Oh yeah, real radios for sure. They were the standard that everything
else was measured against. In the pre-digital era Collins and Drake
made equipment that actually performed the way it was supposed to, and
that was unusual for ham gear of its day. Unfortunately the Collins
expertise did not carry over into computer equipment and that was
their downfall, big time.

Remember the NCR line of transceivers?

Live long and prosper,

Tom

"Gould 0738" wrote in message

....................................
What fun! I'm looking at the "conceptual drawings" for two of our
prominent
civic marinas, (Des Moines and Kingston) as the original construction on
these
two projects was about to begin. I'll bet if the current environmental
laws
were in place, facilities like that would *still* be in the discussion
stages
after 40 years.


Remember the proposed Duwamish/West Seattle marina? A million dollars was
appropriated to build a rock breakwater, but first, The Corps of Engineers
was hired to study the feasibility of same. A year later, they came up with
their conclusion.... Not certain. By the way, their bill for the study
was.................................

You guessed it - One million.

Unc

On Fri, 19 Nov 2004 20:43:16 GMT, Short Wave Sportfishing
wrote:


WARNING! Flashback alert! Hide the beanbags and the lava lamps.....

My engineering career was sparked by those "100-in-1" electronic
project kits that Radio Shack used to sell. This led to an interest in
radio, which I cultivated with CB and then Ham radio.

I used to practically live in Radio Shack and Lafayette.

It distresses me to see what Radio Shack has "evolved" into. The have
few parts anymore and are little more than a small time consumer
electronics/toy store. It saddens me to see it that way, but I
understand the market pressures which brought it on. There aren't many
"experimenters" out there anymore who actually use discrete parts.
Most new techies, are into software driven circuits.

Another reason to long for the good old days.....

I had a long discussion many years ago with Wayne Green, W2NSD, who in
his day, was firmly convinced that technical educations came from
learning how to build, break and trouble shoot "stuff". Looking back
on his career, I'd have to say he was right. My kids were all
experimenters and when they broke something, my approach was to have
them fix it and only when they were stuck could they come to me for
help.


Most of my education was of the self-taught, "school of hard knocks"
method. I learned FAR more by experimenting on my own (Along with the
shocks, burns, and smoke to prove it!) than by sitting in a classroom
listening to an instructor talk about it.

The skill of troubleshooting is an aptitude. It requires a certain
analytical, logical mindset. Those who have this aptitude, pick it up
without any trouble. Those who don't have the aptitude, will likely
never fully grasp the concepts.

It doesn't matter to me if it's a ham radio, a fuel injection system,
consumer electronics, a lawn mower, or the boat, I solve the problems
in the same way, by a logical process of elimination.

Dave