Very interesting. You are doing a great job keeping those fine old Collins radios working. They sound really good. I have a few of those Collins mechanical filters. I am saving them for when I get a Collins radio.

I have several Collins aircraft radios, both the 250/350 sets and 251/351 nav/com sets. I can't figure out why I purchased so many but I love the equipment. Most of my ham equipment is Heathkit, I just love building my own and learning how things work. I sure enjoy your videos, keep the good work going, 73's to you.

A couple of minor points - the 455Y-3 filter is FL2. FL1 is the square filter and is crystal filter, not mechanical. The 75S1 manual lists the 526-9337-00 filter impedance as 17 kohms, which is a suitable value to match the plate and grid impedance of tube circuits. Tracing the FL2 wiring on the schematic, it goes to the LSB and USB positions of the mode switch.

@ElPasoTubeAmps

8 ай бұрын

Thank you. I always appreciate corrections and better understanding from my videos. It is all about sharing and helping others keep the vintage equipment working properly. 73 WA4QGA

I found a mech filter in the box on eBay for my 51J-4 several years ago. Kinda cool to find them with that packing in the box.

@ElPasoTubeAmps

3 ай бұрын

Agree, and it is nice we can still find such parts when we need them to keep these beauties working. It was intermittent and took me several hours working on and off with it to find the problem. The only mechanical filter I have ever had go bad. 73

Really nice set of Collins radios. Cheers

Wow David you were really lucky to 1st find the intermittently working part..than to find a new old stock part. Very nice repair.. And what nice additions to an already great collection of Collins equipment! Thanks for posting, Tom

You sure have a lot of neat toys! and I can tell that you love to show them! Like you said... "like a kid in a candy store!". Thank you for a short tour of your Collins gear!

Beautiful Collins gear, David.

The ergonomics on the Collins equipment is unsurpassed in any later era. The team was genius!

@ElPasoTubeAmps

4 жыл бұрын

Completely agree. 73

@edwarddejong8025

4 жыл бұрын

Most people don’t realize that Mr. Collins was such a genius that after the war, he took all the money he made and built a message switching system for Communications that would allow for the Air Force to survive nuclear bombardment and still communicate. He did this 15 years before the internet. It was a store and forward system, with giant boxes the size of refrigerators, And unfortunately the Air Force didn’t buy the system because they couldn’t understand it and collins entered great financial trouble.

Sir, You really make my day better. Beautiful job and beautiful ham radio station. Thanks for sharing . 73 DE PU2SRZ - Sao Paulo - Brasil

@ElPasoTubeAmps

5 жыл бұрын

Silvio, Thank you so much. I love this stuff and obviously am a Collins and vacuum tube fan to the core. This equipment was just a dream when I was a kid. The price of a KWM-2A was over $3500 in 1978 when this unit was made and I don't know if that price included a power supply. I do a lot of my videos for posterity as I know this equipment is fading away as each year passes and just to look under the chassis at the high quality of components and build attention, "makes my day" as you said. My 32S-1 which started this repair has been working flawlessly for me for 35 years with only one issue about 10 years ago and then again with this issue. This problem was intermittent and difficult to find but the fact that someone, for the last 60 years or so, has had the insight and understanding to save this little mechanical filter, having it lay around on a shelve for all those decades speaks to how much many of us appreciate the high quality vintage equipment. My recent technique of video recording the oscilloscope screen while narrating the measurement process definitely help solve this issue. I add these types of comments into my videos in the hope that it might help someone else. 73 from El Paso and my family to yours and your beautiful country, I hope we can have a QSO some day on 20M PS - if you like pictures of homebrew equipment, you can find more on my QRZ page. WA4QGA

I just love the look of the Collins S Line. Never owned any, always out of my price range. Maybe one day. Great Video Ray. 73 Joe KN4IFI

@ElPasoTubeAmps

4 жыл бұрын

Joe - the Collins S-Line is about the same price as many other radios today even they are 50-60 years old. They are still a Rolls Royce radio to have and operate. The vacuum tube equipment does take maintenance much like a fine 1960 automobile but I think the maintenance is fun. You have to be willing to learn and do the maintenance yourself as there are darn few left that can or will work on radios like the Collins S-Line that are not their own equipment. I have learned to express my particular love for ham radio as, (1) I enjoy a good QSO about almost anything. I do participate in contests giving others contacts but otherwise prefer more than just a RST report. (2) I really enjoy seeing the equipment perform. I like the sizzle of a few thousand volts on an amplifier and the glow of the orange plates under high power and the analog meters jumping around with my voice modulation, and (3) as already mentioned, I enjoy the maintenance of the equipment. It is part of the hobby to me just like a mechanic that loves to work on his own vintage car. The Collins 30L-1 amplifier is probably still one of the best buys out there. It will deliver 750 watts to the antenna and is a small, very well built, desktop amplifier. It will need the power supply rebuilt if it has not been done already as it is surely 40+ years old. Thanks for your comments. I hope to hear you on 20M. 73 WA4QGA

Nice!!! some time Ebay surprise me also ;-) K8NY, here is PY5AB, we have QSO in Feb17, 2013 in the forty band..... 73, Toni.

@PY5AB

5 жыл бұрын

Oppppssss I have a lot of Collins mech filters, really a good piece of engineering.

Not heard WWV on 2.5 MHz here in t UK for many years did not no that its still active in the USA, I can here CHU FROM Canada on 3.330. Nice Collins gear you have.

@ElPasoTubeAmps

5 жыл бұрын

I don't find WWV on 2.5 MHz very often here either. I could hear it barely at the noise level. It was a little stronger the other night. I can't always get CHU on 3.330 MHz either. I think 5 MHz and 10 MHz is generally the most reliable depending on the time of day in the area I live in. Just found this information: WWV operates in the high frequency (HF) portion of the radio spectrum. The station radiates 10 000 W on 5 MHz, 10 MHz, and 15 MHz; and 2500 W on 2.5 MHz and 20 MHz.

Hi love the video and gotta love the Collins equipment. Just wondering, the 51s1 works in standby and on?? I'm new to Collins equipment and just picked up a 75s2 and it quits receiving in standby and only receives in Opr. Just wondering for my own understanding. Thanks for all the amazing help.

@ElPasoTubeAmps

4 жыл бұрын

When it is in standby, it is intended to be connected to a transmitter like the 32S-1 or 32S-3 and mutes when you transmit. Same for the 51S-1. If it is not connected to a transmitter that mutes it on transmit, you do have to have it in Operate mode, which is correct. It is amazing how well Collins equipment works after 60 and 70 years. You can see more of what I have at QRZ.com. 73 WA4QGA

@JesusIsLordofMybeing

4 жыл бұрын

@@ElPasoTubeAmps thanks so much for explaining to me. I'm so happy to finally purchased my first Collins rig and probably won't be parting with it as they are made so well!! 73's

Great Video....thanks.......Question: I'm getting my first piece of Collins equipment.....A Collins 75S-3B Winged Emblem...Do you need a dedicated power supply speaker combination or can I just connect to the back with that round plug directly into house AC? Thanks Much....Mike

@ElPasoTubeAmps

5 ай бұрын

The receiver plugs into the 120 VAC outlet directly. It has a plug on the back that I hope the power cable and plug comes with the receiver. The speaker, not amplified, plugs into an RCA jack on the back and the RF (antenna) input is also a RCA jack. The transmitters, 32S-1 and 32S-3 do need an outboard power supply. Fantastic receiver... 73 WA4QGA

@mikeerstad3705

5 ай бұрын

Raymond, Thanks for the quick reply....I took a look at your QRZ page and wholly cow, my wife thought I had a lot of stuff....looks like you need a bigger basement (looks like that's where it all is). 73 K9BBN@@ElPasoTubeAmps

I have a question for you. I have 2 stancor A-3872 output transformers Input 5000 ohms c.t. outputs 4, 8, and 16 ohms. My question is if use the the 4 ohm tap with a 8 ohm speaker or the 8 ohm tap with a 16 ohm speaker can the input now be used as a 10k ohm c.t. input for either push-pull 6V6s or 6BQ5s?

@ElPasoTubeAmps

5 жыл бұрын

Yes, that is exactly right. I know from experience, your example is exactly how it will measure out on an impedance bridge and it will work just fine. After building the amplifier, you may find that putting an 8 ohm load on the 8 ohm tap may actually give you the best performance. At low power levels, primary load impedance is very broad and forgiving. This is not true at high power level of a few hundred watts or more. A 2:1 change from the original design will work but, taking it to an extreme will likely not work even though measurements on an impedance bridge may indicate it will. For example, putting a 1 ohm load on the 16 ohm tap will not work for a 312 ohm load on the primary. Best of luck with your project.

@williamthrasher8540

5 жыл бұрын

@@ElPasoTubeAmps thank you it is good to have clarification on this it is very helpful.

How about a review of your KW-1?

@ElPasoTubeAmps

4 жыл бұрын

I will be looking for my KW-1 at the next estate sale - maybe for $100 or so? :-) A look for those that have never seen one. www.google.com/search?q=Collins+KW-1&rlz=1C1CHBF_enUS839US839&tbm=isch&source=iu&ictx=1&fir=HBnlJ0EEGwyiNM%253A%252Cpv99B351CcytQM%252C_&vet=1&usg=AI4_-kRsN1YUcT6OBSge2lhSgAW_kKrc0w&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiksvT4iKzkAhUjgK0KHVA1DpMQ9QEwAnoECAgQDA#imgrc=HBnlJ0EEGwyiNM:

Hope nobody you knew got caught up in the shooting today.

@ElPasoTubeAmps

5 жыл бұрын

I don't yet know personally of anyone harmed in the shooting. I think about 1/3 of the victims were from across the border in Juarez and are Mexican citizens. BTW - I am married to a naturalized USA citizen born in Mexico and my children and grandchildren are Hispanic. El Paso is a very calm and peaceful city. Anyone can walk around anywhere in the city day or night and you will not be assaulted. We have had the status of either the safest city or second safest city in the USA for a large city (about 800,000) for years. When I arrived in El Paso in 1976, I was told this was a really laid-back town because of the lithium in the drinking water. I have no idea if that is true... but it is true that everyone gets along very well with each other in El Paso. We do not have hate crimes or racial tension in El Paso and we don't have street level drug dealers. After working for NASA and WSMR for 26 years, I went to work on contract with INS/DHS for 11 more years, primarily with Border Patrol. I have a lot of respect for these men and women that protect our border, not to forget ICE and USCIS. They are the men and women that carry the big gold badge and gun on their side to protect us right at the border and they do a marvelous job along with other law enforcement in El Paso. So far, at least up until now, we have been able to prevent being sucked into the political nightmare of other cities where tragedies like this have occurred but this will surely bring many politicians to El Paso blaming each other to make themselves look better and get more votes so they can stay in power. I don't think our politicians want to solve anything. In both parties, there is a problem with every solution and nothing, "goes far enough" to hear many of them speak. It seems it is just all about the political parties destroying each other and tragedies like this give both of them fuel to carry-on their campaign. I am very sorry things like this happen is a great society like we live in.

@apmdavies

5 жыл бұрын

@@ElPasoTubeAmps Thanks for the reply. You come acros as a very easy going, peace loving man. I love the old electronics and have just built myself a couple of monoblocks with this valve lineup - ECC83 - ECC85 driving 4 X KT90's in parallel push-pull. Output is 70W RMS each and at 20 Watts distortion is only 0.015%