Well, it's been hot, very hot for this time of year. And I've had a lot of grass (weeds) to mow before fire season starts. The good news is that the shop/museum is now air conditioned so there is a good excuse to work on radios in the afternoon. Just finished the receiver on my 1926 Steinite console. More on that later.
I've been playing with the Strat. Mostly to see what I can pick up on band 5, the 18 - 45 MHz "silver" band. The good news is that I have picked up a lot more stations than I had expected, mostly from 30 to 45 MHz in the evening around sunset. These do not come booming in like on band 4 which has the advantage of 2 RF amps. No, on band 5 all of the muscle is in the audio amp. Heaven forbid that some body turns on a light switch or there is a lightning storm nearby. The CRACK can knock you off of your chair when the volume is maxed out. Some of the danger is mitigated by switching off the tweeter (the switch shorts it out) and turning the base off until you land on a station.
Did you know that WWV, the time/space weather/frequency standard station, is now transmitting on 25 MHz again? Picked up that too.
Since I have been in front of the radio as it is getting dark, I took the opportunity to photograph the 5 bands as lit by the edge mounted bulbs. This is a little tough since there is some light emitted in the proximity of the bulb its self. The idea to have the etched, colored bands light up in such a way was cool and cumbersome and resulted in a few complaints from buyers. But still, the 6 glass panes are part of the unique design of the Strats. Six(?) you say. Yes, the 6th is the split second display that is always lit.
So here are some pics, starting with the broadcast band (green) moving up to band 5.
I've been playing with the Strat. Mostly to see what I can pick up on band 5, the 18 - 45 MHz "silver" band. The good news is that I have picked up a lot more stations than I had expected, mostly from 30 to 45 MHz in the evening around sunset. These do not come booming in like on band 4 which has the advantage of 2 RF amps. No, on band 5 all of the muscle is in the audio amp. Heaven forbid that some body turns on a light switch or there is a lightning storm nearby. The CRACK can knock you off of your chair when the volume is maxed out. Some of the danger is mitigated by switching off the tweeter (the switch shorts it out) and turning the base off until you land on a station.
Did you know that WWV, the time/space weather/frequency standard station, is now transmitting on 25 MHz again? Picked up that too.
Since I have been in front of the radio as it is getting dark, I took the opportunity to photograph the 5 bands as lit by the edge mounted bulbs. This is a little tough since there is some light emitted in the proximity of the bulb its self. The idea to have the etched, colored bands light up in such a way was cool and cumbersome and resulted in a few complaints from buyers. But still, the 6 glass panes are part of the unique design of the Strats. Six(?) you say. Yes, the 6th is the split second display that is always lit.
So here are some pics, starting with the broadcast band (green) moving up to band 5.
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