Any RF port in a storm

Although I havent been very active on air for a while, I have been running my U3S WSPR beacon on 40m. This had to stop over the weekend when the storm brought my HF doublet down. As I was working, it had to wait for today for repair. Nothing I like more than trying to make a decent Western Union splice stood atop step ladders! I am now repaired and back on air, although I havent yet had time to check the matching to see if the repair has affected anything. WSPR results since the repair seem ok.

With thanks to Alan G8LIT, my Clansman PRC344 is now housed neatly in its own 58 pattern carrier satchel, which cleaned up nicely with a bit of 'chelating mixture' (that is, flour and vinegar) on the metal work, and a spin through the wash.

Ive also acquired a vintage 2m multimode, from near the very start of the era! An FDK Multi-2000! This is a proper beast of a set, and has some rather curious features, such as its dial selected 10kHz steps, but with a +/- 7kHz VXO for FM! It weights a ton, mostly because it is a dual 12V DC/ 240VAC capable set.

Vintage FDK Multi-2000 2m multimode transceiver

Top View

Bottom View. Note homebrew pre-amp!

It does need some work doing though! The mains switch seems to work but the supply doesnt get from the switch to the regulator! I can power the set by connecting directly to the reservoir capacitor! The VXO doesnt seem to work, its a tad deaf, the output power is down, possibly due to a failed final transistor, a couple of the filament dial bulbs have blown, and the volume pot is noisy. There are also some joints in the internal wiring that have previously been taped and are now falling apart, but these go to the dial bulbs so i'll be replacing those anyway. Its also about 3kHz off frequency. Cosmetically its not bad for its age, theres a crack in the fascia but the knobs and front panel etc are all ok. Minor repair stuff really. Someone in the past has added a homebrew receive pre-amp as well.

One good thing about radios of this vintage is that the manuals came with the alignment details and circuit diagrams. So I have the manual, and will set about restoring it to usable condition. I dont think it will be too hard, most of the problems are very minor. My only real concern is the PA, getting a suitable replacement final transistor might be a challenge. I suspect the receiver can be brought up a bit just from alignment, but its possible that parts will be needed in the front end, or maybe even that homebrew pre-amp! Those big electrolytics might be a bit suspect as well after all these years!

The switching transistors for the battery warning modules came today, so my first three units now have that fitted. I do hope the rest of the parts dont take too long to arrive now!