N6QW -- Left Coast Radio

Often the opener, I never thought was followed by "that the car could go that fast as you get a ticket", or "that the gun was loaded" or "that she would end up pregnant". Well, that phrase also covers today's bit of blabber. The set up ~ Both Collins and Drake used PTOs in their radios which were hallmarked by a linear readout and excellent stability after a warmup. Collins in the rigs prior to the KWM-380 were all vacuum tube and Drake started with tubes and then went to Solid State. My "I never thought is followed by that they did that this way" involves a Drake PTO. While rummaging around one of my junk stashes, I found a box marked Drake PTO. I seem to recall having to repair a Drake PTO and that was by installing a replacement PTO as the rig I bought had an inoperative unit.    Given my current mode of operation of trying to fix things, it was time for this PTO. There was no info in the box about what was wrong with the PTO and likely wh

Mention Atlas Radio and immediately you think of Herb Johnson who also was the creative genius behind Swan Engineering later Swan Radio. Atlas 180 I often wondered if the name Atlas was chosen because of the comic books ads that featured Charles Atlas. Charlie who decried that he was a puny kid used his exercise regimen to become a body builder. He is quoted as saying give me a place to stand and I can lift the world. The Atlas Radio logo appears to have a world globe cleverly hidden in the graphic. I was an early purchaser of the Atlas 180 and installed it in my Chevy Vega. My one-way trip to work using the California freeways was about 30 minutes so enough time for a few QSO's.  One of my best ever QSO's was with a friend and fellow employee of Douglas Aircraft. My friend Dan was a pilot and for about a 2-year period was a FAA designee qualifying Japanese Pilots (JAL) to fly the DC-10. He would crank up the Collins 618T on board the DC-10 during a check flight over Japan and

Yesterday while doing my shift at the Board and Care I thought about that subject. If you are new to the hobby likely the answer is a radio currently being sold through one of the popular suppliers (DX Engineering, Gigaparts, Amazon).  If you been at this hobby for some time, the answer is often something you no longer own. It is with lament that you hear: "I really loved that FT-101B" and I regret ever selling it.  Or perhaps your shack had one of these. A Hygain 3750. Atlas 350XL Hallicrafters FPM 200 Astro 102BX Likely the above radios are not well known to the average 1/2 the total US Ham population (those who can work HF). The offerings were aimed at a niche market but at the time touted as having the latest technology, but often priced like a King's ransom. Frequently the production runs were small in numbers. The Collins KWM-1 line only produced 1250 units.  What was so good about these specific radios? Yes, they did have sizzle with the displays or that if you own