Wow, I haven't run across one of those in a long time.

I almost bought its predecessor, the 260, but opted for a 500CX 
instead. That 500CX was a Christmas and graduation gift from my 
parents at Christmas of 1971. I operated it for 12 years before 
changing to a Kenwood TS830.

The 260 came with the 12 volt supply installed. This was actually an 
inverter. With the 270, that item was sold separately. There were some 
other electrical differences in the 270, but I don't know what they 
were.

The RF2000, or TW1 watt meters should tune it nicely. Just peak 
everything for maximum receiver noise, then insert enough carrier to 
get an indication on the watt meter, then peak everything, including 
the grid control, for highest pitch.
However, because it is not as sensitive at low power, the TW1 may not 
help you null out the carrier once you have peaked the output.

I remember that I once tuned another receiver to the frequency of my 
500cx, and found that by turning the mic gain completely off, I could 
null the carrier even lower than I could when using the tuning gimmick 
which was wired across the radio's meter.

I have known several sighted hams who tuned their rigs using an SWR 
bridge in the forward power setting, with the sensitivity control 
turned down far enough to keep the rig from pegging the meter. That is 
the only way I ever tuned my Heath Kit HW12, only with that rig, I 
didn't have to worry about the SWR meter being pegged.


Most of Swan's drifting problem was cured in the 500CX, as it had a 
solid state vfo. I'm pretty sure the same goes for the 270, and even 
the 260.

Now, here's the question of the day.

will anybody admit to ever having operated a Syltronics 10-11 on ten 
meters as a ham?

The Syltronics began life as the Swan 10-11. They caught so much flack 
over it that they changed the name plate, and marketed it through 
Syltronics, which was another company they owned that mostly sold test 
equipment.

In 42 years of ham radio, I have only talked with 2 of the 10-11 rigs 
on 10 meters.

If you ever touched a 10-11, you know the size and layout of the Swan 
260 or 270.

Mike Duke, K5XU
American Council of Blind Radio Amateurs