Through most of the 1960's, there was a bi-monthly print magazine 
called "Electronics Illustrated." It covered a variety of electronics 
hobby areas, much like Popular Communications does today.

One of the Amateur Radio projects from that magazine was a single tube 
transmitter, much like the 6L6 that Ron described. This one used a 
50C5 tube, which could be had from almost any discarded AM broadcast 
radio.

A friend in town who got his Novice license about 6 months ahead of me 
built that little rig, and my brother and I were collecting the parts 
to build one for me as well.

One day my friend called and said: "Don't build that transmitter!." 
When I asked why, he said: "Because I just got a notice from an 
Official Observer who said I was 30 DB over S9 in Massachusetts, 3 KHZ 
above the top end of 20 meters."

Now think about that report for a minute. He was running a whole 3, 
maybe 4 watts output on 40 meters into a 40 meter dipole, and he never 
got that strong a report from anybody he talked with in the 40 meter 
novice band.

Anyway, he scrapped that transmitter, and got a Globe Scout.

My dad bought me a Viking Ranger a short time later, just before I 
took the Novice exam.




Mike Duke, K5XU
American Council of Blind Radio Amateurs