Once in a while...

[N5AIT Allan Stephens]

Gang:

     Last night, invited by a friend, I went to a meeting of an area
radio club of which I am not a member.  Small group this meeting, so
it was less than formal.  I was chatting with a ham named Mike who said
"Hey - aren't you the guy who likes old radios?"  I plead guilty, and
he said "I got something you might want."

     He know an older ham in Cincinnati who was cleaning house and
was about to throw out some old stuff he figured no one would want.
Mike told him NOT to throw it out, that he would go and pick it up -
which he did.  Mike told the guy he knew there was someone in this area
who worked on old stuff..., and he (Mike) hated to see equipment just
thrown away.

     He did not know what he had, but from his description I figured
it was Hammarlund HQ-100 or 110, (with matching speaker), and there
was "...a big AM-only transceiver that has a separate box VFO."  With a
hand description of sizes, and the added comment that "the case is a
sort of maroon," I guessed he had a Viking...

     At his home after the meeting we discovered an HQ-110C (yeah,
WITH clock) and speaker in very nice physical shape - he said he had
put a wire on it but got nothing but static; and what looked like
a Viking II with the VF-122 vfo.  The cabinet was not original: it
had been very nicely painted maroon, close to Johnson's, and had a
lid on it (plus fairly open in the back).  I popped the lid and
looked in...  Yeah, there were the two 807's modulators...  The tuning
capacitor did not look quite right though... and...  Hmmmm... no twin
6146's.  Wait - that's an 829B!  A close inspection of the front of
the critter (in very good shape) confirmed:  Viking I (that's ONE).

     Tonight I start testing the tubes on the HQ-110C (I got a manual
for it) and see about getting it up and running.  I have restored a
couple of Viking II's and there is much similar, so will at least
reform the filter caps, test the tubes, and see how it goes.
Incidentally, looking under the lid it looks new: no dust, nothing
spilled or melted down, really pristine.  Of course I haven't looked
under the chassis... but it sure is pretty!

     By chance I have manuals for all, but with the substitution of
the 829B for the original 4D32 I need to know what sort of power to
put on it: how many mils grid current, ditto plate, so that I do not
zap the thing. I appreciate that info from anyone out there who knows,
and whether there was any modifications for the 829B other than
allowing for the two plate caps.

     So I am one happy person, with a nice project for the weekend
(right after I finish the modification of my other VF-122 to put my
Viking II on 30 meters from the 11 meter position).  I'd appreciate
any tips on the Viking I, including holding down the TVI it seems
to have been known for.

     73,  One happy Al  N5AIT
  modsteph at acs.eku.edu