Hello Sir! Welcome from Germany! 
New member "Michael"
- Thread starter ironcoder
- Start date
Welcome to AK! Quite a few hams around here...myself included.
ironcoder
Active Member
Thank you all for such a nice welcome. I do love making these old stereos work like new again. For me it is like a detective story. I read the clues from my meter and scope. I track down the villain. I deal with that villain harshly. Then it is time to install bright leds to replaced the old burned out bulbs and even the bulbs that are not burned out. I can get nice even lighting on the dial and I usually use a green or red LED for the meter. My parents were from the former Soviet Union and I still have family there. I repair a lot of transceivers, but they just don't give me the satisfaction of a perfectly working stereo receiver.
ironcoder
Active Member
Well safebet, thanks for the note. I am here to learn and have learned a lot already. I learned that my first few encounters with Class D amps does not characterise them all. I learned I better get a good plan ready for repairing stereos in the future because most are DC amps. I got kicked in the a** by the last one and do not want a repeat performance. Actually I am learning all kinds of things in life now that I am retired. Books represent a huge amount of learning available to us all. My wife and I are currently reading from John Mack. Yes, I have done all kinds of jobs in my life. I did find that after a year of really trying, I hated working as a state cop. I also hated working for intelligence in the military. It was a dark dismal job. We don't need to be reminded of the awfulness in world each day at work. I love bringing stereo receivers back to their original condition. I have picked up many at garage sales and repaired them. I can't bring myself to part with any. So, I do not sell them. Truth be known, I hate parting with really nice stereo receivers I have repaired for customers.
ironcoder
Active Member
Yes, Raytheon made and does make a large number of products. I was often presented with a piece of equipment that I had never seen before. I remember once working on a piece of equipment that would show me the radar display of another ship. When it was repaired, I could create a false target and move it towards the other ship. The other ship gets confused and starts concentrating on what looks like a real target. I once did something with that equipment that I should not have done. I was young and lacked judgement. It was very foggy in Bremerton, WA. The ferry from Seattle needed their radar to dock. When they were a half mile from the dock, I moved the dock out to them. They immediately stopped. I kept the dock right in front of them. They turned off their radar to reset it. This procedure would take them 3 minutes. I did this for 3/4 of an hour. I thought it was hysterically funny. However, in my old age I now feel guilty for being so nasty to the captain and the passengers. They were unnecessarily delayed and I am sure the captain of the Washington state ferry was concerned for the safety of his vessel. I can only blame myself and my 22 years of youth for this transgression. I hope God will give me a pass on this one, or maybe not.
I've let a few nice components come and go over the years but don't have too many regrets after passing them along. Oh sure I should have probably kept that little Marantz or Teac R-888X cassette deck, otherwise many were inexpensive finds and there's joy in finding them new homes too. I keep a few because they are nice to use or have sentimental value. I'll never part for example with my AU-9500; it's nice AND sentimental! Agreed though, it can be tough letting go.
tazman3276
Active Member
Welcome to the AK family. This site is amazing. The members are so friendly and helpful. Looking forward to reading your post.
goat67
Addicted Member
I to have a confession of sorts, we also thought it very funny to use the Illuminating radar to turn on the fluorescent lights in the 11Bs barracks across the street at 3 in the morning, we would track it quickly across the building, turning on the lights as it passed over them. In hindsight pretty stupid to do.
ironcoder
Active Member
Glad to hear I am not the only one to make youthful transgressions. You know, when I read in our little town paper here about some old guy my age committing some crime like selling drugs or something, I am truly shocked that he did not learn better after a full lifetime here on the planet. Youngsters make mistakes that we should allow for. I don't mean allow for committing a violent crime, I mean just drugs or some prank. When I was in college, listening to the popular music of the 60s was universal among us. I kept getting their stereos in to repair, because they all knew that I could fix them. All I had then was a meter and an untriggered oscilloscope. They thought I was a genius. I did not let them know that it was generally pretty easy. I let them think I was a genius I am guessing your radar was fairly high power. That might have been dangerous, but of course we were young back then and did not put a lot of thought into consequences. Your collection certainly looks nice. I have a much smaller collection.
I am guessing your radar was fairly high power. That might have been dangerous, but of course we were young back then and did not put a lot of thought into consequences. Your collection certainly looks nice. I have a much smaller collection.