Science Fair Globe Patrol kit shortwave receiver

Started by Sunflower, January 22, 2013, 02:47:49 PM

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Sunflower

It is a cold day low 20's with some wind thrown in. Burr.

I peaked in my husband's storage room, and boy-howdy did I come across some cool stuff. I remember Jack telling me about building a radio or two, but he did not know where it all was. Well, I found something. Looks like a radio if you ask me. The Tandy/Radio Shack book was right next to it. Below, I included a few notes from the book. Pretty Cool.

I also located a ceramic animal (white faced red bull figurine). That was extra cool, as I have been thinking about that particular breed in recent days.

What started as having some disappointment this morning has truly turned out to be a bit more than expected - all for the good.

Needless to say, I am feeling pretty jazzed about locating this particular treasure.

------------------------
Description: 1970, Science Fair Globe Patrol. Cat.No. 28-205.
Four Bands. Short Wave Receiver.
Band A: Amateur Stations, International Short Wave Stations, Military Stations, and Standard Time Signals.

BAND A
20 Meter Band
19 Meter Band
16 Meter Band
15 Meter Band
14 Meter Band
10 Meter Band
-------
Band B, C & D

Question: The knobs slide back and are kind of unreachable depending if I shake it forward first.

I am a long ways for listening. Will read the book soon. I still have not tested or studied enough for the Technician Licence. Too much going on with the recent changes in the home.

I look forward to getting caught up on the radio news here.

Tess

Sunflower

Does anyone else have experience with this kit? Since my husband built it, I can assume that it works. I did not locate an antenna yet. What should I look for? Not sure if one came with the kit or not.

gil

Hello Tess,

Great find. the antenna is probably just a long piece of wire... You could always use a long wire, around 60' or so...

Gil.

KC9TNH

Tess, that is a SUPERB find!  (I see back around Thanksgiving one went on eBay for $61.)
I was able to quickly google the manual.  What a great kit that was. The manual was both the assembly and operating manual, replete with schematics. Pretty neat, snagged as a PDF.

You have a great find; think of it has a REALLY good version of something that - owned in occupied Europe - would get a person shot.  Getting info IN is important in being prepared. As gil mentioned SWL antennas are easy & very modest, although you can go great guns if you want.  But the bands listed are GREAT! You're gonna get the whole amateur spectrum through 10m (including 60m folks). You will learn something about propagation, calculation of antenna length and all that just from the manual. It was a true science fair project.

Even before you get on the air with your own ticket, you'll be able to copy W1AW morse lessons at various speeds (according to their sked published on the web) on any number of locations.
Just in case you didn't get the idea, this is a VERY cool thing.

I have the manual as well now; any questions, post here & start your own thread maybe & we can all learn.
Here's a pic I found (which I think is the correct puppy).
Neat!

Sunflower

Quote from: KC9TNH on January 22, 2013, 06:26:21 PM
Tess, that is a SUPERB find!  (I see back around Thanksgiving one went on eBay for $61.)
I was able to quickly google the manual.  What a great kit that was. The manual was both the assembly and operating manual, replete with schematics. Pretty neat, snagged as a PDF.

You have a great find; think of it has a REALLY good version of something that - owned in occupied Europe - would get a person shot.  Getting info IN is important in being prepared. As gil mentioned SWL antennas are easy & very modest, although you can go great guns if you want.  But the bands listed are GREAT! You're gonna get the whole amateur spectrum through 10m (including 60m folks). You will learn something about propagation, calculation of antenna length and all that just from the manual. It was a true science fair project.

Even before you get on the air with your own ticket, you'll be able to copy W1AW morse lessons at various speeds (according to their sked published on the web) on any number of locations.
Just in case you didn't get the idea, this is a VERY cool thing.

I have the manual as well now; any questions, post here & start your own thread maybe & we can all learn.
Here's a pic I found (which I think is the correct puppy).
Neat!

Yes. That is it. Thanks. I too noticed that the kit and operation manual were one in same. I will get to reading it soon - I hope. I got distracted today - shortly after locating this reciever. I took a side trip to the local gun shop to try to fill some of the empty gun boxes that my husband put away in a special place (the original ones were stolen years ago). I will attempt to continue my husband's effort to replace the firearms (though with different serial numbers). While I was at the shop, I saw some goodies. The owner is real cool and was kind enough to hold my check until Monday. As a result I left with some primers (3 unit limit), two AR mags, misc ammo, a Dan Wesson Stainless steel .357 Mag Revolver (THIS IS WHAT I AM SO JAZZED ABOUT) (I feel like dancing). My husband always said no to it in the past, but my feeling was that it was ok on this trip. If it's possible to feel his angel wings in the gun shop, then I can say I felt them. I haven't smiled with joy for a while, this trip and the purchases were great medicine. I also left with an aged Model 74 Winchester (.22LR). A 20 Gauge Mossberg also got a ride home. That is 3 used firearms in total. That's more than what I usually pickup in a year or two.

So back to the Tandy Receiver. I sure appreciate the great kudos for this from someone with so much experience. It just makes me feel even more strongly that my hubby is watching over me. I only looked in one small area. I move two pieces of furniture and that was all. I could of moved any number of things in any number of places, but I picked that spot. There it all was (3 empty gun boxes) (a ceramic bull of the herd I am considering) and (the radio receiver and manual). What are the chances of that all happening in such a small area and in so short a time.

My down morning sure turned around nicely. I needed the extra radio lift as I was feeling a bit hard on myself for not being ready to test yet. There really has not been much time to study or test. I know who I am - so I know that I will test at the right time and will pass. That is just how life works for me. I almost always get what I reach for. Time is just time, so I take each day a day at a time when I  am wise.

I will let you all know when I get the manual started.

First Question: What's the deal with the knobs? They keep falling backwards.
Second Question: "Phone" inlet? There is a plug (female), what is that for exactly? Should I be looking for something to place in there? Head phones???

Thank you.


Sunflower

#5
I can tell from your pic above that I am missing knobs from the tuning posts. I will keep an eye open for them in the attic room where I located the radio.

I appreciate the enthusiasm KC9TNH.

It will be exciting to make my first connection or to even hear what's going on from others. Pretty exciting. I hope to look up a few local HAMs to see if they might have a newbie night or something like that. One of my old quilting buddies has a call sign but no longer does radio. Her husband sounded like he is still active, so maybe he will know more. My other contact is from a club - about 2 hours away.


Sunflower

#6
Page 16 addresses the 2 m external antenna (6 feet).
The diagram on page 17 is a bit confusing. Am I going to need to move closer to a window? so I reach a tree? Should I consider the South side of home instead of the North (where I am right now)???? The regular radio works better from the South at times but not always.

Looking at the diagram on page 17, Figure 7, what is the deal with the "cold water pipe?"

Thank you, TESS

KC9TNH

Tess, nice score on the AR mags and the Dan Wesson. Those old Dan Wesson guns are built like Gibraltar, you have good taste in wheel-guns. (If they're available for not too much, even if rationed, you know to keep scoring your ammo & mags, good girl.)

I'm still a wage-slave & it's oh-dark-thirty here.  I'll see if I can address a few of your questions during a break at work later, specific to your questions about the diagram on pg. 17, which I will have Big G donate some printer paper for.  Meanwhile:

- no, you don't necessarily need to move closer to a window, they were just trying to fit the concept into a single picture. (Old hand-drawn Army illustrations used to do that, arghhh.)

- the use of illustration of a cold-water pipe is to indicate use of a ground, so you don't bring summer lightning or winter static into the shack & hurt the radio or you.j

Hang tight - there are ways to do this that'll make for comfy listening, although the concept is right along with that drawing. Keep looking for your knobs, although hobby shops etc. will probably have replacements.  Just at this hour if something is falling through it sounds as if a shaft simply isn't quite tightened from the back inside the panel.

Gotta go find coffee & get movin'.  :)

KC9TNH

What's not to like with an early Japanese design that's meant to operate on 4 - C-cell batteries?

OK, so you're missing a couple of knobs. If you can get to a Radio Shack or similar hobby store, they likely have knobs that fit those shafts. Not a big deal, you really just need a knob and the little hex key or whatever for the set-screw that will come with it. Any knob will do probably as long as the shaft fits inside the knob - white indicator lines are convenient, or you can use white paint to make a reference dot.  If you have no such store in your neck of the woods I'll see what's in the bin downstairs; I have to run to the R-S store in the big city in a couple weeks anyway and they've got bins of that stuff.

To make sure, because the manual depicts them as one piece, are the clear pieces of plastic that radiate up from the knob with the indicator line also gone? If so, that's a different knob.  Not hard to find, just different.

The term "phone" as used on your radio is for a set of headphones for listening.  Note:  In olden days it's also the term used for portions or modes on the band which, in English, are better thought of as VOICE.  But you'll still hear ref to "the phone portion of the band versus CW."  But in this case, it's a headphone jack.

Your receiver, if built right, is receive capable on the following amateur bands with your Band switch:
A: 20m, 17m, 15m, 12m 10m
B: 60m (5 specific frequencies used mostly for MARS & EMCOMM stuff), 40m, 30m
C: 160m, 80/75m. (many people call the voice portion of this 75m because it actually relates to length and the frequencies are, electrically, quite far apart in terms of wire length.)
D: Good ol' AM broadcast band.

Antenna, versus the picture on pg. 17:
Really, this is where you get to play with "where would I like this thing in the house, and where's my nearest (tree, clothesline pole, etc.)?
Your imagination is going to get to play here. Think of the lower half of that drawing as being INSIDE the house. You could literally run some wire (example: simple 18-gauge ("AWG") speaker wire from a tree to another point just outside the window, and then run a lead into the screw terminal on the back of the radio.  Another piece of wire goes from the other screw terminal for the ground to a cold (not plastic) water pipe, or just arrayed along the floorboard.

Keep in mind if you use something like speaker-wire you'll be splitting the segments because you only need one of the wires hanging outside; you can use the other one to make your lead-in, and some to run a connection from the other screw to a ground or water pipe, etc.  Example:  buying 75 feet of speaker wire actually gets you 150 feet - it's easier to trim later than try to add length. (Short-wave listening solutions can be really sophisticated, or really simple, or lots in between). As the illustration indicates, you really do not need anything over 50 feet of wire outside. Going too long could overload what may not be a real sophisticated receiver. I don't mean overload like blowing up; overload as in "there are too many stations yelling at me at once!".  :D

If it gets to working and you like it, we can look at a slightly better way to connect your outdoor wire to the back of the radio using coax that also will help to keep out passing ignition noise, and other people-generated stuff.

But for not very much you could be sitting cozily listening to W1AW's CW broadcasts which they broadcast on many amateur bands, on a regular schedule, and include time periods when they're even going along at 5 words per minute. Or you can listen to the Voice of Russia and get the insight of how the outside perceives what's going on here - and anything in between.

Few other odds/ends for later, in terms of listening:
- getting your up at least 20 feet above ground would be good.
- keep it away from metal roofs and CERTAINLY away from any power lines, or poles where often unfiltered telephone lines enter a residence.
- I'll make a guess that you're in the northern half of the northern hemisphere. You'll probably get best "general" service if your single wire is oriented N-S, so that it is broadside to most of the continenal US. At least in terms of listening to amateur traffic. Some things work better off the end but we're not talking about you sniffing out the Kremlin here.
Suggestions from experienced short-wave listeners welcome.

Reading more of the manual, the BANDSPREAD control even lets you zero-beat a CW (Morse) station so you can get the received pitch down to your preferred tone. Pretty neat. Let me know if you don't have a little electrical hobby store nearby - I don't think it would take much for me to scrounge up a couple knobs we just have to ascertain what kind.

When the thaw comes I'll have to hit the yard sales and see if I can find one of these for #1 grand-daughter; that would be a dynamite 4H project for that little home-schooled genius (not that I'm partial or anything).

Ha... The Tuscaloosa News in 1971 reports the AC adapter "on sale" for $3.95. Time travel anyone? Probably anything that'll do AC to 6V DC will be OK if it comes to that later; I doubt very much it draws more than 500-650mA since it's just helping the audio circuit for the speaker & phones, but I could be wrong.

Sunflower

Oh my, What a very cool read this has been.

No lines or other designators on the post/shaft used for holding the knobs. It is 43 in the house much the day, and that is with a heater next to me. Actually, right now the temp is 36 outside and 46 inside. The highway has been sprayed with salt once again also. That usually means freezing rain or worse is in the forecast.

There are several smaller/retail like Radio Shacks in my area (90 minutes away). All the Walmart like towns are all about 90 minutes away (that is a good thing).

The box does not seem to hold the inside secure (it rattles well enough). Maybe some knobs might help, maybe I will have to secure the inside first. Seems like a big project at the moment. I still don't have all the Memorial cards and letters opened yet. No expression of thanks sent either.

I will reread this reply again soon. I think it should sink in after a while. Sounds like I might wish to locate some speaker wire. I am sure the auto part store might have what I need. If not, I will call one of the Hams listed in that big State of Kansas Ham book for some hints on how to call on in the area.

I live in a rural area. Our concept of neighbor easily crosses county lines.

Thanks again,
Tess

KC9TNH

Quote from: Sunflower on January 23, 2013, 06:33:33 PM
I live in a rural area. Our concept of neighbor easily crosses county lines.

Thanks again,
Tess
My pleasure, it's a neat thing. Take your time. Rural is good for radio humans make obscene amounts of noise in the city. Walmart 90 miles away also a good thing but that's just my view.
Caught where you are from another post. You're in good radio country position-wise.
:)

Sunflower

Quote from: KC9TNH on January 23, 2013, 08:39:08 PM
Quote from: Sunflower on January 23, 2013, 06:33:33 PM
You're in good radio country position-wise.
:)
Good to know. I took a quick look outside to the possible places for an antenna.

Facing East/front of house looks ok.
North is sort of ok, except for the trees I need to cut down, plus there is a lot electric line up there - not sure if that could increase static. It is a 220V line.
South of house might be best, but again there are trees and some higher crop ground flanking the long side of the home. There is already a TV antenna up on the South side. One antenna is hooked up to the old windmill tower, the other is a big saucer like deal for old version satelite TV. There is cable buried out there somewhere.
West side of home - back of house/garage has metal buildings (galvanize steel) in several nearby places.

Getting an antenna up 20 feet should not be a big problem on a day when I am feeling brave and limber ;)

I did notice that my husband did not have all the instructions check marked. It is possible that he put the back up for a quick test and did not get back to it. Most of the bottom of page 14 is not checked off. (Reference Adjustment & Operation). Also the last line item above that section "Install the back borad. It can be set ..... ---Not checked off either, but the back board appears to be secure.

Thanks,