W5VID in Friendswood, Texas, USA
Frank Cooper's Amateur Radio Station
Mail Questions and/or Comments to: Frank Cooper@prodigy.net
MY HAM SHACK- pic by Sammi Cooper
From left to right.Heathkit SB-220 linear amplifier, (below) Yeasu G-450A rotator, Kenwood
TS830S HF transceiver, (below) MFJ Versa Tuner III, computer, far right - Icom IC R8500 receiver. QSL cards from 1952
to present line the walls.
MY VINTAGE COLLINS STATION
On the right is a Collins 32V-3 that I have repaired. The low voltage transformer was commercially rewound. I re-installed the transformer, replaced a couple of tubes, cleaned contacts, and did some cosmetic work and made the first CW contacts with the transmitter on June 30, 2009, with good reports. I am now looking forward to an AM contact with the transmitter - my first in 50 plus years. To the left is a Collins 75a-2 receiver. Beneath receiver is a Hallicrafters TO Keyer. Beneath Transmitter is a MFJ Deluxe Versa Tunner II and dummy load.
I was President of the Sheppard AFB Radio Club and operated the same model Collins receiver and transmitter from K5FBE (Kilroy's 5 Ferocious Black Elephants) during the Korean War.
1950's Sucker Stick Xmitter
CLICK ON THE PICTURE FOR LARGER IMAGE. This 1950's transmitter using a single 6v6 tube was constructed
on wooden strips by Jon Zoller (now deceased), W5ZWQ of Tulsa, Oklahoma. The coils were wound on sucker sticks. A
second set of coils can be seen to the right of the transmitter. My first transmitter was an identical one that I
constructed using an article titled "A Simple Transmitter" in the 11th edition of
"How to Become a Radio Amateur".
WN5VID
The slightly blurred picture on the left shows my novice station WN5VID at Amarillo AFB, Texas, in
early 1952. The small sucker stick transmitter is on the right side of the table.
I recently found my long lost 1952 log book and the picture of my novice station. Using my log book
as reference, I found that I used the sucker stick transmitter from March 22 until June 24, 1952. If I counted right,
I made 79 CW contacts while operating on 80 meters and running 4 watts. On
June 26, 1952, I replaced the 4 watt transmitter with an Eldico 60 watt transmitter and the frequency of my CW
contacts went up dramatically. I sold the sucker stick transmitter to John Tudenham, W0JRP, who was also stationed at
Amarillo AFB. John told me recently, "I used the rig and modified it to work on 10 meters and added a 2E26 final. I
constructed a 10 meter dipole laying it on the floor, and actually made a few skip contacts." Shortly after selling
the sucker stick transmitter to John, I was transferred to Sheppard AFB, Wichita Falls, Texas. In October I
acquired my general class ticket with the call W5VID.
50TH ANNIVERSARY AMATEUR RADIO STATION.
On the far left is my late 1952 Amateur Radio Station W5VID at Sheppard AFB, Wichita Falls, Texas.
The military high frequency receiver
(lower) is a BC312. A 60 Watt Eldico CW transmitter is on top. I have tried to recreate my original station with
the same equipment (to the right) in the year 2002 --- my 50th year as a radio amateur.
MY NOVICE STATION IN 2009
My circa 1952 Eldico TR-75 CW transmitter is shown at the top. It has coils wound for 20 meters
(my favorite band).To the right is an MFJ-267 dummy load and to the far right is a red variac to ensure that the
input AC voltage of a WW2, BC-312 receiver on the shelf below stays close to 110. The receiver has an external
power supply to the right. The
BC-312 runs really hot with the power supply in the case.
At the bottom is a Collins 310 C-1 with
PTO (VFO) and home made power supply. An extenal T/R switch on the back of the BC-312 changes the antenna from transmit
to receive and mutes the BC-312 receiver through the PL-114 connector on lower right. Resting on the 310 C-1 is a
Hallicrafters tube operated keyer. To the right is a Signal Corps LS-3 loudspeaker.
A pair of military headphones hangs by a nail from the bottom of the first shelf. A Radio Shack 22-306 Frequency
counter is used to check transmit frequencies.
The Crosley 51
CLICK ON THE PICTURE FOR A LARGER IMAGE. On the left is a 1924 Crosley 51 regenerative broadcast radio
receiver with matching Crosley 51 A Amplifier. I purchased the Crosley 51 from a ham operator in Bellville, Texas,
for $30. more than 25 years ago. It was in very poor condition and I spent many hours restoring it. It is unusual
in that it has a wooden face. It has two 01A tubes, a book condenser, and one stage of audio amplification. The
amplifier uses one 01A tube and has one stage of amplification.
I own many other vintage radios
such as an AK Radiodyne breadboard, a Marconi 106D crystal receiver and a pre-WW1 spark transmitter, but the Crosley
with matching amp is my favorite. I have collected vintage radios for more than 35 years and was the founder of the
Houston Vintage Radio Assn. in 1978.
Click here for the HVRA web page
(left) Mosley TA-32 jr. HF Tri-Band Beam Antenna on a 40'
Crank-up Pole. BLOWN DOWN DURING HURRICAN IKE.
(right) A replacement Wilson 45' crank-up pole with A Mosley MP-33-N, tri-band BEAM erected on Friday,
Nov, 25, 2011
This page last modified on Sunday, August 16, 2013.
Click here for Frank Cooper's Seismology Page
On the far left is my late 1952 Amateur Radio Station W5VID at Sheppard AFB, Wichita Falls, Texas. The military high frequency receiver (lower) is a BC312. A 60 Watt Eldico CW transmitter is on top. I have tried to recreate my original station with the same equipment (to the right) in the year 2002 --- my 50th year as a radio amateur.
MY NOVICE STATION IN 2009
My circa 1952 Eldico TR-75 CW transmitter is shown at the top. It has coils wound for 20 meters
(my favorite band).To the right is an MFJ-267 dummy load and to the far right is a red variac to ensure that the
input AC voltage of a WW2, BC-312 receiver on the shelf below stays close to 110. The receiver has an external
power supply to the right. The
BC-312 runs really hot with the power supply in the case.
At the bottom is a Collins 310 C-1 with
PTO (VFO) and home made power supply. An extenal T/R switch on the back of the BC-312 changes the antenna from transmit
to receive and mutes the BC-312 receiver through the PL-114 connector on lower right. Resting on the 310 C-1 is a
Hallicrafters tube operated keyer. To the right is a Signal Corps LS-3 loudspeaker.
A pair of military headphones hangs by a nail from the bottom of the first shelf. A Radio Shack 22-306 Frequency
counter is used to check transmit frequencies.
The Crosley 51
CLICK ON THE PICTURE FOR A LARGER IMAGE. On the left is a 1924 Crosley 51 regenerative broadcast radio
receiver with matching Crosley 51 A Amplifier. I purchased the Crosley 51 from a ham operator in Bellville, Texas,
for $30. more than 25 years ago. It was in very poor condition and I spent many hours restoring it. It is unusual
in that it has a wooden face. It has two 01A tubes, a book condenser, and one stage of audio amplification. The
amplifier uses one 01A tube and has one stage of amplification.
I own many other vintage radios such as an AK Radiodyne breadboard, a Marconi 106D crystal receiver and a pre-WW1 spark transmitter, but the Crosley with matching amp is my favorite. I have collected vintage radios for more than 35 years and was the founder of the Houston Vintage Radio Assn. in 1978.
(left) Mosley TA-32 jr. HF Tri-Band Beam Antenna on a 40' Crank-up Pole. BLOWN DOWN DURING HURRICAN IKE.
(right) A replacement Wilson 45' crank-up pole with A Mosley MP-33-N, tri-band BEAM erected on Friday,
Nov, 25, 2011
This page last modified on Sunday, August 16, 2013.