Globe Scout, Heathkit DX-60, Viking Valiant, Viking Ranger, HQ-180, HQ-120

In picture:
HQ-120 build date of Friday, November 7th, 1941
Globe Scout 65A

My early equipment was all homebrew, mostly built from old radios collected from a local landfill. Among the amateurs contributing to my pursuit of Amateur Radio were:

W8IQC, Fred Mahaney on Hanson Street in what is now Northwood, Ohio. Fred had a Viking Ranger transmitter, SX-99, and pair of 813’s. I remember Fred’s windmill tower he towed home, and his potent 160 mobile signal. Fred took me to radio meetings of the TMRA around 1962. At that time, there was considerable mobile activity on 160 meters.

K8LRJ,Scotty. Scotty lived on Anderson Street just behind Fred. Scotty gave me a code practice oscillator to learn CW. I always had to be careful how the plug was plugged in, because it used a 117L7/M7 tube and ran directly from the power line! 

K8KYB,
Connie Morgillo. Connie gave me tube sockets and other parts to build rigs.

My first rig was a 6L6 used in a Colpitts oscillator that directly fed an antenna. Actually, I’m almost positive that rig
started as a 6V6GT, until I finally found a 6L6.

I later
added a 6AG7
oscillator. It was
built on a peg board
chassis covered with
aluminum foil. After a few weeks I
upgraded it to
a real transmitting tube, an
Tung-Sol  (nothing
to do with the current Chinese name knock-off) 807 PA tube that I bought from
Lifetime Electronics on Adams Street in Toledo. The people at Lifetime were very helpful to newcomers, and
the building had a wonderful “old radio” smell.

My receiver was a
gutted and rebuilt
Zenith radio from
the dump. I added a
BFO, narrowed tuning
range to just 80 and
40 meters, and added
a few more IF
stages.

A few months
later, I was loaned
a DX-60 Heathkit by WA8CTN,
Vince. Vince was a
sailor on lake
freighters. He lived
by the WSPD-TV tower
near Bay Shore Road.
I had the DX-60 for
a very short time
after I became a
General.

The first
“commercial
transmitter” I
actually owned was a
Globe Scout 65A
purchased used from
World Radio
Laboratories.
The Globe Scout was a gift from
my father for
passing my
General.  It
arrived via the Railway
Express office on
the ground floor of
New York Central’s

Central Union
Terminal at 415
Emerald Ave. in
Toledo, Ohio.

I used
this rig with a Heathkit
VF-1 purchased
from Jim McCormack, W8WTW.
Jim lived near the
river in east
Toledo.

This is my
restored Globe Scout
65A. I still use it
on the air.

Click
here for more Globe
Scout restoration
pictures.

Push-pull self-excited 45’s:

300 volts DC on the copper coil, plates of the left side variable capacitor,
and white clip lead.

This transmitter actually works, but does not run much power. Just a watt or
so when “stable”.

Modern Boatanchors

I have the
following Boat
Anchors in my
“collection”,
plus a few more now:

as well as
various Command
sets, broadcast
radios, and homebrew
amateur equipment

Also see 160 meters

Since
Sept 19, 2004