hamelectronicsmagazine.com
& mirror site (earlandrews.com)
I've been on the web selling parts and writing articles since 2005. I am Earl Andrews
VE3AB Elliot Lake, Ontario.     CANADA.   Ham Radio specific with some offshoots as
well. contact me by email (see link opposite on this page  --- HAM RADIO
EXPERIMENTATION AND PRACTICAL ELECTRONICS (I am a technician- hands on)
Antenna Topics by Earl VE3AB..
(homebrew)   (Butternut HF2V
(HEAVILY MODIFIED) and the PAR end
fed types of antennas, HOMEBREW
SCREWDRIVER VERTICAL FOR THE
BACKYARD  
  CLICK HERE THIS ANT
FT-301 TRANSCEIVER PAGES (Photos, the parts I
sell, the repair work I do/have done)
CLICK HERE
FT221 PAGES (and infor-mation about xtals dial
lamps
(LEDs) CLIK HER
(CLICK HERE) FIXING
RADIOS -Troubleshooting
(general ideas)
Atlas 210X Page(s) CLICK HERE
Argonaut 509 DDS version?? I did try this as an experiment!
Mixed results but I am not finished with it YET!!
CLICK HERE TO
READ ABOUT IT! --
TEN TEC ARGONAUT 509 thru 515 -- tips..mods..fixes
ect ----
click on link here to visit page(s)
MY REPAIRS AND SERVICE

FAULT FINDING and repair or
modification with HEAVIER
RATED COMPONENTS..is my
strong point. I will go in and fix the
problem and use (if you wish)
diodes/transistors (whatever) that
have better ratings. I don't usually
do alignments. EMAIL ME WHEN
IN DOUBT and I can go over the
problem with you free of charge
and I hand out free information
and tips..(ESPECIALLY TO
BUDDING HAMS).

***I do work for money!!!--
however..I'm in no way making
any significant sums of cash.
$10 per hour is below minimum
wage up here in Canada and I
consider it still as being an
AMATEUR ..if I charge only this
amount for repairs (since its below
minimum wage)..

I also advise on repairs and
people send me circuit cards to
work on ..ie FT301 circuit cards I
can do as I have 5 FT301s!! 3 are
junker parts donation. Atlas 210x
similar situation. Argonaut 505,
509 and 515 I also work on and
have parts for these.

I specialize in: older solid state
radios and accessories that dont
have microprocessors and PLL
circuitry.
- I pretty well know I can
successfully complete these kinds
of repairs and I have the parts
here in my large work area to do
these types of repairs. An older or
simpler audio amplifier I could also
work on. ---
I do free estimates
and I can estimate by email/phone
and with digital pictures ..just
email me
earlinclayton@yahoo.com
PS..Im now in Elliot Lake, On.
CANADA
HOMEBREW LINEAR POWER SUPPLIES..and info ASTRON PS and Yeasu FP-757hd
note: THE OLD ASTRON LINEAR SUPPLIES (723 regulated) mods and ideas
click here
OLD TUBE  RADIOS - restoration tips and practical ideas  CLICK HERE
www.hamelectronicsmagazine.com --- will continue with more articles as I progress with things. --- Thanks for
stopping by.

73 Earl Andrews VE3AB

PS..I do have another web site: www.sparetime.biz that is with ISP ipage.com. Unfortunately..it costs a fair
amount of money (more than I thought was necessary) to run two full out web sites..so I have cut back on
www.sparetime.biz It is only a small web site of 6 pages. This web site here will be my main web site. I have kept
domain: www.earlandrews.com as an email domain without web pages.
New Antenna-- new article for
Oct 9 -11
-- MY NEW home brew
SCREWDRIVER "STYLE"
motorized backyard vert
 CAN
COVER 2 bandS with one
setting as well
CLICK HERE TO
GO
My "scrapped" radio parts
(radio
(cb,ham,swl)
graveyard!!)
My ever
expanding scrapped radio
collection
----->> I can pull parts for
you...
clik here to see pages
www.sparetime.biz

is FOR SALE. I own this domain name and
would like to sell it.

Please contact me via email for details.
(Reasonable price!!) I have never sold a
URL so take advantage of me being a
NOVICE!!
click here link to sparetime.biz
I have about 12 old cbs for parts and
about the same number of older 2
meter rigs that I have bought at flea
markets and garage sales.

I may just have the part you need to fix
yours..earl (ve3ab@rac.ca)
I bought a PAR end fed half wave
antenna for 20 meters.

I have also built a 10 meter version
and the SWR curve is very very
good. Quite broadbanded.

CLICK HERE TO SEE THE WORK I'VE
DONE SO FAR note: I can sell you
the (measured) components to roll
your own (coil and coax capacitor)
for $13 plus postage. You would
have to supply your own enclosure
and wire and coax and antenna
wire.

These antennas are very well
respected in the amateur
community. They work well as
portable antennas that can be
strung from a high tree limb
and seem to work as well as center
fed dipoles.
For my back yard with TV tower..I
have started running them like
slopers off the tower. JUST
GOOGLE either PAR end fed
antennas or LNR PRECISION (they
bought the line from Dale and look
through the eham reviews on them!
SWR
FT301+ (new) Digital Display..from AADE Electronics (USA)..
I have built the kit and now its working fine.
The ICE STORM of 1998 was an example of Amateur Radio Communications serving a large
community in need.

I was without power (west of Ottawa)  (about where the green dot is on the map left)in the country
for about 14 days. The army visited us twice and we had no generator or wood stove. ((NOW I DO)).
My 2 meter rig was always on during this period and it was a life line for me. I could communicate
with other hams who knew what parts of the grid were being brought back ON LINE and when. i
WOULD OFTEN listen to the reports from various amateur radio emergency groups on what was
happening with the power grid and where the hydro crews were working ect.

I AM THE PRESIDENT OF OUR SMALL LOCAL RADIO CLUB: The Elliot Lake Amateur Radio Club.
If there is ever a large emergency in our community/country..we as amateurs have been practicing
our EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS SET UPs.
I have 2 emergency generators and emergency antennas and power cords and heaters ect..set to
go if there ever was an emergency. I also have candles and camp fuel and propane cylinders and
propane stoves and extra gas ready ..not only for my own home needs..but I can set up a radio
station to communicate with agencies like the red cross in time of emergency.
My Antenna Topics: link near top of this page.. covers experiments
that I have tried with various configurations of antennas. Iam right
now..involved in end fed half wave antennas. I have cloned a copy
of the Par End Fed Match box and it is working well on 10 meters.
I PAY CASH for older radios..junker
radios, electronics parts..either I fix
them up or if they are too far gone..I
can part them out.
I work by mail..and you can mail me
parts/radios what-ever. I do travel to
places like Ottawa, Sudbury, "the
Soo", Smiths Falls and other places.

ve3ab@rac.ca
Korting 1030/1031 tube receiver-- basic tuneup and
cleaning and listening on the AM BC band
link here
My latest acquisiton, a Hammarlund HQ180AC
..article just started on this one.
click here
HOBBY BUSINESS..or
perhaps..
Passion would be a
better word for it. I just enjoy
working with small parts and
computer data bases and this
web page.

-- Fortunately..I had a good day
job in my past and I now have a
civil service pension to pay the
bills with! Any money I make
from doing my parts/repair
hobby "business" goes right
back into the "business"/hobby.
I own 3 Domain Names and one of them (sparetime.biz) I have up for sale. -- earlandrews.com is still active..
ham
electronicsmagazine.com is being developed (almost daily as I work on this site) - I will sell sparetime.biz for a
most reasonable price...please enquire by email then we can parlez on the telephone.
CB parts. CB might be making a bit of a
come-back.
The radio conditions are improving with this
current sunspot cycle. I do sell some parts for
CBs.
Sentimental repairs..ie..I can take the time to
go over CBs and ham gear at $10/hr bench rate.
I have specialized in older and or SIMPLER gear
with no PLLs or computer control. I have the parts
and knowledge for this kind of circuitry. Email me
for free consultation/estimates
EMAIL LINK HERE
Canadian Part Dealer (Small orders
for Hobbyists).-- simpler gear without
PLLs and Computer Control I tend to
work on.
Circuit Board Swap..bad
board for good (plus) $25 typical)
Elliot Lake Club member Terry VE3EXV set up a station in his mini van.
Here he uses a radio that has a detachable front panel and he uses a
home-made antenna tuner to tune a wire antenna. This is typically how an
emergency station would be set up and operated. FIELD DAY is a fun club
activity that happens once a year in late June. It is fun, a type of "contest"
and it helps us "amateur radio operators" gear up for any possible real
life emergency that would require communications to the outside world.
When natural disaster takes down the power grid and topples the cellular
phone towers..WE AS AMATEURS CAN CERTAINLY STEP IN.
Emergency POWER is KEY to emergency commmunications. Deep Cycle Batteries and a
means to recharge them. We can also operate directly off the AC generator. I (myself) have
2 small AC generators and can put them into action within minutes of an emergency
situation.
Community Service..Radio Clubs..Social Events and
Emergency Drills using standalone power sources. Its all part
of Amateur Radio.
Some of the Elliot Lake Amateur Radio club members that participated in Field Day
2010 dig in to the barrel of chicken and lunch that the club provides.  
We get permission to hold this Field Day up at the Fire Tower just east of
town..high up on the hill! Field day is once a year and helps us prepare our gear for
use in emergency situations..like the ICE STORM of 1998 in Eastern Ontario/PQ.

This is a test of our equipment in an emergency situtation. IF EVER A FIRE,
EARTHQUAKE, MAJOR POWER GRID INTERRUPTION, HURRICANE, TORNADO
OR SOME OTHER MAJOR DISRUPTIVE EVENT OCCURS..OUR RADIO CLUB WILL
STEP IN TO HELP WITH EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS TO THE OUTSIDE
WORLD.
The Elliot Lake Amateur Radio Club has regular meetings 4 times a year and we meet
informally each week at McDonalds for a coffee and B.S. session 8 PM.. You are welcome to
stop in and talk radio or whatever!
We have 9 am saturday breakfast session usually at Wills Cove here in town. Every third
Saturday of each month we meet for breakfast at the Masonic Lodge here in town.
Members of the public interested in radio can certainly join us.
MY PARTS PAGES ..BROKEN DOWN by category
..ie QRP PARTS...VINTAGE PARTS.. Toroids and
Coils ..
USER FRIENDLY LISTS..CLICK HERE
Salvaging old
parts like
these old
TO-3 metal
can transistors.
I test then sell
the good used
parts!
Thumbnail pictures above & right -->>>
Ten Tec Argonaut 505 restoration page. --NEW SPRING 2012  
Follow my progress and the measurements I do as I try to
solve a few fundamental problems with an old 505 from the
mid 70s.
CLICK HERE FOR THIS ARTICLE
March 2012.. after repairs to the
Ten Tec Argonaut 505 this winter..I
am now operating this old classic
radio.

I run the matching amplifier at
around 8 to 10 watts on 40 meters
mainly now. I find the 7.030 area
very congested so I used the 7.104
mhz area for the Bacon Bits
contest and found yesterday night
18th March 2012. QRM was
tolerable and I could copy weak
stations. Next step will be building  
up the NE SCAF filter which should
help me out. For an antenna I used
the Home Brew Screwdriver style
antenna which (when adjusted)
had low swr around the whole cw
slot on 40
Up until recently..I had been using this FT757GX which I bought second hand for
around $300 from an older chap here in town who was down sizing. I use it mainly as
a ssb listening and check into nets with it ect.
I must admit..the 757 beats the  heck out of the Argonaut 505 because of the
passband tuning and cw filters ect and the preamp on receive.
I don't know if I could
or can solve all the technical issues that might develop! The 757 is microprocessor
controlled.  
I don't normally try servicing gear like the 757 because I am not confident I can have
sucess fixing the circuitry.
Simpler radios like the older Argonauts or Heathkit radios
..can be rebuilt if necessary and the parts are simpler and generic in nature.
Above thumbnail picture of the SWR curve for
my home-
brew screwdriver backyard vertical (when
adjusted for the 7 mhz cw band). It
simultaneously has low SWR on 18 mhz band.  
-- YOU CAN CLICK ON IMAGE TO EXPAND IT.
For more information on my "remote control"
backyard
vertical CLICK HERE FOR THE
MULTIPAGE ARTICLE.
Above: thumbnail picture of my
"homebrew" end fed half wave
antenna that I built for 10 meters.
It is modelled after the PAR end
fed antennas.  
CLICK HERE FOR
THE PAR END FED ANT ARTICLE
above thumbnail pic hr10b parts radio
I keep around. As you can see..it had
a rusty bottom. GOOD FOR PARTS!
HW16 pic left. I buy junkers.
Smaller tube radios I sometimes will
work on. ie Conar, Heathkit.
April 2012 Im working on my 4 HW7s.
I have been using this Argonaut 505 for several weeks now. I have done
the repair and it now works reasonably well. I am living with the dial
backlash for now. PTO servicing will be done next winter!
You can see many photos of my repair to
this 505. The driver transistor and both
finals and the AF transistors needed
replacement. These are the kinds of fixes I
do.
click here for this series of pages
I like those old parts from the 60s 70s and 80s. I work to
salvage them and test them. People write me from all
over the world for certain old parts to repair an old audio
amplifier or an older ham radio set.
I buy/sell/restore
these old parts from bygone days!!!
Give me an email earlinclayton@yahoo.com
NOT INTO HAM RADIO OR ELECTRONICS???  but U R  interested in Fishing, Elliot Lake On.
or dachshunds..   check out my NON HAM RADIO PAGES appropriately called "otherstuff"..>

http://www.hamelectronicsmagazine.com/otherstuff.html
Small items like
this converter.
Are pretty easy
for me to work
on and I have
the parts..and
they can be
mailed to me
economically for
repair.
WIFE
HELPING
..THUMB-N
AIL
Amateur Radio Stations world wide are set and
ready to step up to the plate if a major power
outage or disaster occurs. In Elliot Lake..our little
club is fairly well equipped with emergency
generators, batteries, extra fuel and lanterns ect.
Our radio equipment is portable and ready to go.
That Ice storm was something else. Near Almonte Ontario..we had no hydro for about 14 days. States of
emergency were declared. The Red Cross set up a site in nearby Clayton Community Center. There I got propane
cylinders, batteries, napha gas and other supplies to keep us going. The hydro pole on our private road by the
houses we lived in snapped in two. Many trees were cracking and breaking and bending over severely as a
result of this storm. I kept my 2 meter vhf radio on powered by my car battery from a line from my nearby car. I
had no generator or wood stove. I kept the house warm with multiple candles, lanterns and the basement warm
with propane cylinders. One of my ham antennas was damaged but I had others to use and portable antennas.
The cell phone network in 1998 was not nearly as well organized and not nearly as many people had cell phones
back then. Ham radio was a real life line back then.
I buy old parts and old
assemblies and sub
assemblies with old
transistors and some
ICs to remove the
good parts.

I
RECYCLE
PROPERLY the old
parts and circuit
boards I  dont keep
around taking them to
a local electronics
recycling center.
My homebrew version of a PAR
end fed antenna for 10 meters.
SWR curve above left (thumbnail).
Ugly..but it works.
Time out for Lunch before going back and manning the radio
equipment during Field Day (usually 3rd weekend each June.
For "used" "pulled" parts..that I cannot test..I
will issue a ----- FULL REFUND ---- if it does not
work in your circuit. (
THE HONOUR SYSTEM)
http://www.hamelectronicsmagazine.com/comp
ont1.html click on the blue text link for page
NEW-- FREE MANUALS here..for the older gear (like I work on)
MANUALS & SERVICE TIPS  IN  (PDF FORMAT)
..ie older TT qrp rigs and older rigs I have here  Argonaut,
Atlas,FT301 and more oldies but goodies
LINK TO THIS PAGE
My pay pal address to send funds for parts
is ve3ab (@)personainternet.com (minus the brackets)
--->> this is A YAHOO SMALL BUSINESS web site (since 2005 Earl Andrews(.com))
My email address for general correspondence is earlinclayton@yahoo.com
THE MAGAZINE ARTICLES BELOW:
(based on my hobby circuits and the
antennas I have built and worked on)
I have thousands of small signal TRANSISTORS, ICs,
Diodes and other parts mostly geared to small signal
replacements in ham radio gear from the late 60s,
1970s, and early 80s. Older lot/date coded items and I
TAKE THE TIME to get you what you want. I do certain
types of repairs as well. Older solid state stuff that can
be sent in the mail. $10 per hour bench rate makes it
worthwhile in some cases.
email me LINK HERE
EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS
and Amateur Radio...we are
prepared for Disasters!
NEW..MY EBAY STYLE parts listings (like ebay but cheaper)
(click here for these  pages) pictures/description and prices
about 1/3rd that of ebay!!!!!! (typically!!)
--->>> I am only now beginning the huge listings!!!!               
  
Very user friendly (like ebay) with some good pictures and
the prices ..
Wanna see something listed..just email me and I
will put it on display for sale..
my email link here
Not all my electronic components are catalogued and listed
yet!!! So email me and I can try and help.
REFERENCES TO MY WORK. AND
REFERENCES OF MY PARTS SERVICE .
CLICK
HERE FOR A TON OF GOOD REFERENCES Ive
been doing this now since 2005 when I retired early.
I'm a one man
shop. $10 per hour
bench rate for
basic fixes to gear
and I sell parts. All
for older solid state
gear.
FREE ADVICE on
repairs and older
electronics up to
about 1985
vintage.  
consultations by
email..just write me.
QRP/small signal semiconductors and parts  FOR
SALE by Earl VE3AB (better organized links below)
USED and TESTED PARTS pulls from
other ham radio transceivers. I sell some
here and there FT301,TS780, HW7 ect...
All my antennas (HF) are end fed. The only commercial one I
have is a PAR EF-20H..the 300 watt version of the Par end fed
20 m half wave. See my antenna topics (LINK) top of this page.
MORE ARTICLES TO BE PUBLISHED
IN NEAR FUTURE..73 EARL ve3ab
INTERNATIONAL
(SMALL) SALES
FULL REFUND GUARANTEE and
I sell parts on honour system to
ham radio callsign people. So
far ..since 2005..Ive only had to
do ONE REFUND SO FAR!!!!
READ
ABOUT IT LINK HERE
CIRCUIT BOARD REPAIRS is what I
enjoy the most. Fault finding and
replacement of faulty components. It
can be done by  mail order and (in
fact) for FT301, Argonauts and Atlas
210x send me your faulty circuit
boards and for $20 to $25 (most
cases) per board .. I can send you a
good board in place of the problem
board.
I plug into my working radios and can
narrow down the fault rather quickly.
I have the necessary components
and spare boards ect to make the
repair pretty straight forward (for me).
Photos and emails to assess the
problems first. Sometimes I can help
you repair it yourself. Sometimes a
board exchange will be best for you.

PEOPLE have expressed desire to
send me an entire radio to work
on..such as the FT301. Generally the
costs of doing this are prohibitive
..especially when going across
borders.

Also..an entire radio can have some
faults that are real bastards to fix (at
times!) I much prefer working on
circuit boards where the problems
are not hard for me to correct. $10
per hour is my bench rate.
my "MASTER LIST" -- A .TXT (TEXT FILE)
All the part numbers in a sorted list which you
can download and save and search ect ect....

click here for latest new list (MAY 25 update)