Drake Collection

Drake 2B

Picked this 2B up on eBay. The seller said the audio was distorted. I’ve ordered the Drake 2B capacitor kit from hayseedhamfest.com.

The S meter was out of calibration so I adjusted the S meter zero and S meter adjustment on the rear, S meter works very well now. This receiver is very stable after a 1 minute warm up.

The front panel RED slide switches can, over time, become difficult to slide. I used DeoXit F5 Fader cleaner / lubricant applied to the switches behind the front panel then applied same F5 cleaner/lubricant to each slide switch through the “front” panel. I placed the F5 spray can output tube pointed at the slide switch handle and gave it a shot of cleaner. I worked the switches and that made each slide switch moved freely.

I applied WD-40 Contact Cleaner to the Passband wafer switch and to each band switch wafer so the switches worked properly. I used DeoXit F5 Fader Cleaner/Lubricant to each pot making them rotate freely and without static noise. I notice that the Passband switch would intermittently stop working. I found a loose wire on the Passband wafer switch assembly that had never been soldered from the factory. Applied some solder fixed that intermittent Passband problem.

The 2B capacitor kit from hayseedhamfest.com arrived. Took about 45 minutes to complete the can capacitor upgrade and replaced the 10ufd 25VDC capacitor and 270 ohm resistor on the 6AQ5 audio amp’s cathode. Eliminated all evidence of hum.

For a receiver that’s 65+ years old it works very well.

Drake R4A

I picked this R4A up on eBay. The power transformer was shorted so I had Hayboer Transformers in Grand Haven, Mich make me a new one, price $85 + shipping.

I ordered and install the Drake R4A capacitor kit from Hayseedhamfest. Receiver works great.

These are old pictures of my Drake collection prior to obtaining the above R4A and 2B receivers. The R4C sitting on top of the AC4 speaker enclosure has been sold since this picture was taken. The other R4C below is fully loaded with filters and Sherwood upgrades/mods.

T4XC / R4C Twins

The T4XC has a 12VDC small muffin fan mounted on the rear that blows air into the final amplifier. Power for the fan is obtained through a 1/2 wave rectifier mounted below the chassis and tapped off the 12VAC filament source. The fan runs continuously while the transmitter is powered ON. It’s very quiet and keeps the final amplifier and driver stages cool during transmit.

I picked up this R4C while I worked for General Dynamics in Vaihingen Germany. I found it at the Friedrichshafen Germany’s hamfest which is equal to Dayton Ohio’s Hamvention. I paid $125 for it and it was “like new”. I ordered and installed the following INRAD filters, and Sherwood mods/upgrades.

INRAD:

6Khz GUF-1, AM (6Khz), 2 SSB (one factory Drake SSB and one INRAD SSB 2.1Khz), and 2 CW (500hz and 250hz)

SHERWOOD:

Solid state 3rd Mixer, R4C Audio Amplifier, R4C New Replacement Power Supply Board