WARNING ! THIS WEB PAGE HAS TAKEN OVER YOUR BROWSER ! THERE IS BUT ONE ESCAPE ROUTE ! YOU MUST PAY ME ....... ONE MILLION DOLLARS !!! .... OR, YOU MUST READ AND VIEW THIS WHOLE PAGE ! AN UNDERSTANDING OF THE MOVIE " AUSTIN POWERS" IS HELPFUL BUT NOT REQUIRED. TRY TO KEEP THE CLASSIC SONG " INCENSE AND PEPPERMINT " IN YOUR MIND ! DO NOT WORRY ABOUT CHESTNUTS BEING LAZY AND WHO INVENTED THE QUESTION MARK OR WHETHER OR NOT YOUR GOING TO BE MAKING MEAT HELMETS THIS SUMMER ! SQUARES MAY NOT BE HIP TO THIS PAGE, SWINGERS WILL DIG IT ! WHEN YOU REACH THE END, YOU WILL BE ASKING YOURSELF ..... " WHAT'S THIS BIRD BEEN SMOKING ? "....... ! YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED !
PROCEED....
Here are a few really groovy photos of my classic National transceivers ! This is my bag and it really freaks me out, yaaaahhh ! I hope that you cats enjoy them as much as I do . These rigs are really smashing to put on the air , most cats ( at least the older seasoned hams ) are thrilled to hear these radios back on the air ! I get comments like " I use to have one of those radios, really a great rig ! " .... And ...."...that was one of the high tech rigs of the time !.... " If you have never experienced the thrill of operating a tube type radio, I would highly recommend you do. Today you can find some really good deals on the older tube rigs. Some can be had very cheaply. They will make a real radio "operator" out of you ! These rigs are not "plug and play" by any means ! You gotta tune, load , peak and you gotta dip man ! These rigs really freak me out, yaaaahhh ! So, lets turn back the clock to that really groovy, electric, psychedelic era, THE 1960's !! Ride along on my magic carpet and lets get "FREAKED OUT BABY !"
Here's a shot of my NCX-3 National transceiver ( circa. 1963 ) . It's a three band ( 80, 40 and 20 meter ) SSB/CW rig . It uses a pair of 6GJ5's in the final tank that really rocks the house down, yaaaaaahhhhhhh ! If your feeling really freaky, you can load this boss rig up to a full 125 watts output , operate it on CW and groove with the tunes ! Far out , man !
Here's a really groovy shot of my NCX-5 transceiver ( circa. 1966 ) . This really mod rig covers 80, 40, 20 , 15 and 10 meter bands. You can operate SSB or CW depending on which way you want to swing . It uses a pair of 6JB6 sweep tubes in the final tank for a smashingly loud outta this world signal ! Notice the chrome Bencher paddle key. They really make a smashing fine pair don't you think ? Yeah , yeah baby , yeah !!!!
Another fine shot of the NCX-5. Only this time with the lights just alittle lower. This is my bag and it really Freaks me out baby, yaaaaahhhhhhh !!!
The NCX-3 again. This time with my homebrew paddle key ( yes, I built it myself baby ! ), the paddle came in kit form from NORCAL QRP CLUB. It's called the "NorCal/ K8FF paddle". Polished brass and retro black crinkle finish. Came out rather nice don't cha think ? Also in the photo , is the MK-79 from Whiterook Products Co. It's a small 12 v L.E.D. light that I use at night to illuminate the front panel of the rig. Really a groovy trip baby, yaaaaahhhhhh ! Honestly...... it's my scene baby...... AND IT REALLY FREAKS ME OUT !!!!!!!!!
Here's a shot of both the NCX-3 and the NCX-5 together with their matching pwr supplies. Bitchen huh ?
My NCX-5 with D-104 mic. This bird really rocks the bands , can ya dig it ? Cool , baby , cool !!!!
Have you had enough ? Want outta this time warp baby ? Just click on one of the cool links below and they will take you to a safer place on my site ! Thanks for viewing my really groovy , freaky, psychedelic BA page. And lemme know what you think, I hope you had a smashing good time baby, yaaaahhhhhh !!!!
Yes birds, there will be more groovy pics to come. So bookmark this swinging BA page and tell all the cats you know about it. Maybe we can have an online shindig soon ! So "Sock It To Me " with the e's and let me know if I really " FREAKED YOU OUT" !!!
Peace
NOTICE !!! THESE PHOTO'S ARE COPYRIGHT 1998 STEVE HURST, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED ! THEY MAY NOT BE USED WITHOUT MY PERMISSION !
What's a "Boat Anchor" ?
By Steven R. Hurst, KA7NOC
The term "Boat Anchor" is in reference to old heavy tube type amateur radio transmitters and receivers. It can also refer to old heavy receivers and transmitters of any kind; military, commercial, etc. No one knows for sure how this term came into being, but I have my own ideas about it .
Picture your ordinary spring hamfest. Two hams are walking along looking at all the goodies for sale or trade. Ham number one starts talking about going fishing later that morning and asks ham number two if he would like to come along ( and bring his boat ) . Ham number two says to ham number one , " I'd love to ham number one, but I don't have an anchor for my boat , and I'm low on dough" .
The two walk down the isle continually checking out the gear for sale. This was around the time when radios were getting smaller and lighter. Everybody wanted a new "high tech" rig to keep up with all their ham friends in the neighborhood. So, if you had old tube heavy metal gear, you couldn't give it away ! Needless to say , the prices were very cheap. Close to a buck a pound on some rigs ! Sometimes much less on others ! This gave ham number one an idea.
He turned to ham number two and said, " Hey ! Why don't we buy this old radio here ", pointing to an National NC-300 receiver. "This sucker has got to weigh at least 50 lbs dry ! We could tie a rope around the tuning knob and throw her over the side of your boat ! " This got ham number two to thinking " hmmmmmmm, yeeeeeesssss ..... it just might work at that . Besides , this old rig will never be worth more than the $30.00 bucks this guy is asking for it ".
After talking it over between themselves they decided it was a good idea. They both took out their wallets ( which were moth eaten from lack of use ! )(inside ham joke). They then made an offer on the mint, fully functional NC-300 receiver of $20.00 ! Reluctantly the owner decided that he'd better accept this ridiculous offer while he had them with their wallets open !
Ham number one and ham number two , lugged this heavy metal rig over to their car and loaded it up . They then enjoyed the rest of the day floating on a boat in the middle of a lake. While the NC-300 was down under keeping them from drifting very far. And so the term "Boat Anchor" was born !
THE END
© Steven R. Hurst 1998. All right reserved. No portion of this may be reproduced in any medium of any kind without the written permission of its author .
PROCEED to "KA7NOC's Really Groovy and Psychedelic Boat Anchor Page II ! Yes birds , it had to happen sooner or later ! Another electric "BA" page from the mind of KA7NOC , swing on over and lay your eyeballs on that groovy , switched on BA page ! YEAH !!!!!
Cool "Boat Anchor" links that will blow your mind !
Radio Bay Niel Wiegand has put together a fine site showcasing the history of the National Radio Companies colorful past ! Really a fine job and highly recommended viewing !
Makers of Boat Anchors Histories of most of the American amateur radio manufactures, very interesting ! Well worth a look see.
Boat anchors: Bry's Ham Pages by AF4K Bry , AF4K, has put together a fine list of "BA" links to comsume your time ! Check out this and his many other fine pages pertaining to boat anchors !
Jim Hawkins Radio Room Jim has a fine site well worth a visit or two ! Featuring Broadcast Transmitter Facilities, and other neato things !!
WA2RQY's "Confusion Radio" Web Page Swing on over to Rich's site and view some really smashing pics of his Collins and Hallicrafters gear, among others !
Craig's Boatanchor Radio Stuff Check out Craig's really swinging BA page ! You'll find some really groovey pic's of Collins, Hallicrafters , and National radios..... yeah !!
BA Frequently Asked Questions Your questions may be answered here !
Southern California Communications Service Of course he's from So. Cal. ( my home state baby ). Here's a really cool cat who know's what ham radio is all about !! Check out Rich's really groovy pic's of his swinging National radios and other gear
at this site ! You'll be saying " Yeah , baby .... bring on the BA's !!" .
Boatanchor - Classifieds View ads from fellow "BA'ers" ! Vintage tube gear for sale , post your own ads as well !
Swan Radio Network A cool site with "tons" of information regarding Swan transceivers as well as other vintage tube transceivers ! Highly
recommended reading !
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