History
Interesting history on this one, unit serial number of 1426.
When cleaning the radio I found a hand written note inside showing a
purchase in 1990 from Bob K8HZP in Conneaut, Ohio by a ham from
Maryland. The total price paid was $300 and the transmitter was noted to be
working. The transmitter then made its way from Maryland to Bud McCabe
in Albany, NY. It was purchased in 2004 from Mr. McCabe by Jeff
WV2N in Schenectady, NY. I purchased the unit from Jeff in November of
2005 and it now resides at my station in coastal Maine.
The Fix
Aside from the cracked front dial glass (which seems to be a common 32V
malady), a discolored KC dial, temperamental band light bulbs and a
cosmetic clean up the unit did not need a great deal of work. Removed
the knobs, chrome "style strips" and switch hardware to drop the front
panel and access the dial glass. I then removed the band selection linkage,
a bit of a process,
to replace the KC dial. Reassembly was a snap, but on power up I
discovered I had no grid drive. A bit discoloring at 2AM in the morning
and I was about to call it a night but thought to take one last look
under the chassis. I found that the coupler for the multiplier cam rack had fallen off
during the removal of the front panel. It was a simple matter to
reinstall the coupler once I discovered the problem. A few tweaks and the KC wheel
was dialed in the big 3885. This was not a bad project, fortified with some strong coffee I managed
to start at 8PM and worked until 3AM to get it functional and on air.
The Discovery
During service I noted that it seems that someone, possibly Bill K8BAR, had
carried out some work in
the RF section. The stock choke has been replaced with what appears to
be a National 175 unit. The work looks factory quality, with a properly
fabricated metal mounting plate and insulated standoffs. My other 32V3s
have the choke on the right back of the RF section bracket, so I assume
that this is a modification from stock. The unit seems to work just fine
on the bands, so it would seem that this is an acceptable repair.
Final Steps
Finishing up the next day I carried out the simple audio mod of replacing the gird input resister in
the first speech amp to a higher value to better match the D-104
microphone. Typically a 4.7 meg ohm resistor is used here, but my junk
box only yielded a 5.6 meg ohm unit, works just fine. I also fabricated a dedicated T/R switching system
using a 110VAC Dow-Key
and wiring harness to interface the transmitter with the HRO Sr. receiver.
The cabinet, which was in remarkably good condition, was lightly washed and has been treated with Wurth
Cockpit Cleaner to bring up the paint's shine.
Success
The maiden voyage and first contact with was Brent W1IA and Terry
W2PFY on 75 meter AM phone on Thanksgiving day. Brent gave it a very
good audio reports and the rig ran flawlessly during the QSO. Not bad
for 60 year old technology!
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The Note - Dated 1990
Found inside the transmitter, right next to one of the modulator tubes. A intersting look back on the travels of this transmitter on its way east. Ohio to New York and then onto Maine. |
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Finished station, located at Wiscasset, Maine
HRO Sr. which I restored last year, paired with the 32V3. Just finished a 3AM session replacing the dial glass, KC dial, cleaning the chassis and adjusting the PTO. |
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Collins 32V3 - RF section Overview
Overview of transmitter interior after cleaning. |
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Collins 32V3 - RF section detail
Note that previous owner had replaced the plate choke with what appears to be a National unit. Mods were carried out quite well. |
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Collins 32V3 - Multiper section
Multipler section after inspection and cleaning. |
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Collins 32V3 - Modulator section
Note replacement of rectifers with sold state units. |
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Collins 32V3 - Speech amp section
Carried out mod on grid input resistor to first speech amp tube, replaced 1 meg ohm resistor with a 5.6 meg ohm unit. |
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Collins 32V3 - Front View
Front view before installation of the chome "style strips". |
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Amateur Radio Station W1UJR
