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Some Brief Editorial Remarks Regarding SHTF and "EMP Proof" Tube Radios
I've been doing some exciting stuff with radios lately, notably everypreppers favorite SHTF type radio, the "'Tube Based" ones.
You can start reading what I've been doing here:
and begin to understand why I don't believe your primary post EMP communications effort should be spent storing or collecting Tube Based Radios. There is an UNLESS at the end, but read, and decide what you should do.
Background:
When I was an unmarried young man, just out of college, and off saving the world in inner city Atlanta, I met a fine group of ham radio operators and experimenters that helped me understand a lot about radios. One ham in particular helped me bunches with projects. I've found that hams and shooters tend to be great people, and very helpful if you show interest in what they are doing, and this guy was both. He could build radios, or custom Mauser action based rifles in varmint calibers like no body's business. One of the many radios that he designed was called the "NoGA Twin Tube 80" (TT-80 for short.) The TT-80 is a peanut whistle compared to most radios, and getting it operational has been ... a challenge ... First of all, all it does is transmit, on one frequency.
That's a simple as you can get.
Tubes and transistors amplify things, the common way of understanding it, is that transistors amplify the current used in a system, where tubes amplify the voltages in a system.
My lil' peanut-whistle-never-put-out-more-than-1.8watts-transmitter-only radio needs 150volts DC (B+ or 'Plate' voltage) AND 12 volts AC (or six if you know what you are doing, it's filament voltage, and the 2 tubes use 6 volts AC each). It will put out 8watts of power if you up the B+ voltage to 250volts DC.
Are you planning on providing 150+ volts DC in the paw, and providing AC to boot?
Receivers are a lil better, you can usually find circuits that only require 12 volts DC, but look at the circuits. Almost all tube circuits have those EMP sensitive passive and active components in them. Chokes, transformers, coils, even solid state stuff like diodes, voltage regulators, and even transistors.
Plus, d00ds, even some tubes are susceptable to EMP. There I said it.
It's true, some tube based radios won't work after the EMP PAW, they will need shielding too. Tubes are fragile, sensitive things, that have heavy logistical support. No seriously, you should try lugging around a Heathkit HP-23 powersupply. Even the TT-80 with it's powersupply weighs a couple of pounds.
Then there's space, in the space it takes to store 3 tubes you need for that 25-400 watt tube amplifier you could store a whole Yaesu FT-897 that runs on 12v DC or a whole ameritron Solid state 1KW amplifier that runs on 24v DC.
They all need EMP shielding!
To confess:
I am a smack junkie telling you not to shoot up.
I love tube stuff because it's neet, you can do things with tubes you can't do with transistors, I mean real neat stuff like combine mixers, oscillators, and Power amplifiers in one circuit! you need specialized IC's to do that these days.
When you study what the guys on the cutting edge of radio technology were doing back in the 30's and 40's you will be amazed. The level of integration they were able to acheive was astounding! Tubes are beautiful instruments, and chances are, if you have a MAG, and you have a coms guy, you will want one who knows what to do with what with tubes.
for the EMP-PAW though, just wrap some IC's in aluminium foil, put it in a plastic baggie, and put the baggie in a grounded metal box.
Or,
if you are not technically inclined, or only got your ham ticket for the PAW, buy two radios of your choice, play with one, leave the other in the box, wrap the box in tinfoil, wrap that in some saran wrap(five or ten times, you need some distance to insulate the tinfoil from the grounded box) and toss that in a grounded all metal box.
Research faraday cages you'll get the drift.
THE END of RANTING
for now.
You can start reading what I've been doing here:
and begin to understand why I don't believe your primary post EMP communications effort should be spent storing or collecting Tube Based Radios. There is an UNLESS at the end, but read, and decide what you should do.
Background:
When I was an unmarried young man, just out of college, and off saving the world in inner city Atlanta, I met a fine group of ham radio operators and experimenters that helped me understand a lot about radios. One ham in particular helped me bunches with projects. I've found that hams and shooters tend to be great people, and very helpful if you show interest in what they are doing, and this guy was both. He could build radios, or custom Mauser action based rifles in varmint calibers like no body's business. One of the many radios that he designed was called the "NoGA Twin Tube 80" (TT-80 for short.) The TT-80 is a peanut whistle compared to most radios, and getting it operational has been ... a challenge ... First of all, all it does is transmit, on one frequency.
That's a simple as you can get.
Tubes and transistors amplify things, the common way of understanding it, is that transistors amplify the current used in a system, where tubes amplify the voltages in a system.
My lil' peanut-whistle-never-put-out-more-than-1.8watts-transmitter-only radio needs 150volts DC (B+ or 'Plate' voltage) AND 12 volts AC (or six if you know what you are doing, it's filament voltage, and the 2 tubes use 6 volts AC each). It will put out 8watts of power if you up the B+ voltage to 250volts DC.
Are you planning on providing 150+ volts DC in the paw, and providing AC to boot?
Receivers are a lil better, you can usually find circuits that only require 12 volts DC, but look at the circuits. Almost all tube circuits have those EMP sensitive passive and active components in them. Chokes, transformers, coils, even solid state stuff like diodes, voltage regulators, and even transistors.
Plus, d00ds, even some tubes are susceptable to EMP. There I said it.
It's true, some tube based radios won't work after the EMP PAW, they will need shielding too. Tubes are fragile, sensitive things, that have heavy logistical support. No seriously, you should try lugging around a Heathkit HP-23 powersupply. Even the TT-80 with it's powersupply weighs a couple of pounds.
Then there's space, in the space it takes to store 3 tubes you need for that 25-400 watt tube amplifier you could store a whole Yaesu FT-897 that runs on 12v DC or a whole ameritron Solid state 1KW amplifier that runs on 24v DC.
They all need EMP shielding!
To confess:
I am a smack junkie telling you not to shoot up.
I love tube stuff because it's neet, you can do things with tubes you can't do with transistors, I mean real neat stuff like combine mixers, oscillators, and Power amplifiers in one circuit! you need specialized IC's to do that these days.
When you study what the guys on the cutting edge of radio technology were doing back in the 30's and 40's you will be amazed. The level of integration they were able to acheive was astounding! Tubes are beautiful instruments, and chances are, if you have a MAG, and you have a coms guy, you will want one who knows what to do with what with tubes.
for the EMP-PAW though, just wrap some IC's in aluminium foil, put it in a plastic baggie, and put the baggie in a grounded metal box.
Or,
if you are not technically inclined, or only got your ham ticket for the PAW, buy two radios of your choice, play with one, leave the other in the box, wrap the box in tinfoil, wrap that in some saran wrap(five or ten times, you need some distance to insulate the tinfoil from the grounded box) and toss that in a grounded all metal box.
Research faraday cages you'll get the drift.
THE END of RANTING
for now.
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