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Tube-equipped receivers by R. L. Drake

Robert Lloyd Drake founded the R.L.Drake Company in 1943, initially amateur radio accessories were manufactured. After moving to Miamisburg OH, the receiver 1-A was introduced in 1957 as the first Drake shortwave receiver to cover all amateur radio bands in a very compact design. Around 1960 - 1966, further receivers followed, like the 2-A (-C), which also covered only the amateur radio bands.

In 1964, the first ancestor of the successful R-4 receiver series was introduced. The double conversion set allowed a dial reading accuracy of less than 1 kHz on the amateur radio bands and on some broadcast bands that could be crystal controlled. In the R-4B / C, which provided a selection of IF filters, passband tuning and notch filter, most means of signal processing still common today in upper class receivers are present. The optional frequency synthesiser FS-4 enabled a tuning the entire shortwave spectrum in 500 kHz - segments. In accordance with the company's philosophy, Drake aimed to offer compact receivers with a simple mechanical construction with numerous extras at a fraction of the price of the heavyweight receivers, which were produced for the military market and which had been considered state of the art receivers until then.

After an in between step with the fully solid state SPR-4, the receiver was launched in 1969 and covered all broadcast and ham shortwave bands, but did not yet have a continuous coverage of the entire shortwave range, the R-7 / 7A followed in 1978. With 60 ranges of 500 kHz, the entire shortwave spectrum from 10 kHz to 30 MHz was covered, the frequency digitally displayed by a frequency counter. In terms of reception quality, the R-7 achieved what was technically feasible at the time around 1981 and was considered as reference receiver for a long time. After that, the Drake company withdrew from the amateur radio / shortwave receiver business and shifted its activities to the satellite receiver sector. It was not until the beginning of the 1990s that the company earned a place in the hearts of many shortwave listeners again with a whole range of receivers.

Here in the Boatanchors section, the classic tube receivers made by Drake are presented; the modern solid state sets made by Drake with PLL synthesizer circuitry are discussed in the section Tabletop Receivers.

Tue equipped receivers by R. L. Drake

1-A1957Triple Conversionamateur radio bandsAM, LSB, USB, CW; IF filters 2.5 kHz
2-A1960Double Conversionamateur radio bandsAM, LSB, USB, CW; IF filters 4.8 / 2.4 kHz
2-B1961Double Conversionamateur radio bandsAM, LSB, USB, CW; IF filters 3.6 / 2.1 / 0.5 kHz; horizontal dial
2-C1966Double Conversionamateur radio bandsAM, LSB, USB, CW; IF filters 4.8 / 2.4 / 0.4 kHz; round dial
R-41964Double Conversionamateur radio and broadcast bandsAM, LSB, USB, CW; IF filters 4.8 / 2.4 / 1.2 / 0.4 kHz
R-4A1966Double Conversionamateur radio and broadcast bandsAM, LSB, USB, CW; IF filters 4.8 / 2.4 / 1.2 / 0.4 kHz
R-4B1967Double Conversionamateur radio and broadcast bandsAM, LSB, USB, CW; IF filters 4.8 / 2.4 / 1.2 / 0.4 kHz
R-4C1973Double Conversionamateur radio and broadcast bandsAM, LSB, USB, CW; IF filters 8 / 2.4 kHz
SW-4A1967Double Conversionbroadcast bandsonly AM; IF filter 5 kHz
SPR-41969Double Conversionbroadcast bandsAM, USB, LSB, CW; IF filters 4.8 / 2.4 / 0.4 kHz; solid state
SSR-11975Double Conversion500 kHz - 30 MHzAM, LSB, USB, CW; IF filter 5.5 / 3 kHz

Additional information

  • Oldie-KW-Empfänger, Nils Schiffhauer, vth-Verlag, D - 7570 Baden - Baden
  • Shortwave Receivers Past & Present, Fred Osterman, Universal Radio Research, Reynoldsburg, OH 43068, USA, ISBN 1-882123-07-7
  • Communications Receivers, Raymond,S. Moore, RSM Communications, LaBelle, FL 33975, USA.
  • Virtual Drake Museum by JM Cherry and Sindre Torp
en/boatanchors_von_drake.txt · Zuletzt geändert: 2021/04/07 11:57 von mb