Hello Guys,

It what was probably the easiest AM-DX loopstick transplant ever
performed, a 7" loopstick from a Channel Master Super Fringe (model
6515) was soldered into an E100, resulting in greatly improved
sensitivity (and apparently maintaining great selectivity).

For a variety of reasons, this transplant is extremely easy to
accomplish, even for those who feel intimidated by a soldering iron.
There are only two connections to the stock loopstick, both easily
accessible on the back circuit board. The stock loopstick is removed
very easily with an exacto knife, or even a flat screwdriver.

If you are lucky enough to get a Channel Master Super Fringe
model 6515 off of eBay (one went for $8 this morning), you don't even
need an LCR meter to do the transplant. The stock coil has an
inductance of .297mh, almost the same as the Channel Master long
coil, on the 7" ferrite bar. Simply solder in the Channel Master
long coil on the 7" loopstick, and peak it on a 600 kHz signal, as
described in John Bryant's E100 alignment file.

The 7" loopstick E100 "smokes" a stock unit in DXing, and
provides stiff competition for the 6.25" Sangean DT-200VX model. It
will shortly receive a couple more 7" blank bars, to face the
ultimate RF overload test. If its superior selectivity holds up, it
may well be the great combination of Ultralight sensitivity and
selectivity that we DXpeditioners have been looking for.

73, Gary DeBock

Hey Kevin,

 

     I remember that stuck loopstick of your E100 very well.  The good news is that any stuck, crippled, mangled or broken loopstick is a **perfect** candidate for a transplant!  And the E100 is undoubtedly the easiest Ultralight upon which to perform a loopstick transplant-- it's almost like somebody designed it for just that purpose.

 

     There is only one coil with two, easily accessible connections.  Contrast that with the SRF-39FP (four tight connections to a tapped double-coil arrangement) and the DT-200VX (four micro-circuit connections to a piggybacked double-coil arrangement).

 

    Transplanting a loopstick into the E100 is so simple, I could probably teach my 8-year old son to do it.  If any one has ever dreamed of doing a loopstick transplant, THIS is the radio to guarantee success.  Just secure your 7" replacement loopstick on eBay (Channel Master Super Fringe model 6515), and perform two easy solder connections.  The performance improvement is fantastic, because the stock loopstick is really a flat, mediocre design extremely skimpy on ferrite.  The 530-Tacoma TIS that sounds so pathetic on a stock unit has a nuclear-level signal on the 7" loopstick  :>)

 

                                                                              73,  Gary   

Hey Gary:

Any guesses as to whether this applies to the e100 version I have
with the immovable coil? I am hoping that if the basic circuitry is
the same, maybe the transplanted loopstick (0.297 mH) is the same as
well...

It was nice of the old Channel Master radios to leave their
harvestable organs to science!!!

Thanks - Kevin S
Bainbridge Island, WA


--- In ultralightdx@..., "Gary DeBock" <D1028Gary@...>
wrote:

Hello Guys,

It what was probably the easiest AM-DX loopstick transplant

ever

performed, a 7" loopstick from a Channel Master Super Fringe (model
6515) was soldered into an E100, resulting in greatly improved
sensitivity (and apparently maintaining great selectivity).

For a variety of reasons, this transplant is extremely easy to
accomplish, even for those who feel intimidated by a soldering iron.
There are only two connections to the stock loopstick, both easily
accessible on the back circuit board. The stock loopstick is

removed

very easily with an exacto knife, or even a flat screwdriver.

If you are lucky enough to get a Channel Master Super Fringe
model 6515 off of eBay (one went for $8 this morning), you don't

even

need an LCR meter to do the transplant. The stock coil has an
inductance of .297mh, almost the same as the Channel Master long
coil, on the 7" ferrite bar. Simply solder in the Channel Master
long coil on the 7" loopstick, and peak it on a 600 kHz signal, as
described in John Bryant's E100 alignment file.

The 7" loopstick E100 "smokes" a stock unit in DXing, and
provides stiff competition for the 6.25" Sangean DT-200VX model.

It

will shortly receive a couple more 7" blank bars, to face the
ultimate RF overload test. If its superior selectivity holds up,

it

may well be the great combination of Ultralight sensitivity and
selectivity that we DXpeditioners have been looking for.

73, Gary DeBock

I know it's not an ultralight but has anyone been inside an E10? The
MW could use a little help.

--- In ultralightdx@..., D1028Gary@... wrote:

Hey Kevin,

I remember that stuck loopstick of your E100 very well. The

good news

is that any stuck, crippled, mangled or broken loopstick is a

**perfect**

candidate for a transplant! And the E100 is undoubtedly the

easiest Ultralight

upon which to perform a loopstick transplant-- it's almost like

somebody

designed it for just that purpose.

There is only one coil with two, easily accessible connections.
Contrast that with the SRF-39FP (four tight connections to a tapped

double-coil

arrangement) and the DT-200VX (four micro-circuit connections to a

piggybacked

double-coil arrangement).

Transplanting a loopstick into the E100 is so simple, I could

probably

teach my 8-year old son to do it. If any one has ever dreamed of

doing a

loopstick transplant, THIS is the radio to guarantee success. Just

secure your

7" replacement loopstick on eBay (Channel Master Super Fringe model

6515), and

perform two easy solder connections. The performance improvement is
fantastic, because the stock loopstick is really a flat, mediocre

design extremely

skimpy on ferrite. The 530-Tacoma TIS that sounds so pathetic on a

stock unit

has a nuclear-level signal on the 7" loopstick :>)

73, Gary

Gary, you dirty rat!

I had hoped to beat you to one of the transplants... as you say, the easiest, the E100. Unfortunately, packing for our migration to the Northwest has stalled progress on my 12" transplant, using my last Big Bar..  I did get the base and mounting board done, though and have posted two pictures to our Photo Section.  Its the second album in line right now.    http://ph.groups.yahoo.com/group/ultralightdx/photos

I hope to make this thing somewhat modular, so I can plug in the E100 or pop it out and, using the same board, bar and coil, plug in a tuning cap and use it as an external booster bar for other radios... may take some external electronic trickery or may not work at all.

In any case, I'll be able to compare a stock E100 riding on my existing 12" external booster bar with this set up where the 12" bar is integral to the unit.

Frankly, I expect this thing to be swamped in the RF cesspool of Victoria/Vancouver, but I'm very hopeful for success at Grayland.

Congratulations on the E100 transplant and continuing to break new ground for us, Gary!

John B.




At 03:47 AM 5/12/2008 +0000, you wrote:

Hi John,

Dirty rat, indeed! :>)

Right after I posted my E100 7" transplant progress report, I
noticed photos of your E100 12" transplant project. This was after I
had increased the loopstick length of my own E100 transplant to
13.25"... purely by coincidence, of course.

The 13.25" loopstick E100 is kind of a mixed bag, with increased
sensitivity over the 7" model, but also with increased urban RF
issues (slop and spurs). The Vancouver RF pounding Orcas Island will
probably not be very well-mannered in your 12" model, I would surmise.

A full daytime "shootout" was conducted between the analog 14"
SRF-39FP and the digital 13.25" E100. The hot-rodded Prison Radio
easily sentenced the Expanded Eton to second place, in sensitivity.
The E100 was more competitive with the SRF-39FP on the high end,
however. Selectivity was a tradeoff, with the E100 showing better
selectivity on the low end, and the SRF-39FP on the high end. The
E100 has more spurious mixing products, and a nuclear-powered KSUH-
1450 image on 540 (absent on the Prison Radio).

For those hobbyists considering an E100 loopstick transplant,
the 7" model provides a lot of "bang for the buck." It will increase
sensitivity greatly, while maintaining good selectivity and spurious
rejection. 14" and 21" models should be reserved for hard-core
DXpedition fanatics, who seek out isolated ocean beaches in the
ultimate quest for Ultralight excitement, IMHO. The E100 has some
very good points (with 200 memories and digital tuning convenience),
and its extreme convenience for loopstick transplants makes it an
obvious first choice for anyone dreaming of super Ultralight
sensitivity.

73, Gary

--- In ultralightdx@..., "John H. Bryant"
<bjohnorcas@...> wrote:

Gary, you dirty rat!

I had hoped to beat you to one of the transplants... as you say,

the

easiest, the E100. Unfortunately, packing for our migration to the
Northwest has stalled progress on my 12" transplant, using my last
Big Bar.. I did get the base and mounting board done, though and
have posted two pictures to our Photo Section. Its the second

album

in line right now.

http://ph.groups.yahoo.com/group/ultralightdx/photos

I hope to make this thing somewhat modular, so I can plug in the

E100

or pop it out and, using the same board, bar and coil, plug in a
tuning cap and use it as an external booster bar for other

radios...

may take some external electronic trickery or may not work at all.

In any case, I'll be able to compare a stock E100 riding on my
existing 12" external booster bar with this set up where the 12"

bar

is integral to the unit.

Frankly, I expect this thing to be swamped in the RF cesspool of
Victoria/Vancouver, but I'm very hopeful for success at Grayland.

Congratulations on the E100 transplant and continuing to break new
ground for us, Gary!

John B.




At 03:47 AM 5/12/2008 +0000, you wrote:

Hello Guys,

It what was probably the easiest AM-DX loopstick transplant ever
performed, a 7" loopstick from a Channel Master Super Fringe (model
6515) was soldered into an E100, resulting in greatly improved
sensitivity (and apparently maintaining great selectivity).

For a variety of reasons, this transplant is extremely easy to
accomplish, even for those who feel intimidated by a soldering

iron.

There are only two connections to the stock loopstick, both easily
accessible on the back circuit board. The stock loopstick is

removed

very easily with an exacto knife, or even a flat screwdriver.

If you are lucky enough to get a Channel Master Super Fringe
model 6515 off of eBay (one went for $8 this morning), you don't

even

need an LCR meter to do the transplant. The stock coil has an
inductance of .297mh, almost the same as the Channel Master long
coil, on the 7" ferrite bar. Simply solder in the Channel Master
long coil on the 7" loopstick, and peak it on a 600 kHz signal, as
described in John Bryant's E100 alignment file.

The 7" loopstick E100 "smokes" a stock unit in DXing, and
provides stiff competition for the 6.25" Sangean DT-200VX model. It
will shortly receive a couple more 7" blank bars, to face the
ultimate RF overload test. If its superior selectivity holds up, it
may well be the great combination of Ultralight sensitivity and
selectivity that we DXpeditioners have been looking for.

73, Gary DeBock