When it was launched in 1955, it almost eliminated frequency drift a major issue on receivers of the time. Designed in the 50s, the ra17 was the first receiver to use the ingenious wadleyloop tuning system which divides the hf range into 30 bands, each 1 mhz wide, using a single 1mhz master oscillator, a vhf vfo and some clever mixing and filtering. It was black around the driver transistors, their emitter resistors were black and the. Racal ra17 communications radio receiver electronics notes. As boatanchors go, the ra1772 is a relative lightweight at around 45 pounds. Ra17 receiverc racal engineering racal instruments ltd.
This fell through and racal was left with an order. I had been forewarned that a previous owner had attempted to perk up the front end by fitting an ecc189 as fitted in. Racal ra1217 service manual download, schematics, eeprom. Racal ra117 service manual download, schematics, eeprom. Tuning a strong station reveals three peaks, like three stations side by side. Racal ra117 manual pdf racal ra117 manual postscript version without images this version is complete, but lacks all of the diagrams. Actual pages 12, 16, 18, 26, 32, 40 and 46 were blank and not included. I connected the aerial input of the vhf receiver to a length of cable terminated with crocodile clips and clipped these to the racal. The development of the ra17 can be traced back to an order that racal secured when they hoped to manufacture the collins 51j under license in the uk. The idea of isb is that you can demodulate either sideband independently of the other. Antique radio forums view topic racal ra17 opinions. Hence, your handbook may contain new change information. None of the racals i own have a single black beauty inside.
The first modification to the agc circuit is to replace the 1uf capacitor connected to the agc time constant switch, with a 0. Well, today i had a look at another ra17 for a friend as suggested earlier, which turned out to be another mk1. The english built racal ra1772 isnt a well known receiver in the us. The reason for its success lay in its excellent frequency stability, low noise, and emp hardness. Components military radio spares tagged racal ra17. The model suffix l probably stands for low noise, l versions having a cascode first rf amplifier stage using an ecc189 cv5331 double triode. Cv list reference thanks to john crabtree for finding this. The bfo has a very useful swing either side of the required frequency but does not give true single sideband reception. I have a vague idea theres something not quite right. My oldest racal is an ra17l built in february 1962.
Jan 20, 2014 the racal is a bit different than other receivers so i thought i would make this video to show how to get it going. However, despite racal s sales literature the rf performance of this set can only be classed as adequate, it is nowhere near as good as the ra17 or ra1772 for example. Racal service manuals complete servicerepairmanual, and its in pdf format. This article should be read in conjunction with the original ra17 adapter article. Racal ra1217, ra17l, ra1772, rca ar88lf, collins r390a. Hopefully just bad valve connections, but it will need an overhaul to deal with lack of sensitivity, im. This article describes preliminary design work which was carried out with a view to developing an adapter for the ra17, to provide a transmitter output, and to add a level of. Racal 6790gm hf receiver 14 agosto, 2011 por doblezero the ra6790gm hf receiver, is a fully synthesized, microcomputer based, tunable, solidstate receiver designed to provide reception capabilities for cwa1, ama3, lsbusb a3j, fmf3 and isb a3boptional, emissions over the frequency range of 0. Manuals and schematics at the premium receiver group. Its been several years since looked at my racal receiver. Although the bfo injection for cw reception is at a high level, ssb signals. Electronics notes the boat anchor manual archive path. The first was a racal ra117 bought many years ago, and still in use. Receiver comparison, hammarlund sp600, racal ra117, ra1772 and ra6790.
Short out the 82k resistor r127, this reduces the attack time. For panoramic reception, alterations are made in the a. Version 2 of djvu file has the schematic split into 6 overlapping files for printing a pastedup large scale version of the schematic. Racal ra17l service manual,repair schematics,online download data. Some time i need to verify that the rubber bands really should be there. Manual 73 a4 pages worldwide printed paper copy or on cd are plus postage. The schematic diagram shows buffer amplifier a suggested by racal. The racal ra17 used a revolutionary system to eliminate drift. Early in 1953, racal hoped to acquire the rights to manufacture in britain the new collins 51j hf communications receiver. In 1950, both brown and cunningham had quit their jobs at plessey company, a large british electronics firm, to start their own electronics. The racal ra 17 had over 20 valves tubes and used the wadley loop system to provide the stability required.
The ground clip to the chassis and the live clip to a wire passing close to the vfo valve, v5. Restoration of another mki racal ra17 chavfreezone. View online or download racal instruments ra17 operating and maintenance instructions manual. The wadley loop was a technique to improve tuning precision and stability at higher frequencies in the days before phaselockedloop systems were feasible economically. On the basis of this, racal was awarded a contract with the royal navy for the supply of 200 of these receivers. Kodi archive and support file community software vintage software apk msdos cdrom software cdrom software library console living room software sites tucows software library shareware cdroms software capsules compilation cdrom images zx spectrum doom level cd. Note that isb stands for independent sideband unlike single sideband in the ra63. The racal address bus is connected to the gpio port c on the pic. If you prefer a longer time constant, then try some larger values. All mode transmit, receive and digital readout adapter for the ra17. The ra17 circuit was nevertheless complicated and utilised a total of 23 valves tubes, but performance in terms of spurious responses was still very good. Racal ra17 mkii in some ways the ra17 receiver, introduced in the 50s, was ahead of its time but in an odd way it harks back to the twenties. Racal ra17l service manual,circuit diagram,users manual. The racal ra17 used a wadley loop circuit which was able to eliminate drift, and this gave it a significant technical advantage over other communications receivers of the time.
It was said to have no audio but i think thats just dirty valve pins as it came to life after plugging it in and waiting ten minutes. The racal ra17 and ra117 were notable as the first production. The company name was derived from their names, ray brown and geo. Racal ra17 ra17l and ra17c12 receiver or written as ra. One of them was in poor condition, but after lots of cleaning up and fault finding it worked as per the original specification. At racal, we continually strive to keep up with the latest electronic developments by adding circuit and component improvements to our equip ments. Ra17c12 receiverc racal engineering racal instruments ltd. For the manufacture of the collins receiver, racal proposed to use a substantial portion of british components.
Originally designed for supply to the royal navy, the design proved so successful they were ultimately used by all the services and became the main receiver of gchq, the british signals intelligence service. The racal ra17 was arguably one of the finest shortwave radio receivers ever built using valve technology, so much so that it set the standard for receiver performance well into the 1970s. The ra98 works in a similar way to the ra63 but unlike the ra63 where you only take one sideband the ra98 enables you to take either or both. The actual relationship of the terminal numbers to the primary winding is the same for both. Racal ra117 manual pdf racal ra117 manual postscript racal ra117 manual dvi the source code from which these pages without figures were generated is also available as. Service manuals, schematics, eproms for electrical technicians. The ra17 series of communication receivers were highgrade tube valve sets, first produced by the racal company in the the 1950s. The racal ra17 and ra117 were notable as the first production communications receivers to implement the wadley loop tuning system. Dave schofields alternative to the infamous display problem.
Racal ra17l service manual,repair schematics,online downloadmaintenance information. Racal ra17l service manual,circuit diagram,users manual racal dana model 9904 universal countertimer maint 1977 ww service manual,circuit diagram,user racal ra1217 service manual,circuit diagram,users manual. This site helps you to save the earth from electronic waste. Racal ra17l service manual,repair schematics,online. However, connect up a proper racal ssbisb adaptor in good condition and my rating of 3 to 4 jumps to 5. Most of them were in reasonable cosmetic condition but were being sold as seen by the supplier. This is a bidirectional port allowing the pic to sit on any standard 8 bit microprocessor bus. View and download racal instruments ra17 operating and maintenance instructions manual online. New life for the ra17 rob filby g0hjr describes how he worked on his ra17 receiver restoring an old friend to its impressive full working order after many false starts.
This sort of effort was last done in 1986 by theneditor dallas lankford who assembled the. The terminal drawing, schematic and listing are shown below. Sep 01, 2017 the racal ra17 was the first production communications radio receiver to use the wadley loop. His website is now closed but you can contact him via email. Software is rather ancient presumably for a pc operating under dos. Racal ra17 replacement film scaleused, very good condition but has been folded for sometime. Racal ra17 radio receiver courtesy rsgb racal ra17 topics. I did accumulate a bunch of manuals for related racal models including the ra17. However, connect up a proper racal ssbisb adaptor in good condition and my rating of 3 to 4 jumps to. Infact, most all the caps have tested ok no leaks electrically or physically everything is easily replaceable in the racal, they all come out as modules.
In this unit the plessey mains connector has been replaced by a filtered iec connector. We have proficiency in offering quality services in order to provide our customers most satisfactory and valueadded services help them to meet their requirements. Keiths vintage racal racal enthusiast site has a mass of information on the ra1792. Racal ra17l service manual,repair schematics,online download. The racal manual contains 71 pages including circuits component lists and layouts. Modifications to the ra17l for ssb reception david sylvester g3red i have been fortunate to get my hands on three ra17ls. It seems that the company was busy trying to promote the alltransistor ra217. This racal ra17 film scale is high quality and low priced at just 30. The racal display data bus db0 db7 is connected to the parallel slave port psp on the 16f877. The canadian and american made versions were apparently made in very small numbers, and are therefore quite scarce. Receiver comparison, hammarlund sp600, racal ra117. Racal ra17l service manual,circuit diagram,users manual electrical appliances product material.
One problem the ra17 suffers from is that of not having a product detector. Comprising ra117e, ma350 synth, ra121 isb, ma197 preselector and ra7 lf adapter. Certainly the set is a joy to use, the keypad is positive and, in my opinion, racal have got the tuning rate for the spin knob spot on and the passband tuning is a nice feature. The schematic for the ra117 presented here is a reorganised drawing based on a scan. Aug 28, 20 here is a typical configuration for a 1960s racal hi performance receiver system. Racal test equipment manuals analytical electronics. After this it seemed lively but very deaf and intermittent. Racalra17l service manual,circuit diagram,users manual.
Page 2 of 2 26 posts go to page previous 1, 2 previous topic next topic. If you have some stuff that not is listed here you can donate this by contact mods. The filmscale readout and 100khz combspectrum calibrator was a tremendous improvement over earlier communication receiver designs, but it is a wonder that by the late 1960s, racal did not modify the ra17 ra117 to incorporate digital readout. This is a great rig that could have become acclaimed as a classic over here. In this page you find schematic, users and instructions manuals, service manuals, technical supplement, leaf leads and other good stuff. Note that there is a limit to the number of files you can download.
All orders will be dispatched within 1 working day after payment. Racal ra 17 radio top and bottom panels in good mod plessey 3 way f type plug 9ft of screened 3 core cable marked equipment one end and nsn other end. At the time i checked and replaced some resistors and capacitors. They certainly dont match the build quality of the rest of the radio. Racal dana model 9904 universal countertimer maint 1977 ww service manual,circuit diagram,user. About 18 months ago i stumbled across a source of racal ra1792 receivers here in the uk. What about the gearing nightmare inside the r390none of that in the racal. Racal diagrams, schematics and service manuals download for free.
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