Drake TR-4Cw Ham Radio Transceiver Capacitor Upgrade

I decided to upgrade some of the old electrolytic capacitors in my Drake TR-4Cw radio that I purchased new in early 1977 just before I got my novice class ham ticket. This radio is build like a tank and now it should last another 36 years!

[@xowi]

Excellent video! Thank you for posting, I'm getting ready to rebuild a couple vintage Drake TR-4C's this summer.

[@solarflare4259]

Just got a TR-4 and the MS-4 ;they both need cap upgrade. Thank you for posting!

[@SpectreOZ]

Glad to see the radio back in service, there's a kind of nostalgia to tube/transistor translational generation equipment especially hybrid gear.

[@kd1s]

Nice job on the TR-4Cw! That's one thing about we hams, or at least some of us. We like old gear restored to working order!

[@pd1jdw630]

love to see an old radio working again , job well done. Have fun !

[@RadioHamGuy]

I have a Sencore tube tester that I picked up at a hamfest many years ago and it works great. It covers most any tube you can think of but once in a while I will run into one not listed in the chart.

[@kcscarecrow]

Really enjoy your videos Larry. This video was helpful for me in the technique in changing these caps. Also a source for buying electrolytics. Thanks , Terry WA0DTH

[@hunt555fish]

Good job Larry.I need to do the same to my TR4C.Power supply rebuild also.Keep up the good work.

[@RadioHamGuy]

They will probably come at a later time, but for now, these were the most critical caps and if they go bad could cause damage to other things, but the ones that are left now, I will probably notice something just not working right and troubleshoot it or will replace them down the road.

[@KC6CNN]

I love my Drake Tr 4 . I wish there was a easy way to change the 6JB6 Sweep tubes to something more durable. I have the TR 4 , MN 2000, AC 4 with matching speaker and a W4

[@RadioHamGuy]

I just went down and took a look since I have not paid any attention to the model I guess, it is a TC162, Mighty Mite 7, so must have been a more recent one, but I would guess it is maybe from the 70's or 80's, really have not looked them up and have had this for some time so not sure off hand, but it is very good quality, I am sure there are many other good ones out there also from what I have seen. Sencore was big in the TV test equipment, I used to get to their seminars back in early 80's.

[@9mmsteve]

My first HF rig in the mid 70's was a Drake TR-4cw. It was the newest most modern transceiver around and I had many years of enjoyment from it. I wish I had never sold it. For my 40th B-Day(12 years ago) I purchased another TR-4cw station and the seller promised it was all in working condition however of course it was not and after spending all that I did I did not want to invest more money. I would have had to paid someone to fix it as I am not qualified, nor do I have all the equipment to do the repairs. Long story, short, I had to sell it at a substantial loss and that was the end of my old reminiscing radio days!

[@RadioHamGuy]

Thanks you! Yes, great radios, sorry to hear you lost your TR-3.

[@RadioHamGuy]

I guess if I started having some problems with the radio, I would check the tubes first with my tube tester, I did go through them a while back and they were all in great shape yet, so they are pretty reliable most of the time if not abused, hopefully I will be ok for a while now, lol. But tube contacts can turn bad also, wiggle the tube in the socket and comes back to normal, so I clean them with a little sand paper on the contacts sometimes and wiggle them in the socket. Lot of them too!

[@bobrenfro3080]

When you get my age you appreciate 50+ year old cars, radios & women. K4OF.

[@garraper]

old cars/radios...women ? not so much...very hard finding honest women..

[@RadioHamGuy]

Yes, you are right there. My upload speed is not very fast so when I do a video, it takes several hours sometimes to upload, so I start it and go to bed usually. I need to get to bed now, sounds good on the video, I will have to take a look tomorrow, not going to make it much longer here, lol. Good idea on video on tube tester, I will jot that down for a possible video in the future, thanks for the idea!

[@ericzerkle8226]

I had one once. Loved it!!

[@TerryMcKean]

Drake definitely made beautiful radios... thanks for sharing yours... it's awesome that you have taken such nice care of yours through the years. What is that Cinch-Jones socket seen in the lower left part of the screen at 03:54 used for?

[@RadioHamGuy]

This is the connector for the RV-4 external VFO, it plugs into this connector from the bottom side of the radio.

[@TerryMcKean]

Understood now.... thank you :-)

[@VE9ASN]

Curious if changing out the 135 cap will help with me having to speak very loud and be very close to the microphone in order to get acceptable output. I got lucky, my rig already had an upgraded power supply as well as the hayseed hamfest cap installed. 73

[@biringen]

The small 10uF an 1:49 what was the voltage for that? i just did my ac4 220v and just got my new multicap.

[@arielrodelas8350]

Nice video! Thank you for sharing, Just also want to replace the capacitors for my AC 4 power supply like what you did. Asking for your help if where did you purchase the kit that you have showed in this video. Mine is DRAKE TR 4 model 1974, Thank you and 73 de DU9AR... MABUHAY FROM THE PHILIPPINES

[@RadioHamGuy]

Thank you very much and glad you enjoyed the video. Here is where I got my cap kit, I will post a link but if that don't work, do a search for Hayseed Hamfest and it should come up. hayseedhamfest.com/collections/drake

[@peterarsenault2671]

No need to do an alignment after changing the electrolytes??

[@RadioHamGuy]

Thanks!

[@daviddahlgren9603]

Yeah , $3.50 in your old parts list for the new multi-section cap !!! Good ol days . . .

[@mykenwood830]

Can you please do a video on discharging capaciters ??

[@abeleballestri612]

Very nice demonstration of the drake tr4 receiver. Does the radio has only amateurs bands? What kind of receiver similar to this has got and fro 500 to 30 MHz you can suggest me including the beat oscillator for receiving the morse message? Thank you for your suggestions.

[@JonAhlquist]

The TR4C is an amateur radio transceiver covering only the 80, 40, 20, 15, and 10 meter amateur radio bands. If you want a general coverage receiver, here are some of the main choices: (*) a good old radio (See eham.net/reviews for reviews, and talk with people in your area to see if anyone has anything to sell.), (*) a modern software-defined radio (SDR), which also requires a computer (I'd look at the new Airspy HF+. SDR is powerful but requires more technical background.), or (*) a portable SW radio (Google: top portable sw radios).

[@michaelstarling4553]

What is the required voltage rating of the 10 mfd C135 cap? Looking forward to finishing the upgrade!

[@RadioHamGuy]

acording to my info here is shows that the replacement is rated at 50V instead of the original 25V.

[@1112223333111]

what about the paper and wax caps?

[@rogeriocarvalhal3191]

hi Larry, I'll just start a work like that on a TR-4 and was wondering why you select only those capacitors. Are those one the most critical? isn't required a full recap? tks !! 73 !

[@RadioHamGuy]

Yes, I replaced the ones know to fail over time, mostly the electrolytic caps, they end of going bad a lot of the time after 30 or more years and since they are also dealing with high voltage in this case, good to replace. Some types of capacitors do not need to be replaced even after a long time, they seem to hold up well.

[@beneditovieiradasilva1332]

Bom dia meu amigo tudo bem! Silicito informação eu tenho um radio amador DRAK - TR 4 ele está com um problema estou sem recepção de RF, que componente eu tenho que substituir? Agradeço se puder me ajudar ok, um forte 73 meu nome é: Vieira Cidade: Limeira Estado de: São Paulo País: Brasil

[@1112223333111]

tube tester

[@leksandrlekh859]

привет.с ума схожу от старого радио.сам начинал с 6п3с.имел много чего но никогда не забуду как вытягивал в армии невозможное на р-154. имеется swan 500-папа знаменитого up2nv.Желающих купить- прошу не обрасщаться.создать клуб любителей ретро-да. I7/ur3pbw. alex.

[@rcc3244]

All Drake's radios also suck