3 years after getting my General and doing basically nothing with it (except getting quickly bored with my Baofeng HT), I think I've found something that would get me interested again.  Vintage HF!  I'm really interested in getting something like a Yaesu FT-101 and setting up my first HF station.  

I'm learning more about these radios, but does anyone have tips on buying one to use for a newbie?  

I'd like something in good working order to start out with and then learn to repair it when the need arises.  Ebay seems to have of "not tested" units for sale that make me a bit nervous.  

Are there any folks out there that sell these radios that have been gone through and tested/repaired?

Just opinion here, but... eBay is definitely a "pig in a poke" as is any piece of vintage gear that you can't see in action before buying. The only way to have some sense of security is to find a local seller who can put the equipment into use right in front of your eyes, and even then, there may be some "bugs" that just don't happen to get mentioned. I think your odds of picking a winner go up if you buy from a venue like QRZ, but even there you can get stung.

With vintage equipment, you're either going to be learning how to fix it or paying someone to do so. It's just not plug-and-play like the modern stuff. But that's part of the appeal!

Good luck! Jim...

LOL "vintage"  

I recall when FT101's and the like first came out...Heathkits, HW101, SB102, etc.  
If you want real vintage, how about the Heathkit Apache and Mohawk:



Those pre-dated me a bit, but I certainly saw many of them around back in the day.  Real boat anchors

The main problem with buying something like an FT101 today is the age of the parts.  Caps dry out, switches corrode, etc.  Caps you can replace, tedious but doable. But finding drop-in replacement multi-gang switches is tough. I'd definitely avoid buying anything sight unseen unless it comes with a 30 day no-questions return policy so you have time to test it.

.

My advice is - buy a modern HF rig and then get a vintage radio to play with. It's like buying a vintage car. They are cool to have and play with but they are not the best choice as a daily driver.
Finding a vintage radio and having it shipped may be problematic. Some people would not ship at all. Some will not guarantee that everything will work after you get it. Anything can happen during shipping to an old radio. It's best to find one locally and test it thoroughly before taking it home with you. Make sure you can get on the air with it on different bands and make QSOs. Ask for audio report too.
I bought a TS-520 at a hamfest. It looks like new and the guy said everything works 100%. I got home, plugged it in but it would not transmit. I had to take it apart and found a loose connection in the final tube circuit. It probably got loose when either the seller or myseld transported the radio. Who knows. I fixed it myself. It would have cost me almost as much as I paid for the radio, to have it shipped for a repair. This is why if I sell anything, I only do it locally, so the buyer can test everything in my shack and not hold it against me if something happens when he attempts to use the radio after he bought it.

I really love the FT-101 series rigs...
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That said, I agree with Gyprat, get a modern rig to start out on. Buying a vintage HF rig, especially

the FT-101 series of rigs, sight unseen is asking for trouble. These rigs had/have a tendency

to have been modified for use on the 11m band (CB) and many have been hacked and

beaten like a rented mule.

One hint: Check to see what tubes your  rig uses. Many of the older rigs have been modified to use other tubes than they were designed for. This is because the original tubes get very spendy, while by making some small modifications* you can use a much cheaper final output tube.

Also, many older tube-type rigs have capacitors which may become "leaky," and need replacement. Don't do this unless you know what you're doing!



*These modifications may or may not have been made by someone who knows what he's doing. The reasons for some of the changes can seem very arcane for those who aren't very familiar with these mods.

So, for example, you may take an older rig capable of 100+ watts output, and find that you have perhaps ten watts-- because someone screwed up.

FWIW, 99-44/100ths of those vintage stations you see are backed up by modern equipment.

This was Heathkit's offfering when I got my Novice.

 

Good advice all around.

I guess I've had pretty good luck with stuff just working, for the most part people selling this stuff are usually estate sellers that have no clue if it works or not. If it doesn't you can usually return it IME.

Well I've got an FT-101Z on the way, should be here Monday. Appreciate the tips and advice, but a modern radio just didnt get me excited at all.  Excited to make my first dipole. 20m a good place to start? Hope this damn thing works.

Make sure you post pics.

I have been toying with the idea of getting some vintage equipment. My grandfather was a HAM from the 20s until the 80s and It would be fun to use vintage equipment, but locally that stuff is not cheap.

Good choice. The hybrid rigs of Yaesu (FT-101 series) and Kenwood (TS-520/530/820/830) are very nice radios. I've got Kenwood hybrids that will always be part of my station. A tube radio, or at least in the hybrid case, tube drive and finals is a very different experience than that of the modern pushbutton appliance. Don't misunderstand, I have a fair number of new, pushbutton appliances and enjoy operating them immensely, but there is something about the operating procedure of a radio with tube finals that is still appealing. You are more directly involved in the operation of the radio in a way that is completely hidden from the user of a radio with solid state finals. There aren't any load, plate, drive (or in the FT101Z case..load, plate, preselect) knobs as this is all taken care of for you with new radios. For the right person I think that a hybrid rig will help you to learn quite a bit more about how a radio operates. Yes, it might slow you down a bit as you may have to tweak things as you move across a band but IMHO Amateur Radio could use a bit of slowing down when compared with the scan the panadapter display, pick a signal, punch the tune button and transmit behavior that seems so prevalent today. I think that Amateur Radio should be a balance of learning how radios operate and experimenting as opposed to just racking up a bunch of 59/59 73 QRZ wham bam contacts. YMMV.

Hybrids are very enjoyable to operate, plus there are plenty of them around in the event that you need a part or an entire parts rig. Yes, they can be a challenge to work on at times as there is a lot of stuff packed in them and yes some parts might be hard to find replacements for but that's where parts rigs come in. At least there aren't any SMDs. 

I've purchased numerous used transceivers off eBay, swap QTH, and eHam and only once was something not quite as it was represented but it was repairable. Obviously, you always take a chance buying something sight unseen. I always do as much as I can to try and determine if the seller is reputable and then roll the bones. So far they haven't come up snake eyes.  Old radios can be a bit of an adventure at times but it sounds like you've already figured that out.

And yes, a 20m dipole is a good place to start.

Enjoy your new rig.

73.

Bench looks good!

Thanks! Good to see you back on here! Truth be told, my FT-101 series equipment is long gone. I sold it last year

when I was down-sizing preparing to go drive a truck. Now that I'm staying where I am, maybe I'll put

another FT-101 station together. I still have the Hallicrafters though. It's right here on the bench.

That -101Z is much closer to the FT-90x/FT-107/FT-707 series with regards to signal flow and internal architecture than it is to the earlier FT-101 series. Also uses 6146Bs in the PA rather than the 6JS6C sweep tubes of its predecessors.

As it is, highly unlikely the rig was ever pressed into 11M service. Not so the case with the other 101s.

A good read is to head over to The Fox Tango Club website and have a look at the FT-901/FT-101ZD section of the site. Manuals, mod and operating info can be found there.

Just finished up my 20m dipole.  Realized my soldering iron was a POS so did most of it with a propane torch.  Plastic also melts, apparently.  I shouldn't be allowed near anything electronic.  Now to figure out how to get this thing in the trees...

You can build a simple antenna hanging device from a sling shot and a fishing reel. Another thing that worked for me was to tie a string to a water bottle and throw it into a tree.

Here is what I built for around $25. Use a 2 oz. lead weight tied to a 30 lbs fishing line on the reel. It's simple and very effective to launch the weight up to around 120 ft. height.

Thanks.  I've got a sling shot and bow and arrow but my problem is that these little pines have so many little branches that anything you throw up doesn't wanna come down.  I won't be able to get too high (15-20 ft) so I'll try throwing the water bottle.  Thanks for the tips!

Be sure to look online for a detailed service manual if you're interested in maintaining the radio...

Many folks find working with vintage equipment rewarding.

Sling shot?
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Got the antenna up.  Ended up using a lead ingot with paracord tied to it, hand thrown.  The radio powers on but I'm only getting static.  Now to figure out if my antenna is messed up or if I have some setting wrong or if the radio has something wrong.  Now the learning begins.  

Locate the Marker (or Calibrator) switch. Flip it to On. Tune to a 25KHz multiple (like 14.200) with the Mode switch set to USB or LSB and see if you hear the calibrator tone. Then peak the Preselector control for maximum S-meter deflection.

Try this on multiple bands.

You may need to apply some DeOxIt to the bandswitch contacts. In this vintage of rig there could be upwards of 20 wafers which comprise the deck (my FT-90x series is such an animal).

Let us know what you find.

Took me a couple days to figure this out but the band switch is off by two clicks, so in example I have to dial 10a to get 20.  Lol.

Used the marker and WWV to confirm and adjust the dial.

Ordered a can of deoxit.

Tuned up the bias, plate, and loading for 20m and discovered that my mic (ym-24) has a broken connection so need to resolder.  

I tried my key and it's super loud on my speaker, not sure how to turn that down.

Making progress and learning a ton on this thing. Slowly.

I really love a radio with knobs. I gave my TS-520s to my father, he does not use it. I will get it back some day I am just not in a hurry.

The radio with the most knobs, wins.  

That Yaesu is soooo beautiful!

Fify...

20 Meters can be iffy with the sunspot cycle headed downhill. 40 should give you more activity, especially after sunset.

If you have the room, a 40/20 Meter fan dipole will give you a better shot at contacts. There's bonus with it, too. The 40 Meter section will operate as a 3/2 wavelength dipole on 15 Meters, and the Pi network final in that radio should match it easily.

Fan Dipole how-to: http://www.hamuniverse.com/multidipole.html

I think I got the mic fixed.  Anyone on 20 tonight?

Band switch knob has set screws holding it to the shaft. Set to known band, loosen screw, correct knob, tighten screw. Win!

Look in the manual for the "sidetone" adjustment for CW volume.

Ran across this page for the 101-"Z" series rigs.

Thanks!

Looks way cool brother! Mo' tubes equals mo' betta!

Cheers...   Jim

Lemme know if you want to try a QSO tomorrow evening. 20 or 40m should be a "piece of cake" from here into NH.

We can try Texas too if we're talking about SSB, 40m might be iffy with all the noise I have on it, though. 20m was going good tonight up to well past midnight here.

That sounds good. What time and freq? Sending you a PM with my call sign.

Stay tuned.

I need to go somewhere for an hour, maybe 2 hours tonight. Can you do 40 meters? Maybe around 9 PM ET tonight?

Got your PM and replied.

Sure I'll give it a shot.  I only have a 20m dipole right now but with my antenna tuner maybe I'll get something out.

Ok, Heading to the shack in 5 minutes. Will be on 20m at 9:00 PM ET. I usually call CQ on around 14.175 Mhz, USB voice or around 14.020 CW.
I can call you or you call me. Post a different frequency if you want.

Those are both out of band for me, I'm on a general license (14.225 - 14.350).  Maybe try calling me on 14.330, it sounds pretty empty right now.

There is a contest going on. It will be a crapshoot if you don't have high power but we can try.
14.297 is available. I'll call CQ arfcom.

I talked to somebody on 14,330 but unless you have a 7300 it wasn't you.

I'm there but only hear a gentleman calling for the contest.

I tried that too. No one heard me.

I don't hear anyone but I'm using tight filters. My beam is set for the lower part of the band and I don't like using tuners. find a clear freq below 300 of you can.

Switching to 14.248

248 is busy with a V31HQ S9+30 station. Check your PM. Send me a text when you find another freq. It's a crap shoot today with the contest.

I don't hear shit. Oops.  I'll stop calling CQ.

I don't think there is any vacant freqs below 143000 that a general can use. It is packed and wall to wall with the IARU contest. I've gained four new countries, though.

Don't give up too quick. Is your dial calibrated? I should be able to hear you. BTW, I'm running a kilowatt into a 7 element Pro67B at 75 feet. Usually if I hear them, they hear me.

Ok,I don't want to run my amp above 300 but the radio has a tuner. Let's try at around 14.330-14.345 Mhz.