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From Collins 30S-1 HF Amplifier
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Now, over 40 years later, I was able to purchase an amp: A legendary Collins 30S-1 - heavier-duty than anything I'd had before, and a true radio legend!
Now, over 40 years later, I was able to purchase an amp: A legendary Collins 30S-1 - heavier-duty than anything I'd had before, and a true radio legend!


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Here, the amplifier arrives home:
[[File:collins_30s1_arrives_in_trailer_1.jpg|500px|thumb|left]]
30S-1 wrapped for transporting, as it arrives home
30S-1 wrapped for transporting, as it arrives home
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[[File:collins_30s1_arrives_in_trailer_1.jpg|500px|thumb|center]]
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<p>
30S-1 wrapped for transporting, as it arrives home
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[[File:collins_30s1_arrives_in_trailer_2.jpg|500px|thumb|center]]
[[File:collins_30s1_arrives_in_trailer_2.jpg|500px|thumb|right]]
Here, the amplifier arrives home
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<p>
<span>
[[File:collins_30s1_arrives_in_trailer_3.jpg|500px|thumb|left]]
30S-1 unwrapped after transport, as it arrives home
30S-1 unwrapped after transport, as it arrives home
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[[File:collins_30s1_arrives_in_trailer_3.jpg|500px|thumb|center]]
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=Preparation=
=Preparation=

Latest revision as of 23:49, 3 June 2020

In October 2018, I bought a used Collins 30S-1 HF amplifier off Craigslist! The seller and I carefully loaded the amp into my trailer, where I wrapped and secured it. The trip from the small oceanside community of Tsawwassen, BC to my home required about 30 minutes' highway driving. The Fall day was absolutely perfect!

A Bit of History

My childhood radio-mentor had a Collins S-Line transmitter and receiver; in addition he had the 30L-1 compact desktop-amplifier to go with these. It was all the best gear of the 1970s, but far out of the reach of a 15-year-old paper-delivery-boy's meager earnings. Eventually I *did* manage to save up enough to buy an amplifier, but it was a well-used homebrew amp with 6KD6 TV sweep-tubes. Even then, I wasn't really happy with this amp...

Thus, my desire for an amplifier took root, and high regard for Collins gear was firmly instilled.

Along the path of life, I de-constructed my 6KD6 amp, removing the good parts for re-use, and embarked on constructing a kind of clone of the 30L-1 / Clipperton-L amp with 4x 572B tubes. Unfortunately, this stalled due to life's busy-ness, new priorities, and increasing difficulty of finding builder-parts for radios.

Now, over 40 years later, I was able to purchase an amp: A legendary Collins 30S-1 - heavier-duty than anything I'd had before, and a true radio legend!

Collins 30s1 arrives in trailer 1.jpg

30S-1 wrapped for transporting, as it arrives home


Collins 30s1 arrives in trailer 2.jpg

Here, the amplifier arrives home


Collins 30s1 arrives in trailer 3.jpg

30S-1 unwrapped after transport, as it arrives home


Preparation

While the amplifier was still outside, I fired up my air-compressor and blew a cat's-worth of dust out of everything. I cleaned all the relays and switch-contacts, did a basic check of all the fuses, and carefully struggled to get this 160-pound amp into my ham-room.

I changed the plug on the amplifier's power-cord to match my existing wall-socket (6-20R). I removed the 4CX1000A power-amplifier tube, before applying any power.

First Power-Up

First power-up brought a lot of smoke :-( It seems the Bias Transformer T203 was very, very unhappy. I had hoped to turn the amp on, and quickly be using it; now, clearly I was actually going to have to look deep inside. My blissful ignorance slipped away...