Swan Transceivers Newsletters These newsletters were published by Dean Lang starting in 1990, and were sent to members of the Swan User Group. There have been nine published, and they will appear on this web page.

The Swan Newsletters are published by Dean Lang and the back issues have been re-posted here to make them available to all Swan enthusiasts. To date there have been nine issues printed.
I will copy the newletters as close as possible to this format, but the old for sale postings, addresses, and dated info that is no longer current has been deleted.
Read on!

ISSUE ONE

MESSAGE FROM THE NET MANAGER
Summer, 1990

I am grateful for all the correspondence and positive comments from many of you out there in radio land. I have received a number of QSL's and letters, some of which I will share with you today. Other than some rather bad summertime propagation, the net seems to be getting off to a good start. Hang in there and I think conditions will improve and we will be able to pick up some of the more distant stations. (especially those from back East)
I had a delightful call from Herb Johnson, the founder and previous owner of the Swan Co. He told me some interesting history about Swan and Atlas (still owned by Herb) and had some revealing news which I will share with you later in the newsletter. Its quite exciting.
I don't know for sure, but we may have to change our net frequency slightly due to an unlisted net called (I think) The Arabian Knights Net. I guess they are a DX net and even though I monitored the frequency several weeks before we started, and checked the net directory and did not hear them, one station reported to me that they meet on 14.250 Mhz at 21:00 Z. I will see what I can do to find us a nearby frequency if they are for real. I don't want to create any problems for our ham brothers and sisters out there!
Well thats it for now. Hope you enjoy the content of our little rag tag publication and find it just a little bit interesting and helpful. 73 for now.

The following is a copy of a letter I sent to K4KXX in response to his letter to me. I have included his address in case any of you wish to write to him with further suggestions about his inquiry. Jerry was asking how he might cure the problem with drift on his 350. Here is my response dated May 8, 1990.

Dear Jerry,

Delighted to get your letter and pictures. Also pleased to have you check into the net. I sure hope the net "makes it" and conditions improve. They probably won't though, until fall.
Your home and adjoining land look like a nice place for some real serious hamming. I also noticed the two satelite dishes.....A real nice high-tech country existence.
Thanks for the donation to the newsletter cause. I plan to do another one in about 2-4 weeks. I will include your problem as a question to the group, but would make the following observations.
The 350 series had some inherent drift problems. I know that my 350C does to a limited extent. I believe the problem relates to thermal and voltage regulation problems in the rig, so dramatic temoerature changes would cause drift until the rig thoroughly warms up.
Since it is not worth the effort to stabilize the voltage regulation, it is much easier to stabalize the temperature. Swan always packed a lot of power (translated heat) into a small package and relied on ambient air to do the cooling job. If you help your old rig out a little with temperature regulation, I think you will find it to be a much more stable, longer lasting, better performing rig.
Heres what I have done and it has served me well in a number of ways. I went down to a local computer store (one of those "we'll make 'em up for you") clone stores, and bought several 3" 12 VDC muffin fans for $5.00 each. If you pop rivet them to the side of the case adjacent to the final deck in your Swan rig (the existing holes line up pretty well) you will see good results. You can power them from within the rig or obtain an inexpensive power cube.
Much of the instability will go away because you have leveled-out the extreme temperature fluctuations. Also you will extend the life of the rather expensive final amplifier tubes quite a bit. I have also noticed that you have a lot of other equipment nestled around your Swan. It might be an idea to give the old rig a bit more breathing room. Short of major work on it, this should be the best answer. Expect the old girl to drift for about 20-30 minutes, though not nearly so much.
Lets see if that doesnt' do it!
Dean, WA9AZK
(also see August 1979 Ham Radio Magazine)

A DISCUSSION WITH HERB JOHNSON FOUNDER AND PAST OWNER OF THE SWAN COMPANY

Last Sunday evening (May 6, 90) the phone rang and guess who was on the line? Thats right, Mr. Swan, Herb Johnson. I just had a delightful chat with Herb for I think over an hour that Sunday night and I wanted to share a few items of interest with you. Herb told me that he had been listening to the net and was a bit reluctant to check in because he always believed in keeping business off the ham bands. He feels that since he still repairs some of the old equipment, he might be suspect, I guess. So I promised him that we all wanted him to check in and I would avoid letting anything that might be construed as business from occuring. I think he feels better about checking in now, and I hope he is a frequent visitor.
I regret that I did not take better notes, or had not recorded our conversation, but Herb told me some great old "war stories" about the early days at Swan and I will touch on a few of them at this time and feed you others as they come to mind.
Did you know that Swan built over 82,000 rigs? At one time they were producing as many as 400 per month. Quite a success story from a company that started out on the strands of a shoe string, I'd say! The Swan company was the classic American success story. I think that is why I an so fascinated with the equipment. Herb told me that he had hand built most of the first rigs (the single banders) and even hand lettered the dials, etc. They were always designed to become multiband rigs and were made larger than they had to be because the mentality was one of bigness in those days. Ever see a Johnson Viking?
After Herb sold the Swan company to the folks from Cubic in 1968, he stayed on for about five years until he formed the Atlas company which produced some outstanding solid state rigs. After the Japanese entered the market, most of the American companies took a beating and Herb decided to suspend the production of Atlas equipment.
The Atlas company is still in existence though, and due to start producing high frequency ham rigs soon! Herb feels the time is right because the Japanese equipment is unnecessarily complicated, service is poor and prices are too high. He also feels he can produce a better performing and more reliable piece of equipment. Stay tuned for more information on this story and other interesting facts about the Swan company.

Have any secrets about fixing Swan gear? Why not share them in the next issue?

A LETTER FROM FRANK, W7QDC

"Recived your most welcome letter today, and after reading your interesting letter about the Swan net and yourself I'm very happy to let you know that I hope to be very active, also my friend W7BMW, Pete who lives here in the manor sems to like the idea very much. Pete is running a Swan 350, and likes it very much. He and I have been on the air since 1949.
I have a couple of rigs besides the Swan 350 but like to be able to keep playing with the 350. I have a good tube checker and a signal generator. I wall be on the air with the 350 when the net gets going.....I'm sure we are all going to have fun helping one another when trouble sets in. (Hi Hi).
Dean, I am retired and 81 years old, and love ham radio and the fellows like yourself that make it possible to get on and chat about rigs, antennas, and all good things about ham radio."

(Thanks for the kind words Frank. We all enjoy you checking into the net). Dean

Thanks for QSL's from WB4FBD George, WA5PDD Arley, K8RPF Roger, and W6DCD Alfred.

A LETTER FROM N9HCW, DAVE

"I'm not sure how you got my name and call, but I'm sure glad you did! For the time being, I'm out of business on HF. My tower is down, and I have another one and its ready to go up. I should be back on the air soon.
My Swan 700S has been modified with 8950's and a new tank circuit, it works great!
I've been a ham since 1987, and now advanced class working on extra next month I hope. I have two teen daughters , Christina KA9ZED, and Nikki KA9ZEC, both novice hams since 1987. I caught the bug from them after my wifes father Sam, W5VMI put them onto it. Sam is a Swan enthusiast and has a number of Swan rigs, including a 350 and a 500C. I see now that you got my name from John Bruchey, he was the one that modified my rig.
Thanks again Dean, and hope to be on the air and meet you on the net soon.

TIP

If you have a 6GK6 driver tube in your Swan rig, make sure that pin 6 is not connected. On most of the rigs, it was connected to ground, as at that time the pin was not used by the tube manufactures. In later years the newer 6GK6 tubes have pin 6 connected to the (I think) control grid. Using the newer style of tube will result in failure of a 100 ohm resistor and usually a RF choke.

In the next issue of the newsletter I will share with you how to change the rather expensive 7360 balanced modulator tube to a 6JH8. It can be done without buying anything but the tube.

TRIVIA: Did you know that "SWAN" equipment is named after Herb Johnsons father "Sven"?

The next issue will tell you the secret of how to remove the 60 Hz hum in your ear phones when connected to the power supply jack.

ISSUE TWO

September, 1990
(edited for tech info only)

Some tips from John Bruchey:

1) If your S-meter is too generous, try using a RCA, Sylvania, or GE 12BAB in the 2nd IF.

2) Do not use WD-40 or a cleaner containing oil or any greasy substance on the rotary switches. The insulating material tends to get soaked with oil which can be conductive, and shorts out through the insulation. A good commercial contact cleaner / lubricant is best. Rotary switches are about the most difficult things to repair, if it can even be done at all.

3) Do not use higher than suggested fuse ratings on power supplies. The transformers are hard to find and expensive (Peter Dahl) to replace. This usually causes the power supply to end up in the scrap heap. (A 10 amp fuse is suggested for the 117X, you should use a 6 amp slow blow)

4) A good way to get rid of the 60 Hz hum you often hear when you connect headphones to your power supply jack is to move the headphone jack to the radio. Be sure to use a jack that switches the audio to the speaker when the headphones are not plugged in. "Open" secondary audio transformers don't last very long.

Dean Lang

ISSUE THREE

November, 1990
(Edited for tech info only)

The subject of hum on Swan rigs was talked about quite a bit on one of the recent Swan nets. I am pleased to supply the following information supplied by Jack, KJ6KI, and Clarence, W7LII. It is coincidental that both fellows submitted the same information from a 1968 article written by K6KA. I hope it is helpfull, and the following summarizes the article.
In the Swan 350 and the 500, the audio line is also used for the AC heater current producing 0.1 volts of AC at the headphones, causing a hum.
One easy answer is to connect a low resistance braid between the transceiver and its power supply.
A more sophisticated cure is to add a wire between the unused pin 11 of the Jones plug from the power supply to the tranceiver. A good place to pick up ground is at the headphone jack. Now connect the new wire to the rig using the unused pin 11.
In the Swan 350 the ground can be lifted from the output transformer and connected to pin 11 of the Jones plug.
In the Swan 500 the ground can be lifted rom terminal 3 of relay K2 and connected with a piece of wire to pin 11 of the Jones plug.
Either method avoids having a conductor carrying both the AC filiment and the audio.

TUNE UP TIPS

Perhaps one of the most important things that we can do to make our rigs last longer and give the best performance is to keep them properly tuned and aligned. In general, the Swan manuals do a pretty good job of explaining the alignment procedure, but there are two areas I feel they could improve upon. After discussing these with John Bruchey, he agree's.
Since Swan produced a myriad of transceivers, these "rules" will apply to the more popular 350, 500, and 700 series (and maybe others). I have found them to make alignment easier and more exact. I have found the procedures outlined in the 270B and SW-240 manuals to be just fine.
Probably the area that misses the mark the most in the alignment procedure in the manuals is the section dealing with peaking the VFO circuit. The book suggests the placment of a volt meter (reverse polarity) between pin 1 of the 12BE6, receiver mixer, and ground. The procedure goes on to explain that on a negative scale, peak the volt meter at certain frequencys, etc.
If you have ever done this, you will notice that some of the circuits will not clearly peak or that the maximum reading (minimum in this case) requires you to totally remove the slugs from its form. (I believe the 40 meter slug) I found this curious and talked to John about how he did it. Heres the answer.

1) Instead of connecting a volt meter as described, simply clamp a lead from a field strength meter to the 30 pf capacitor which comes off of pin 1 of the 12BE6 mixer, (usually C-702) and adjust the slugs for maximum reading on the same frequencys as shown in the manual. This will greatly simplify the procedure and appears to be the most accurate way to align the circuit. It is not necessary to put the rig into the transmit mode for this procedure. You should see a clear peak when the slug is well within its coil form.
2) The other area I have found to be a better way to align the rigs is in the area of the driver and mixer circuits. Instead of removing the screen voltage by disconnecting a wire and measuring voltage accross a 1 K resistor, etc., I use the following meathod:
A. I do not disconnect the screen voltage.
B. I do not use a volt meter.
C. Instead, with the PA Tune knob placed in the appropriate positions as shown in the chart, and the rig tuned to the proper frequency and band as shown in the chart, I turn the mic. gain down, use the PTT to activate the transmitter circuit, inject a little carrier with the carrier balance control, and peak the driver as in normal tune up. Immediately resonate the finals by dipping the current with the Tune control. Then peak each related coil in the mixer and driver circuits, being careful not to exceed 100 MA cathode current and only transmitting for about 15 seconds. If I do exceed 100 MA, I adjust the carrier balance to minimize the current.

I have used this method to peak the mixer and driver circuits for years. As a matter of fact, this method is suggested in other Swan manuals. I presume the reason Swan suggested you disconnect the screen voltage to the finals and tune these circuits as indicated was to help eliminate damage to the finals. If you take a little care and avoid driving the finals too hard or too long, I believe you will find this to be a superior and faster method. Dean, WA9AZK.

To be continued.......

(Update June,2000. The complete newsletters are being transcribed into a format that can be seen here.)

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Last revised June 24, 1997.