A Look At The Wonderful Drake 2-C Ham Band Radio Receiver
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 27 ก.พ. 2015
- This is a hands on description of the R.L. Drake 2-C amateur radio receiver from around 1966 or 1967. It is a great radio to this day and as most Drake equipment, it stands up very well to the test of time. This equipment was designed with the novice class operator in mind at the time. It was very well constructed and well thought out as most if not all Drake equipment is. This unit on the outside looks just like it did when taken out of the original packing box when brand new.
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Good beginner video Larry,..and also a good tour for us old timers who have never had a 2C.
I’ve owned the Drake 2B and also Drake R-4C receivers. Both were excellent in performance all-around. The pleasantness of the user interface experience with the Drake receivers is a primary element of their appeal. The basic performance of Drake receivers, when properly maintained and aligned, is beyond what many contemporary operators would probably expect. I have not owned a 2C receiver, but IMO it is perhaps the most visually elegant Drake receiver. The carefully thought out minimalist design is appealing.
Downside: until the arrival of the C series of Drake equipment in the early seventies, nearly all Drake equipment used copper-plated chassis which looks beautiful when new but almost always begins to tarnish/oxidize badly at some point, and look unattractive. Scrubbing and polishing efforts usually don’t help, and so one usually has to simply accept and live with the unattractive copper oxidation. Fortunately, this is mostly only a cosmetic issue, and not usually detrimental to the function of the equipment. If you own a piece of Drake gear which still has a shiny copper chassis, then you are fortunate. Be very careful not to leave these units in humid/damp/cold areas or your chassis will soon begin to oxidize.
Back in the mid 60's I had all of that drake lineup, everything you mentioned, 2nt, crystal cal, 2cq etc. Loved it!!! No longer hold a license but still have the 2-c. Will keep it till the day I die I think. Thanks for the memories.
bob garr Thanks Bob, yes, I sure love Drake, my first hf rig was the TR-4Cw and I still have it in mint condition. They were some of the best rigs ever I think. Drake really had some great high quality products that still work great to this day. I was really happy to add this 2-c to my collection and it did not disappoint me at all. Works just like I thought it would and better.
Wonderful, thanks Larry....I just acquired a 2-C
Nice to see an old friend! I used a 2C from about 1966 to 1980; it was a great radio, very sensitive and stable. Replaced it with an R7-A which I still have... N6CD
I have had a 2B since I got it new in 1963. I don’t know much about the 2C but it seems very similar to the 2B. My 2B was repaired by Drake and they put an R4B passband in it. I now have the same as the 2C except I also have a 1.2 kHz position. Near the end of the video you answered a question I had earlier. I am glad they have the extra crystal socket for other frequencies. My 2B has 4 extra positions (A, B, C and D) that are very handy. I also modified my band A to cover 160 meters by cutting one wire on the band switch and adding a small trimmer capacitor. Worked as well as my Drake R4C on 160! No longe4 have the R4C but will never part with my 2B! It’s as good a receiver as my Elecraft K3 for all practical purposes!
What a nice rig Larry. Always enjoy seeing the radios in your collection. Thanks for posting.
Carl
Excellent. You'te a natural teacher.
A very nice combo from the old days. Thanks for the review!
Beautiful model. Thanks for the look at it.
beautiful radio Sir!!!!!
much respect
That was super helpful and interesting. Great video!
Hey man i just wanted to say i enjoy watching your channel and i hope you keep up the good work!
Thank you very much Justin, glad you enjoy the videos!
Larry love your videos .loved your old radio shack catalog .video .good stuff keep up the good work.
Thanks Michael, appreciate hearing that, hope to do more soon. 73...Larry
Cool video! thanks for posting
Hi,
Always enjoy seeing the radios in your collection.
I love my Collins ( CCA / AC13-12730 ) and Drake.
73, Franco - PY1EPU
Real nice video on the Drake rig. All I need to know right here. Drake should still be in business.
That looks like a great radio, thanks for sharing...
TheSmokinApe b
Sounds better than most any of the new gear I have
In most cases the old tube amplifiers sound better than the modern ones.
great video this drake line was one of the best sounding radio thank you for supper clean video top youtube channel
vy 73 elan
I have a minter with the Q multiplier. Just love the old valve gear..
Hey Larry, I always like when you go over one of your radios. I am currently considering getting something like this. Thanks
Joe KC3BXZ
Ah, Drake receivers. One of my R-4C's is running nicely warm right next to me, but the band (80m) is full of noise, the down side of living in a town now-a-days. Had a Drake 2B some years back, but sadly sold it, which I regret, it was in very good shape. 73, Lars sm6rpz
LOVE WATCHING YOU GREAT MANNER
Thank you very much, sure appreciate your comment!
Owned by a lucky novice--Me. Looks and performance a big upgrade from an HR-10.
I bought my 2C after getting my 2NT, they just look so well together.
Thank you for making you'r videos you made me more interested in ham radio then i ever was now i'm studying for my tec licencee,keep up the good work.
Thanks Nicholas, that is great to hear. You will enjoy the hobby and public service, there are so many aspects of ham radio and so many ways to go with it. Good luck on the test, you will have no problem if you just spend some time with it. Let me know if you get your ticket!
RadioHamGuy Thank's we will talk soon
Always enjoy your videos. I have a few radio videos here on TH-cam, myself. I try to post more, but I like to operate more. I just acquired a Drake 2-C line and your video was very helpful. The copper on mine is pristine. I'll probably wind up selling it and keeping the R-4B and T-4XB.
73 Paul AA1SU
That sounds great, that is good equipment for sure. I just subscribed to your channel also. Keep up the good work.
Very nice video, Larry. Your unit appears to be in mint condition. I have 4 SWL radios, all post 1975 technology. Your Drake unit intrigues me. Looks like I have some research to do and possibly acquire one.
It really is a very nice and easy to operate radio, very stable and great sounding.
In 1974 I was blessed to have in my first shack the Drake 2C and 2NT. I’ll always remember pounding out CW in the middle of a hot summer nite. Propagation was great hearing faint DX calls. I was so foolish to sell them years later.
I’ll always remember those early novice days.
73~Steve (K1KTF)
Hi Steven, I looked up your qrz page and that is a really cool photo there! Nice page and nice shack and old photo of the Drake rigs!!
Also, you were very lucky back in the day to have those great quality and preforming radios. A step above a lot of the others at the time!
That was really nice, makes you want to throw up a dipole and work the Novice Roundup!
Nice rig! Still commanding bucks for anything Drake in good condition at the hamfests!
Any novice in the 6o's who had this rx or the 2B had an extremely good rx..good as a Collins S-Line in capability.
I still kick myself that I didnt buy the 2NT out at Henry Radio in Calif back in 1978
Awesome video really like your videos
Thanks! Appreciate hearing that.
First 2- series Drake (2B) I ever got to use was in 68 at the Treasure Island Amateur Radio club, K6NCG while going to Navy ET-A school. Drake sure hit it "right" with these little boxes, I LOVED the thing. In later years, I owned most of the twins R-4, a B, and several C's before a house fire.
Larry....that radio looks nearly like new! Is that one that you restored? Those old radios are just a lot of fun to play! Thanks for the great video! Hope you are doing ok there.
Hi Kevin, this one I recently purchased from a local ham and it is just in that almost new condition, I will probably replace the caps in it one of these days though, but it works very nice and is fun to use, sure has the Drake quality to it and is very stable and solid feel. Take care!
Did they make them for the lower bands too? I. E. 2 m/6m/70cm?
Since you're a radio master and guitarist, I wonder; do you own nice old tube amps too,? seems like a nice reason to buy and keep tubes.
+simple jones Thanks, I do have a Fender tube amp for guitar and I like that tube sound for a guitar amp! I have some other solid state amps but I like that tube amp the best for me, I just always go back to that one.
Nice radio...my S meter will not work while using the BFO switch or in SSB mode....it was made back in 1951 when SSB was not the way it is today...
Hello. Sorry to be here only to ask a question to anyone who knows.
My Dad just passed in May & he has some old drakes & a few others.
Are the drakes collectible with any value?.
Thanks to all.
Also have my factory Johnson viking ranger 2, antenna switch, brown bros. paddle/key. And like you its all in pretty mint condition. I may not do the 30 wpm cw that I did , but I think I could pass the old novice code requirement. Out of curiosity, what is a 2-c worth today? Not that I'd part with it. Again, thanks
bob garr I am thinking around 200 dollars or so maybe but I have not really checked on any lately to see what others are getting, so that is a good question, this is only a guess. Yes, good radio, I won't be parting with mine any time soon, haha. 73
poprosze o wiencej tego tyoufilmy,przy twych filmach to odpoczywam..pozdrawiam/krzysztof z warszawy.
The 2-C was my first serious receiver as a novice. I even had the matching speaker with the notch filter. The 2-C was nice when new but needs some serious alignment work when they get older as their sensitivity drops off with age. It wasn’t so much the tubes as the rest of the hardware that falls out of alignment. If your Drake 2-C is relatively deaf it just needs a good alignment by someone with the right equipment who knows what they’re doing. In top form, especially with the extra cost options, it was one of the better inexpensive receivers in its day. If it falls out of alignment it’s likely disappointing. Regardless, it will never match a high end Hallicrafters, Collins, or Hammarlund, or even the Drake R-4B. But, when at its best, it will challenge more expensive receivers and transceivers including the Japanese options from the same era.
Wow, an oldie, remember the King? Poll-com? Global? wow, way back when. I am looking to buy a new HF, I have been off the air for 25+ years. I am having problems as to what to buy, things have really changed.
+buzzsah have a look at the yaesu ft817nd. Dont be fooled by its small size, look into it, you will be impressed.
+smallenginedude71 I will check them out thank you, I just bought the ftm1200 but always looking you know how it is and what I mean LOL
while using the RF gain to keep the Rx from overloading, and reduce the excess gain that exists on the lower bands... it is extremely bad practice ( far too common on 75M) to run the RF gain down so low that you become an "Alligator Station" All Mouth and No Ears ! Guys who run 1Kw to talk across town with thier rf gain down... are always the guys who are QRMing adjacent stations, DX, and emergency traffic.. because they cannot hear half of what is happening. Keep the Rx lively, and this wont be you !