73 Tests the Heathkit IM-10 VTVM - Nostalgic Kits Central

73 BuildsDona ld A. Smith W3UZNAssociate Editorand Tests theHeathkit IM-l0 VTVMHEATH'S new VTVM, though not strictly apiece of ham gear, none-the-less is equipmentthat no ham should be without. It's almostimpossible to check out or repair a piece ofgear without a good, reliable, VTVl\LThe IM-10 has a number of features overits predecessor, the V7A. One of the most important,is the new 6" meter which reallyspreads out the scales. To make its u se evenmore convenient, the scales are color coded.Zero and Ohms adjusts are thumb adjustmentsinstead of knobs. Two new low ac sca les have....... "'0< .~"C "...been added for more accurate measurement oflow ac voltages. No pr inted circuit board isused in the IM-lO, a s it is in the V7A. 1%precision resistors are used as multipliers andthe 6", 200 microampere meter has a f ull scaleaccur acy of 2%_A dual triode, 12AU7 t ube is u sed in a balanced-bridge circuit, with the meter readingany imbalance. With no voltage input to the12A U7, a s would be t he case when not actuallymeasuring a voltage, each section of t he tubewill draw t he same current. The meter, which........n •.... u,••••..., ,,,( fI:D ,I'''"'', " ~ V,,•,•,..1' , •::;r :, . , '. < ~,~ ....... ....::;- --...----------.:;:-.-:.:: --('#.....i;r: -, " t el' . " . ,..,:~' :: ':rr~0/ ';0 0 ••,~-o' _ . ::~ :.:::.... ""....... ,... ~\ ·I .\,. 0 0 "'l ' . _ ,,'. 0 0 0 "~ .: 0 . 0 0 . .. ' ,,\:. '.' ....-•"' ~' -""" ~.c·.-. , •• u. '.'TCNQ _ ._ .....' LL ••_, _..., ...,....-_u. ,, _ .... "'..-..........-• -.\ o'' ,t.. . 'O.- .., ..~ /•' 0/'/m ",. ~. ...,.1J[]Sl""• • .• ••••...~-.\!; '" .= ...... ";>' " g.",. O ~ , ' I , ~......:tr;o. ' '~"" ~:. >zll." 1.1' ". •_ _.... , " mI.., .~ ,, \ '... ,,, l....-A ' ~· · ' ~ · u , ,' , ,,, g : ,'O- ", ....."" .... . , ' 'if''"' . oo, "'-"-.:I : " ~= "):, "I rn ...... , ", ,"'/..m ..I) ""'.-..... I l!D " . ' , I!J:lli • .,OLL _._, ,.... I .. / / :-: ."TU',.-~"'. _. ----- - L.- ~-/ _.:.. BENC":~V'"I\IT 5ERV!C[I

HeathkitVTVM ... .IM·IOis connected between t he t wo ca thodes, can.not indicate any rea ding, as the potential ofeach cathode is the same. When a voltage isWeight: SibsSize: 612" x 9 1 12" x 5" deepPower: 105- 125 vac 50/60 cyOhmmeter Battery: 1.5 v "C"DC Ranges: 1.5, 5, 15, 50, 150, 500,1500 .AC Ranges: Same as DCOhmmeter: 1000 ohms (10 ohms centerscale)Multiplier: XIO, XIOO, XIK, XIO K,XlOOK, XI MConstruction Time: 7 hoursDC Input Impedance: II megohmsAC Input Impedance: 320KAccuracy: 31'0 on DC ; 51'0 on ACPrice: $32.95fortheapplied t o one of triodes, one half of the tubewill draw more current t han t he other, causinga difference of potential to exist between t hetwo ca thodes. In t his case, current will flowthrough the meter beca use of this differencein potential or unbalance and the needle winindicate t he amount of voltage in the circuitbeing mea su red. A zero adjust control is pro-no-Space Raider brings you the amazing Polarized Diversity BeamP.o. *designed by K6CT and proven by OX men the world 'over. P. 0.'virtually eliminates the 80"10 of QSB caused by polarizationshift. P. O. Beams offer vastly improved forward gain, front·tobackand side rejection ratios. Space Raider beams priced from$44.50. Write for particulars. Shipping on direct orders prepaidin 48 states.*P olarized Divers it y• P. D. - The Ultimate in Performance• New High in Forward Gain &FJB Ratio• Amazing Side Rejection• The Major Cause of QSB Eliminatedat last - by P. D.!• P. D. Beams Available for 20.15. 10. 6 and 2 MetersPATENT PENDINGANTENNAS1076 E. WALNUT ST., PASADENA, CALIF.Ph (2 13) SY 2-25268273 MAGAZINE

•••ided to bala nce the current flow through oneali of the tube ( no voltage being measured) ,o that both triode curr ents will be the same.Of course not all voltages between zero and500 volts can be applied to the g r id of onef t he triodes, so multiplier r esistors a re used) extend the basic voltage ra nge up to 1500olts. These mu ltiplier resistors are 1% preciionresistors, a s any ina ccuracy in these r e­istors would be reflected in t he voltage r eadn the meter and hence affect t he over-a ll acuracyof t he instrument.On ac, operation is basically the same, exepttha t a GA L5 is used in a half-waveoltage doubler circuit and ac to be measured; connected to it. When the ac voltage beingteasu red is g reater than 150 vae, multiplieresistors are switched in (by t he r a nge selectorwitch). to keep the input to the GAL5 with-in;s ra ting. The output (de ) of the 6AL5 isroportional to the applied uc voltage and isonnected by t he function switch t o t he deiulfiplier section. Here the voltage is handled1 the same manner a s when the instrument ising used on de.The electronic Ohmmeter section of theT V l\1 uses a 1.5 volt batter y connected inr tes with multiplier resistors a s well a s thesist ance to be measured. How much batteryoltage fed t o the 12AU7 tube depends one ratio between the resistance to be measredand t he multiplier r esistance of the ohmretersect ion. Though the ohmmeter sect ionoes have a battery, the inst rument must stille connected to the ac line and tur ned on, soNEW LOW PRICE: $14.95 BUYS2-METER RECEIVER & 2/6/10 METER XMTR5C II:-522 revr, xmtr, rtlck &eese, e xe, condo 19 tube. inc1ud.832A'• . 100·156 mc AM.Sa tisfa ction grtd. Sold tit I.uthan th. tube call in surplu.1Shpg wt 85 lbs, FOB Brem-O~I; ' . ~~ ~~.. ... $14.95Add $3.00 for complete t.ch_nical dete group includingorigintll schematiCl & part.lish, I.F., xtl formultls, indruct. Lo_;"'_ ,,",::;for AC pwr sply, for revr continuous tuning, for xmtr 2 ·meter use, tlnd for puttingxmtr on 6 and 10 meters.CLOSED·CKT OR BROADCAST TELEVISIONw ith the se Na vy cameras CRV ·59AAC Wj sync un itBlock , CoT, as removed fr om opera t ing Na vy Aircrtlft,wi th All the tubes (a liI) p lus the VHF xm trfor it, sa me condition, T·6 1j AXT-2, p lus sche moticsjconve rsion instr. to home TV syncs, fob LosAng $149.50POPULAR Q-S'ER8C-453-8: 190-5.50 kc; I.F. 85 ke, Use a s revr, o.tunoble I.f., os double- conversion for other revrs.Check ed out, good cond., w/schem., olign. indr.,r:;r AS:~:le~a~~,.. :t.~ ••R.tI.i~~~ . ~.n! ~:. ~~~ $12.95for f ixe rs , $ome, ino pertltive..•.. . . . . . . . . . . .•$5.95QX-S3S RECEIVERSe. p . 66 Dec. 13 or write us for reprint. This isthe BC-0453-B in handsome case w ith xfrmr-type pwrsp ly, speo ker,

Th.WORLD'S FINEST ELECTRONICGOV'T SURPLUS BARGAINS:RTTYTranlmlttl'rs. u ecetvers. )I...len. )!Icrophone•.II t adlet l . .-\ lIlpIUlen. An tennas , POInt ~ u p ·pilei , F lltl'rI, Indl catorl, Collterlers, DynalllO _tors, Cable. Control Boxes. Tell Equipment,Phones. ete. Send for Free ettal,•. Dept, 73.HAM-RTTYHandbook ~'l'«%'E'i( ".., J..----Since we have a new RTTY Handbookin preparation it is only naturalthat I should have quite an interest inthe recent RTTY book put out by CQand written by Byron Kretzman. I haveto admit that they have done a nice jobof publication . .. good paper, nice type.I am somewha t disappointed in the content.A g'reat deal of the book seems to helifted bodily out of the book that Byrona nd I put together hack in 1956. Manyof the photographs are the very onesthat I took \,vith my old Pony P remo #5camera and several of t he diagrams aret he Ramo ones that I or iginally dr aftedfor my column in CQ back in 1952. It isnosta lgic to read all of m y own wordsagain, lifted out of the old RTTYcolumns of eight to ten years ago.Though I have been r elatively inactivein RTTY since becoming an editor, it isnice to know that I am still consideredt he a uthority for the field. Ha.\Vork on ollr handbook has t aken alot longer than Byron's modified reprintof myoId book. I've been out t here withmy new Rolli taking pictures of all myold and new TT gear. It is quite a jobrounding up information on all thenewer equipment and publishing a n upto-datehandbook. I think you'll like theresult. It has none of that text-bookishapproach. It tells you the facts aboutwhat gear is best and what to stay awayfrom. It tells you where to get the equipment.It tells you how to hook it up andhow to use it. There are several typesof converters, some with complete con ­st r uct ion details. There are instructionson frequency shifting most commercialrigs. This is a practical book. Thoughthe book was largely a ssembled by FredDeMotte W4R\DI. you'll find my lighttouch everywhere you look. Y'all bettersend in your order right now. Hea r ?$3. not $3.95.. .. waynethat sUPPb' voltage will be available to the12AU7 tube.F ilamen t and B+ voltages are provided byan AC power supply and selenium-rect ifier .A tA. amp fuse is placed in t he primary of thepower transformer to protect the instrument.Calibration controls consist of AC balance,Ohms adjust, AC calibrate and DC calibrate.The meter can not be burned out in the circuitwhich is used, but it can be moved to theright so rapidly by incorrect settings so thatthe needle could be bent.There is more than ample room in the chassisfor all parts and wiring, which greatlysimplifies building for the inexperienced. Themanual is very complete, not only in the constructionand calibration of the instrument,but also in explaining the advantages and usesof the VTV~I over a YOM.On any instrument which will be used to repairor adjust other equipment, plenty of timeshould be allowed for the building, testing andadjustment of the kit. If you can't trust yourinstruments, you really are in bad shape! Nodifficulties were found with the I M-l O andcalibration was a snap. No special test equipmentis required to do the job properly. I thinkyou will agree when you fi nish building it, thatit will be used more than any other piece oftest equipment in the sha ck. W ith its largeH" meter, you can even read the scales at4 a.m., blood shot eye-balls and all ! . .. 'V3UZ:SChassis Mou nted Phone PlugAn occasional requirement exists for a chassismounted phone plug. Construction of stationaccessory items is often simplified if theycan plug directly into the equipment withoutthe use of cords.The l\IC·385, high to low impedance headsetadaptor is still available on the s ur plus marketat give away prices. Certain models ofthis unit have a phone plug which is securedto the case with a st anda rd %" nut.The plug is easily removed and can be installed a s required. The photograph shows theadaptor, as su pp lied, and one application ofthe plug.. . . W4WKMP hoto Credit: Morgan S. Gassman, Jr.84 73 MAGAZINE