How to Repair the Ten Tec Century 21 – A Great Classic Transceiver

photo of The Ten Tec Century 21

I look at Ebay from time-to-time, and lately I’ve been having a little too much fun. A Ten Tec Century 21 CW Transceiver (model 570) attracted my attention recently. The “570” was a solid-state radio intended for Novice hams and covered five bands: 80, 40, 20 (and with accessory crystals) 15 and 10 meters.  

Restoring the Freshman Masterpiece TRF Radio

photo of The Freshman "Masterpiece"

I mentioned finding two old 20’s-era broadcast receivers in an earlier post. Some months had passed, and restoring the Freshman Masterpiece “5F5” seemed like a fun project and a quick win. The radio was designed to run on two batteries: an “A” or 6-volt battery for the tube filaments and a “B” or 90-volt battery for the plate voltage.

Restoring a Classic 1937 Hallicrafters SX-16 Shortwave Receiver – A Start

photo of Hallicrafters SX-16 original condition

It’s been nearly two years since a pair of classic old shortwave receivers followed me home from California, and they have been staring at me each time I enter the shop ever since. Neither are functional, and both are daunting restoration projects. I wanted to revive some of my old vacuum tube chops and collect some vintage test equipment before diving into these beauties.

JBL 4408 Studio Monitors — Repairing the Woofer Foam Surrounds

photo of The studio in action

In a former life, I worked in professional audio sales and service for a local music store. This was about a million years ago, and the store, Musicmakers Austin, is long gone. I was just recently out of college and the modest pay didn’t matter too much because I was living every musician’s dream: working as a musician — or at least in close proximity to working musicians.

Mirrorless Cameras and Legacy Lenses – Part III

Photo showing depth of field

In a previous post, I shared a brief history of the Jupiter lenses, a Soviet-made series that have become popular with mirrorless camera enthusiasts. There are several models, with some — notably the Jupiter 8 — often available very inexpensively on eBay. Intrigued by the possibility of expanding my lens arsenal with an inexpensive but useful lens, I did some shopping, and ended up with one of the 50 mm Jupiter 8’s for about $50, including shipping. Not bad.