Current slide {CURRENT_SLIDE} of {TOTAL_SLIDES}- Best Selling in Ham Radio Transmitters
The E.F. Johnson , "Viking Valiant" is a mainstay of vintage AM/CW transmitters . Well designed and built from good quality components. Covers 160 meters thru 10 meters excluding the new WARC bands of course. A pair of 6146 tubes modulating a trio of 6146 tubes with real carrier power in the 125 to 140 watt range. That said one must realize these transmitters are getting near 60 years old. Plenty of opportunity for some normal wear and tear often made worse by well intentioned intervention . This is not unique to the Valiant but there are many minor issues that are made into major problems by would be "techs" and estate sale re-sellers . With all vacuum tube equipped transmitters there are certain requirements when putting them into operation . All too often people buy thes , bring them home , plug them in and throw the power to them! They then list the item with glowing non technical terms like "powered up" "all the knobs turn" , "all the tubes lit up" etc . Meanwhile they may have caused serious, expensive damage by operating off resonance and unloaded ! Of course they do not warranty the item or offer returns . They also fully expect to sell this untested , possibly heavily damaged item for the same price as a tested, functional example . What was a good transmitter is now in need of a few hundred dollars worth of repairs . The next one to consider is the fellow who does wholesale parts replacements and lists as "refurbished" or worse yet "restored" . There are all levels of self proclaimed technicians performing these jobs and it shows. Look for clean wiring and avoid the all to often seen long bare leads , sloppy wiring, improperly supported large components etc. These often go hand in hand with cold solder joints and intermittent operation . The vintage gear like Johnson Valiants can still deliver many years of enjoyment and indeed there are hundreds in use daily. Just be prepared and able to get them up to speed as they indeed are no better than the last person who handled them .Read full review
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Would purchase again- used them in my EF Johnson Viking 500
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Awesome products from this gentleman. Run, don't walk to give him your money.
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This radio comes on but is not fully functional For 350 dollars bad deal.
Verified purchase: Yes