E.F.
Johnson Co.
Waseca, MN
E. F. Johnson equipment has taken up duty in many a BoatAchor Ham Station. There are a lot of good transmitters out there, but in my opinion the Johnson Ranger, Viking, Valiant and the venerable Desk Killowatt epitomize the “feeling” of operating from a bygone era. I’ve got two pieces of Johnson equipment which I thoroughly enjoy operating. See below.
Test Page
This is my Viking Valiant transmitter. Bought this beauty from my friend Argus in
Stevensville, MT. Made a trip from
Seattle to Stevensville to pick up this and my HRO-500. Quite a backhaul. It is in such pristine shape, it looks like it was built
yesterday. I have made all of the audio
modifications described in many places around the Web. It is coupled with my HRO-50T1 as the # 1
operating station at my QTH. You need
to have a pretty good supply of 6146’s to run a Valiant. The modulator section
uses two and the final uses three. So
the Valiant requires (5) 6146’s to even get off the ground.
SOLD - This is my Viking ll I purchased
from Mac, W7JHS. He gave me my first
opportunity to run a Johnson Classic.
When I got it, it had no top or bottom.
I fabricated both out of expanded metal and ran it that way for a good
many months. See below
This setup runs with the “Hammy” HQ-160 on 40
mtrs.
I made contact with a ham back on the East
Coast who had a top with some fan mounting holes in it. I bought that and traded up for a nicer one. The Viking ll was an improvement over the
original Viking l in the area of TVI prevention. Everything, and I mean everything, is shielded and extra
bypassed. Nothing was getting out of
that cabinet unless it was supposed to.
The other main difference is in the final tubes. The Vll uses a pair of
6146’s whereas the Vl uses (2) 1625’s.
The 6146’s are somewhat less expensive and easier to find. The Viking two is a great sounding
transmitter, although only one D-104 is required . . .