04-30-2017, 11:41 AM
You don't need a fancy signal generator to do the alignment. The Philco procedure assumes you only have an AM generator. Worst comes to worst you can align the front end on received broadcast signals. This is sometimes preferable on the FM band as you will be aligning the RF stage to the internal FM dipole antenna.
That said, its nice to have a quality generator. The 8640B is fine , but they are getting a bit aged now and have problems with the plastic gears in the switching mechanism. I have one, but every time I go to use it, there seems to be a new problem that's developed.
A good generator I can recommend is the HP 8601a. It is a sweep generator with both AM and FM mod. They are small and fairly inexpensive. There is a hybrid circuit in the output stage that goes bad, but someone on Ebay is selling a retrofit replacement module.
That said, its nice to have a quality generator. The 8640B is fine , but they are getting a bit aged now and have problems with the plastic gears in the switching mechanism. I have one, but every time I go to use it, there seems to be a new problem that's developed.
A good generator I can recommend is the HP 8601a. It is a sweep generator with both AM and FM mod. They are small and fairly inexpensive. There is a hybrid circuit in the output stage that goes bad, but someone on Ebay is selling a retrofit replacement module.
