A few months ago I managed to buy a Spilsbury and Tindall SBX-11 Portable HF SSB Transceiver on eBay. This radio is a piece of Canadian history having been used for arctic and polar communications for over 40 years.
The SBX-11 is designed to provide 10w SSB on 4 crystal controlled channels in the range of 1.6 to 8 MHz.
It is self contained in a robust water resistant enclosure and is powered by 9 D cells - Alkaline or NiCAD.
SBX-11
The top lid of the SBX 11 covers the front panel and the hard wired microphone .
it also contains a set of brief operating instructions -
the top lid clips on to the main body of the set to act as a stand
the bottom lid is the battery compartment which contains 3 tubes each with 3 D cells.
My set has already been converted to the amateur bands and has been crystalled for 1918 KHz, 3745 KHz and 7060 KHz on LSB. Each channel requires 2 crystals and 2 coil packs , however there is a modification available for single crystal per channel.
Internal view showing crystal banks and RX/TX coil packs on right hand side -
As the set is crystal bound I hadn't much luck in making any contacts on it , however today was the IRTS 80m counties contest so I decided to try it out on 3.745MHz and I was able to make 4 contacts - EI2KA ( Cork) , EI9DZ ( Leitrim) EI8JN ( Galway) and EI8HL ( Waterford).
I was thinking about adding a DDS VFO to this set, however I think I will keep it in its original condition . Might try and add a 60m channel to the 4th position if I can get a suitable coil pack.
For more information on the SBX-11 see here .
VA7BC has posted an interesting video of the SBX-11 in use here.
see also SBX-11 group here - https://groups.io/g/SpilsburySBX11/
The SBX-11 is designed to provide 10w SSB on 4 crystal controlled channels in the range of 1.6 to 8 MHz.
It is self contained in a robust water resistant enclosure and is powered by 9 D cells - Alkaline or NiCAD.
SBX-11
The top lid of the SBX 11 covers the front panel and the hard wired microphone .
the top lid clips on to the main body of the set to act as a stand
the bottom lid is the battery compartment which contains 3 tubes each with 3 D cells.
My set has already been converted to the amateur bands and has been crystalled for 1918 KHz, 3745 KHz and 7060 KHz on LSB. Each channel requires 2 crystals and 2 coil packs , however there is a modification available for single crystal per channel.
Internal view showing crystal banks and RX/TX coil packs on right hand side -
As the set is crystal bound I hadn't much luck in making any contacts on it , however today was the IRTS 80m counties contest so I decided to try it out on 3.745MHz and I was able to make 4 contacts - EI2KA ( Cork) , EI9DZ ( Leitrim) EI8JN ( Galway) and EI8HL ( Waterford).
I was thinking about adding a DDS VFO to this set, however I think I will keep it in its original condition . Might try and add a 60m channel to the 4th position if I can get a suitable coil pack.
For more information on the SBX-11 see here .
VA7BC has posted an interesting video of the SBX-11 in use here.
see also SBX-11 group here - https://groups.io/g/SpilsburySBX11/
I have a set of two of these exact radios ,looking to sell do you know anyone interested? the link for the group is broken.You can contact me at juker0274@gmail.com name is jonathan. thanks! cool post
ReplyDeleteIntersted in SBX-11. Please contact me a jjhaggerty01@excite.com
DeleteI have orange one in mint condition, only 2 channels unmodified. Where can I get coil packs? ve7pge@gmail.com
ReplyDeleteThe yahoo group for the sbx-11 is a good place to start https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/SBX-11/info
ReplyDeletePeople post details of radios/parts for sale or wanted here.
Andrew
SBX-11 group now moved to here - https://groups.io/g/SpilsburySBX11/
ReplyDelete