I happened upon a Yaesu FT-101

Dave my buddy gave me a Yaesu FT-101.  And I like it a lot.  It has 
potential


I'm asking you dear reader, would you fix up an old Yaesu FT 101 if 
you had one?  Or, would you just call it too old and be too busy to 
mess with it?

It has an AC? cord that has had the wall plug end cut off.  I under-

stand that some people do this because they don't want someone 

to burn down their shack or let the smoke out.  I don't think they are 

DC wires because it's uniform brown stuck together wire just like 

you would find in an AC extension cord (not industrial).  My intuition 

tells me that if it were a DC harness it would be black and red with 

fuses inline.  

I really don't want to let the smoke out.  I see no way to tell the radio 

that it is getting either AC or DC.  It may have some internal way of 

sensing that.  It's heavy. 30 LBS and built like a tank. 

Tomorrow i'm going to test the tubes.  I hope there's a schematic on 
the underside of the top panel. I should get some steel wool, and start 
dabbing at it with rubbing alcohol and vaseline.  I'll get it shined up 
nicely.  Maybe put some Mink Oil on the leather handle. 

You know, it's the same with computers.  I can hardly bear to throw 

them away, John KD6PAG came by and we took about six computers 

to the Computer Recycling Center.  I just look at an old computer 

and i think there's life in there, it talks to me.  I guess i'm the same 

about old radios.  There's magic in there, and the glowing tubes 

and lighted meters talk to me.

 I still have 5 computers mostly pretty old in my little apartment 
and one in the trunk of the car and a couple in storage.   

I should try to interface one with the TV one of these days.