From the Newsletter history archives... Vintage Equipment From the November '87 Newsletter (entitled "Ham Radio News & Views"), it was noted that the month was a time for change. First, the Newsletter editor this month, in an effort to give the newsletter a "facelift", began using a new and different Desk-Top Publishing program...one that allowed columnar printing, use of mastheads, and a much increased font and graphics library. It was the use of this new program (NewsMaster) that led to the path that allowed for a more "professional" and artful presentation that I hope we see today! We were getting there! In addition, November '87 saw the first "President's Corner" column in the Newsletter. James Bradshaw, N4NIN, was the incumbent president and in this issue he exhorted everyone to take steps to winterize our homes and to get ready for those upcoming long winter nights. Further, he asked for all members to pitch in and help with the fund-raising project and to think about the upcoming new officer elections for members to be voted upon from those nominated during the meeting of October 1987. (Each month, a brief spotlight will appear here on equipment you may have seen at hamfest swap tables. This month the spotlight is on the Swan 100MX Transceiver ). Two similar units were introduced to the amateur fraternity about the same time..the Atlas series radios (210X, 215X, etc.) in the late 70's and the Swan 100MX in the early 80's. The Swan 100MX, perhaps "borrowing" a bit of the Atlas' concept & functionality, served a very important niche in the overall scheme of ham radio equipment manufacturer's desire to provide the ham populace with a small, economical, compact, multi-band, 100-watt mobile transceiver. The Swan, while never achieving the popularity (or model penetration) of the Atlas series radios, nevertheless was a fairly good radio...suffering only in its' frequency stability after it aged for a year or two (for some reason, Swan products were always plagued by this anomolay). Selectivity was never a solid attribute of this type & price-range of radio, but it was acceptable...given the type operation it was designed for (mobile and/or as an exciter for a higher powered base station. Attractive, they are still relatively common on hamfest swap tables and look to be of much later design. Expect tp pay $200. or so. Pg 3 Swan 100MX Home Previous Next Now, try your hand at this month's offering: (Email me if you know! -Ed) So you thought that SUV's were a fairly recent innovation of the auto & truck design wizards? Think again! This late 40's entry easily qualifies for the moniker. Sporting several different combinations in the seating department, all the seats (except the driver's) were easily removable to conform to your seating and/or cargo requirements. A snappy six-cylinder engine, nice design, two-toned paint scheme, and the aforementioned seating setup made this a desirable vehicle for many purposes. Soon, many other auto/truck makers followed suit. ??? ??? ??? ??? Auto Trivia - [Last Month] This manufacturer was beginning to feel the pinch of the "Big 3" (as GM, Ford, & Chrysler were known then...and now). A couple more years from this model, after introducing the model shown at left, the auto maker went belly-up. Now, it is extremely difficult to find one in any condition, as avid car collectors of this marquee snap them up to restore! Your guess, to be correct, should have been a 1953 Studebaker Commander Starlite Coupe. (Member Bill Barr, KG4GSV, guessed correctly! -Ed)

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