This week I dusted off my FT-101 line and put it on the bench. It’s been out of commission for about a year and I wanted to make sure it’s still functioning. I’ve missed playing with this awesome rig and wanted to twist some dials on a “real” radio.

After setting it up on the bench and connecting the matching FL-2100B amplifier, I found that I didn’t fully remember the tune up procedure. I remembered about dipping the plate and tuning the preselect, which is the basics, but I couldn’t remember what plate current to watch for or the proper loading settings per the manual. This brought about some experimenting; After following the tune-up procedures per the manual, I discovered that advancing the LOAD setting on the radio produced an additional 10% output on SSB. I vaguely remember hearing another FT-101E user recommending this tactic.

Also, after tuning up the amplifier I found that output was only 250-300 watts SSB. Yes, the ALC wiring is connected to the back of the amplifier. AC power is 117VAC. Is the radio limiting output to the amp too much (ALC) , or is the amp not putting out full power?

If you’re familiar with this radio and amplifier setup, let me know what worked for you.  Here are some descriptive videos:

v