Swan 500 / 500C / 500CX
$····
| Frequency | TX/RX: 80–10 m (5 bands) |
| TX power | 280 W (~500-550 W PEP input on SSB (roughly 250-300 W output); 360 W DC input CW (~220 W output); 125 W AM input. Pair of 6HF5 finals in the original 500; the 500C/CX moved to the 6LQ6 (= 6JE6C / 6MJ6).) |
| Modes | USB, LSB, CW, AM |
| Weight | 7.7 kg (17 lb) |
| Connector | SO-239 |
| Year | 1966 |
| antenna | SO-239 |
Estimated (unverified): Weight ~7.7 kg (about 17 lb) for the transceiver is approximate (the external power supply is separate). The 500 series spans ~1966 (500) to 1967-68 (500CX/500C).
The higher-power, more refined member of the Swan family. The 500 series improved on the 350's receiver with better selectivity and AGC, and ran in the 500-550-watt PEP-input class (the '500' reflects its PEP input) from a pair of sweep-tube finals (6HF5 in the original 500, 6LQ6 in the C/CX) - a strong signal without a linear. The 500C added a crystal calibrator, and the 500CX refined it further. Affordable and well supported in its day.
It still needs an external power supply, and like other Swans the VFO drifts during warm-up. The finals run hot, the bias needs periodic checking, and the sweep-tube finals (6HF5 or 6LQ6, depending on version) are increasingly scarce and expensive. The C and CX versions are generally preferred over the plain 500.
The 500 series was the mature, higher-power evolution of the Swan 350, and Swan sold thousands through the 1960s and early 1970s. It puts out a strong signal for a tube transceiver, though it shares the family traits of warm-up drift and hot-running finals. A clean 500CX with its matching power supply is still a capable HF station, and one of the more affordable ways into vintage tube SSB with real power.
The Swan 500 is the up-market sibling of the Swan 350 - a tube SSB and CW transceiver from Swan Electronics, introduced in the mid-1960s with higher power and more operating features than the 350 while keeping the same affordable, all-in-one philosophy. It covers the 80 through 10 meter amateur bands and, from a pair of 6LQ6 finals, runs in the 500-to-550-watt PEP-input class (its model number reflects that input), more than the 350.
Along with extra power it added refinements that made it more pleasant to operate, and it became one of Swan's best-selling models - a fixture of countless 1960s and 70s sideband stations. The line progressed from the 500 to the 500C (which added a crystal calibrator) and the 500CX. Like its siblings it uses an external power supply and rewards a careful tune-up of its tube finals, which run hot and drift a little until warm.
Capable, common and well supported, the Swan 500 (and the improved 500CX) remains a popular and practical vintage SSB transceiver. It is a discontinued classic. See the smaller Swan 350 and the separates Swan 600.