• Get involved.
    We want your input!
    Apply for Membership and join the conversations about everything related to broadcasting.

    After we receive your registration, a moderator will review it. After your registration is approved, you will be permitted to post.
    If you use a disposable or false email address, your registration will be rejected.

    After your membership is approved, please take a minute to tell us a little bit about yourself.
    https://www.radiodiscussions.com/forums/introduce-yourself.1088/

    Thanks in advance and have fun!
    RadioDiscussions Administrators

AM Transmitter for $1

I had a couple of 4CX125As from the silent key's basement, but I can't find them right now.

That reminds me of the hippie ham I went to high school with. He sold marijuana on the side to finance his expensive equipment habit. One day, he whispered to me "I've got a couple of lids out in the car if you're interested". I was quite naive, but I did know what he meant. But I felt like telling him "You better put those lids back on the jars before all the liquid spills out".
 
Schroedingers Cat said:
I don't even think Omena, Central and Northern Lower Michigan, and similar towns are electrically quiet anymore.
Click to expand...
The summer resident area of Omena Point to Sutton's Bay is really, really quiet. The power went underground some time back, as did phone and internet connectivity services... the goal was to prevent winter snow and ice from disabling them. Homes are spaced "generously" with several hundred feet between each, at the least. And there is privately preserved land behind them all to prevent additional development.

But there is no water service during the winter, so it is strictly a late Spring to Early fall place... my sister goes up in early May and stays through September.
 
DavidEduardo said:
The summer resident area of Omena Point to Sutton's Bay is really, really quiet. The power went underground some time back, as did phone and internet connectivity services... the goal was to prevent winter snow and ice from disabling them. Homes are spaced "generously" with several hundred feet between each, at the least. And there is privately preserved land behind them all to prevent additional development.

But there is no water service during the winter, so it is strictly a late Spring to Early fall place... my sister goes up in early May and stays through September
Click to expand...
That's a gorgeous area. Really enjoy the whole Traverse City area and the peninsulas. Never had an opportunity to do much there radio-wise. Went on a winery tour several years ago and enjoyed that, however.
 
K8PLW said:
That's a gorgeous area. Really enjoy the whole Traverse City area and the peninsulas. Never had an opportunity to do much there radio-wise. Went on a winery tour several years ago and enjoyed that, however.
Click to expand...
Omena Point sounds lovely for AM Dxing if it's that quiet! Also that wine tour sounds good. Cheers!
 
ZantennaG1 said:
Omena Point sounds lovely for AM Dxing if it's that quiet! Also that wine tour sounds good. Cheers!
Click to expand...
Any wine that does not come from the southern slopes of the Andes is not drinkable in my book... maybe a Charles Krug or two or an exceptional Côte du Rhône. Northern Michigan has good fudge... not so much the wine.

I'm a wine curmudgeon.
 
K8PLW said:
That's a gorgeous area. Really enjoy the whole Traverse City area and the peninsulas. Never had an opportunity to do much there radio-wise. Went on a winery tour several years ago and enjoyed that, however.
Click to expand...
I'll bet the tip of Old Mission Point would be a dream DX location. Few people, surrounded by water. String a bunch of Beverage antennae along the cherry trees in the fall and winter. Sleep all day, DX all night.
 
I'm not a wine connoisseur by any means, but I really like the White Wines (Especially the Harvest Riesling) from Leelanau Cellars. Never had any Ciccone Vineyards Wines, a tourist trap for obvious reasons.
 
Last edited:
DavidEduardo said:
I'm a wine curmudgeon.
Click to expand...
I think you have to be a curmudgeon to post on a thread about an AM tube transmitter!

I imagine there are hundreds of these in transmitter shacks around America - and possibly the world - in various states of repair. I can't imagine the market value is very high at all...
 
Schroedingers Cat said:
I'm not a wine connoisseur by any means, but I really like the White Wines (Especially the Harvest Riesling) from Leelanau Cellars. Never had any Ciccone Vineyards Wines, a tourist trap for obvious reasons.
Click to expand...
I used to buy fresh sweet black cherries from a stand just outside Leland on the road to Sutton's Bay. Nothing like those!
 
DavidEduardo said:
I used to buy fresh sweet black cherries from a stand just outside Leland on the road to Sutton's Bay. Nothing like those!
Click to expand...
BTW, WCCW 1310 sold the property with their DA near Chums Corner. They're taking those towers down and are moving the TL back to the tower on Barney Rd., on nondirectional STA for the time being.
 
Schroedingers Cat said:
BTW, WCCW 1310 sold the property with their DA near Chums Corner. They're taking those towers down and are moving the TL back to the tower on Barney Rd., on nondirectional STA for the time being.
Click to expand...
They were a pretty easy catch down here several years ago when WDTW was off. Also caught WCCW FM here once this past April (From the car) when WGPR was off one afternoon at ~200 miles. WIBA from Madison, WI is another frequently heard on 1310.
 
PTBoardOp94 said:
I think you have to be a curmudgeon to post on a thread about an AM tube transmitter!
Click to expand...
I agree, to an extent. Many of the AM transmitters built by RCA and Westinghouse in the day were pieces of art-deco. The RCA BTA1L from the 40's was just one example:BTA1L.jpg
PTBoardOp94 said:
I imagine there are hundreds of these in transmitter shacks around America - and possibly the world - in various states of repair. I can't imagine the market value is very high at all..
Click to expand...
You're right, they don't hold much if any value. The fact that AM is a dying medium, doesn't make it any better.
 
Kelly A said:
I agree, to an extent. Many of the AM transmitters built by RCA and Westinghouse in the day were pieces of art-deco. The RCA BTA1L from the 40's was just one example:View attachment 2167

You're right, they don't hold much if any value. The fact that AM is a dying medium, doesn't make it any better.
Click to expand...
Good thing WRCA put the call letters on the transmitter, in case somebody tried to steal it, and sell it off the back of a truck.
 
Schroedingers Cat said:
That water system in Omena sounds like the one in the pump house in "Mr. Hobbs Takes A Vacation" with Jimmy Stewart.
Click to expand...
Every spring, aluminum pipes leading across the beach to the water were laid, and then extended with a weighted hose to a depth of about 40 feet. A small filtered pump house had a tank and creat3 enough pressure to reach the homes. Each stretch of about 20 homes h@s such a system. Today’s most have deeper wells, far from the septic tanks.
 
The Pump House in "Mr. Hobbs Takes A Vacation". It would seem like they could utilize springs from nearby hills, and a well placed community septic system, to better serve the Omena community. Yeah, I know, it's an invitation for graft and corruption and outrageous fees to build and maintain.

machine.jpg
 
Well, I have a couple of QEI 10kw one-tube FM transmitters available. Both worked when retired from service. Make a small donation to a local non-profit, you haul. They're near Aberdeen, WA.
 
Status
This thread has been closed due to inactivity. You can create a new thread to discuss this topic.


Back
Top Bottom