Old Transmitter Site

[davideduardo]

And, I would have thought that burying a ground system in the desert would be of interest,
as well as the extreme need for what looks like a swamp cooler on the roof.

How cool did that one swamp cooler keep the ol' Ampliphase?

In 1947 the first Amplifuzz had not been built; that would be a year later at KFBK and it was built by the station's engineers. RCA licensed the design and the first Ampliphase, a 50 kw, was installed in 1955.

That 5 kw transmitter likely put out a lot of heat, even though the construction was far less compact than later units using the same modulation technique.

 

[oldiesfan6479]

That 5 kw transmitter likely put out a lot of heat...

So would that one swamp box on the roof have kept the Ampliph 5 kw rig--along with
the rest of the building--cool enough?

 

[davideduardo]

That 5 kw transmitter likely put out a lot of heat...

So would that one swamp box on the roof have kept the Ampliph 5 kw rig--along with
the rest of the building--cool enough?

Probably cool enough for it to not melt. I think that equipment then was built to be more tolerant; I've seen 40's and 50's vintage American transmitters in some really hostile environments just pumping out the RF, even into rather badly matched loads. Those rigs were built with lots of "air space" and with really massive blowers... everything was sort of supersized. I saw a TV transmitter rated for 7,500 feet running cool and well at 14,000. So even Phoenix summers with a little cooling would probably be endured by the transmitter, particularly if the airflow in the building was good. The real issue is that I would not have liked to have worked on the gear on an August afternoon....

 

[johndavis]

I think that equipment then was built to be more tolerant.

Back in the 90's, I remember a day when the A/C failed at the KOY site. The Power Rock was most unhappy and shut down until the air conditioning was restored, but the old RCA fired right up and ran.

 

[davideduardo]

I think that equipment then was built to be more tolerant.

Back in the 90's, I remember a day when the A/C failed at the KOY site. The Power Rock was most unhappy and shut down until the air conditioning was restored, but the old RCA fired right up and ran.

The PowerRock would shut down if you looked at it too hard.

In an effort to be small, it had a combination of major forced air cooling volume and widow-maker high voltage.

The last one I worked with ended up being about 4" high off the floor after the site was fire-bombed.

It did sound good, though.

 

[oldiesfan6479]

Back in the 90's, I remember a day when the A/C failed at the KOY site.

Was this 55/KOY near 36th St. & Vineyard, or KOY 1230 at the old KRIZ site on Buckeye?

 

[johndavis]

Back in the 90's, I remember a day when the A/C failed at the KOY site.

Was this 55/KOY near 36th St. & Vineyard, or KOY 1230 at the old KRIZ site on Buckeye?

The 550 at 36th and Vineyard. The Dirty 1230 had an old Harris solid state rig with an inoperative Bauer backup during my tenure. I'm told that Clyde Plunkett fixed the Bauer after I left, but by now both stations should have newer transmitters.

 

[boiseengineer]

I bet those using outside air to cool the transmitter hated it when those walls of dirt (dust storms) swept down the valley. They are impressive!

 

[landtuna]

So would that one swamp box on the roof have kept the Ampliph 5 kw rig--along with
the rest of the building--cool enough?

I can't speak to the cooling requirements of a transmitter but I've lived in the desert most of my life and can tell you that an evaporative cooler of sufficient capacity will output 85F or lower temp air even on the hottest days. I don't know if the humidity would bother most transmitters or not.