Trade Sine Systems (or equiv) for BURK ARC16 + (2) IP8 panels

[awsherrill]

I'll note in passing, Continental is the only other manufacturer I've had do this. When we put S/N the first one of their big box on, and eventually it became apparent it had some constraints which weren't likely to go away, their response was "Here, have a new dual 50KW on us, and send that one back on our dime"

I'm guessing you were another user of the 817A?

 

[littlejohn]

I put the first one on the air. We had three on that site. It was a nice box. Unfortunately, the tube used wasn't a good choice for VHF service. It is my totally speculative opinion that Varian, who owned them at the time, made some decrees which might better have not been made in the design of the thing. They showed a corrected version of it to us which Ken Branton and a couple of their techs built up which fitted two cavities and a combiner in the original cabinet; and which worked well. We all said it would be suitable. At that point, with so few in the field, they decided not to support an'orphan' and felt it best to simply replace the radios with a proven product. I think they made the correct decision.
I have five of the 'three bay' in service, one of which we broungt in from another market with a burned cavity from lightning and rebuilt to current spec. A new radio for something less than $30 Large, where new production would approach three times that figure.