Hi Guys!
Antique Electronic Supply sells a Part 15 AM transmitter
kit that uses one 12SA7 tube. It is patterned after the
1939 Zenith phono oscillator. It's price seems to be
Hi Guys!
Antique Electronic Supply sells a Part 15 AM transmitter
kit that uses one 12SA7 tube. It is patterned after the
1939 Zenith phono oscillator. It's price seems to be
in the $50 dollar range. The model number is KT-488.
I know that this is not a serious transmitter for those of
us who wish to broadcast.
Also, it is built on a board with exposed wiring. Most people
who have assembled it have put it in a box. It does have
an isolation transformer, which is good.
This transmitter is really aimed at the antique radio crowd.
It is sort of a "phono oscillator from the past" that some
antique radio people have enjoyed because of the old design.
I have been curious about the KT-488 for a long time, because
I do have some antique radios in my house.
I know it's not that great, but some of us like glowing vacuum tubes,
(although it think some of the KT-488s use metal tubes, which don't
glow, of course.)
Anyway, now that I have said all of this, I'm wondering - has anyone
one this board ever used this transmitter?
Someday, I might pick one up for the fun of it. I also have a dream to
convert it to crystal control, although that may not be possible.
Best Wishes,
Bruce, DOGRADIO STUDIO 2
Check out the 2 tube crystal controlled kit from ontheair3.com listed below as a refferring web site. Wish no more!
subject to availability
currently out of stock
That has not been updated in months. The OTR page was last updated in 2008! May want to contact them directly to see if that is even offered anymore or if they just forgot to update their website!
RFB
I talked to the guy who heads up OTR3 on
the phone a couple of years ago. He was
very nice on the phone.
That tube transmitter costs more than I can
afford right now, but it does look real cool.
He had one transmitter which I found to be
very interesting.
I was called the BC-100. He stopped making it because
everyone wanted the SS-Tran AMT-3000 - and he
sold those instead.
The BC-100 transmitter was solid state.
it was capable of 130 percent positive
modulation. It was crystal controlled, so you had to buy a crystal
for wherever you wanted to go on the AM band. I thought the
transmitter's final was exceptionally efficient, but in checking the
website - I see no mention of this. I must be remembering
incorrectly.
Anyway, the BC-100 had good reviews years ago, but I guess it
is gone now. And maybe OTR3 is not really there anymore either,
even though the website still exsists.
Best Wishes,
Bruce, DOGRADIO STUDIO 2
Well I like the vintage stuff as much as anyone else. It is fantastic to see a bulky zinc plated chunks of metal inside a glass housing with glowing heater elements doing neat things.
Isn't that KT-488 unit modeled after the famous Knight kit?
Wish I had my old Knight TX here with me now. It is sitting in a box underneath other boxes in a storage shed 1,500 miles away in another town and another state. Someday I plan to re-visit that storage shed and bring home some good memories.
RFB