[BC] AM Radio Kit

[Rob Atkinson]

when i was around 10 years old, i got an AM bc band transmitter from 
Lafayette Electronics.   i don't remember much about it except that it used 
one or two tubes and plugged into the wall(!!!).  none of those wimpy 
batteries for me.   the "power supply" involved the use of a huge Omite wire 
wound resistor, which got hot as hell.   you adjusted the frequency by 
moving a slug in a coil.   The antenna was a 3 foot long wire that came out 
the side of the chassis through a grommet, and you were supposed to keep it 
vertical and taped to a wall ( or some other method of support).   I think 
the instruction sheet cautioned to only use the supplied wire for an antenna 
which I did.  lots of microphonics on it and i don't remember how audio got 
into it or how well it got out signal-wise.   Not very well I think because 
I don't recall fooling around with it for very long.    I wonder how much 
trouble I would have gotten in, if I had known then what I know now about 
antennas.    maybe youthful ignorance isn't all bad.

rob atkinson
st. charles IL
k5uj


From: "Bob Barnswatts" <amfan at collins21e.com>
Reply-To: Broadcasters' Mailing List <broadcast at radiolists.net>
To: "Broadcasters' Mailing List" <broadcast at radiolists.net>
Subject: RE: [BC] AM Radio Kit
Date: Sat, 04 Feb 2006 16:34:35 -0600

Sounds like the story of my life growing up on a farm.  I somehow got one of 
those breadboard kits you know where you can make a radio receiver, a little 
transmitter,  various other bells and whistles  and who knows what else out 
of it by simply reconfiguring the wiring.  (all powered by a 9 volt battery 
it was so powerful)  I had it out one day in front of the farmhouse and i 
had the old Ford F-150 radio on and the doors open and i was modulating 
something into it and listening to it on the radio and my mean uncle  at the 
time came flying out the door and raised hell that the FCC would be coming 
and we'd lose the farm and all be in jail and he tore it up right there and 
ruined my little transmitter.   So I never got to see how far it got out, 
that was the next step to take a ride down the country roads and check out 
my long wire antennae.  I was probably 13 at the time but still drove around 
the farm.  He ranted and raved so much and complained to my parents and 
eveyrone that would listen for weeks and i never heard the end of it that we 
were all going to go to jail if anyone ever found out what i had done on a 
saturday afternnon that summer so I, needless to say, never tried anything 
like that again (around there).  This was back in the early 70;s or late 
60s.

-Bob.

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