[BC] Old AM rigs...

[Burt I. Weiner]

When you claim that old tube transmitters sound nice because they're 
warm and mellow, keep in mind that they could also sound good because 
they were clean if they were well maintained.  KFAC had an old RCA 
BTA-5F.  Long before NRSC came along we removed the "splatter Filter" 
in the transmitter.  The modulation transformer was a replacement 
from a BTA-10B and had a lot of iron.  I don't remember the exact 
figures on response and distortion but it was something like+/- 2 
dB  50 Hz to 13 kHz and under 2% distortion at 95% modulation.  This 
was back in 1968, there-abouts. With good drive and the broadband 
nature of the antenna system, 365 foot self supporting tower for ND 
along with a decent radio, KFAC sounded really good.

Burt


At 08:49 AM 6/3/2006, you wrote:
>From: Rich Wood <richwood at pobox.com>
>Subject: Re: [BC] bta-250m
>To: "Broadcasters' Mailing List" <broadcast at radiolists.net>
>Message-ID: <7.0.1.0.2.20060603075537.04d5cec0 at yahoo.com>
>Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"; format=flowed
>
>------ At 10:51 PM 6/2/2006, Bob Barnswatts wrote: -------
>
> >Over the years I have had several GMs get me aside as i
> >consulted  at other stations and ask me "Hey, Bob, How come our NEW
> >Transmitter doesn't sound as good as our old (plate modulated)
> >transmitter did"....and I tell em cause its new and solid state it
> >will never sound like the old ones.  Something about tubes on AM,
> >sorry folks, but they have a sound that can't be done in transistor form.
>
>Does anyone make an AM receiver that would justify trying to
>duplicate the sound of an old transmitter? Why not just buy a Ramsey
>and a power amp?
>
>Rich

Burt I. Weiner Associates
Broadcast Technical Services
Glendale, California  U.S.A.
biwa at earthlink.net
K6OQK