Re: RCA 5KW AM Broadcast Transmitter

Paul Vanasse wrote:
> 
> "Michael A. Terrell" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote in message
> news:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> > The permit was worth a lot
> > more than the transmitter. I have moved and rebuilt a number of AM and
> > TV transmitters, and I think you are insane.
> >
> 
> Sure Mike, I'm the one who's insane. Everyone can buy a museum quality
> transmitter and 6 brand new in the box Eimac 5762's for $250..........Get
> real. The latest offer is $2900
> 
> BTW Mike, how about you listing all those transmitters you've rebuilt and
> while your at it, itemize the price you've paid for all the replacement
> tubes.

   Since I can no longer climb ladders and do grunt work, I got rid of
all my notes and manuals, to someone who could use them.

   I didn't have to buy any spare tubes at the time. It had a full set
of spares, including  25 6146s for the video modulator. (It used 17)
That was 15 years ago. The special final tubes are NLA, and can't be
rebuilt. No one was able to rebuild the tube to more than about 45%,
which would be too low to meet the requirements for the license. The
TTU-25s are being scrapped now, because there are no more finals.

   If you have an old RCA TT-5 tube handbook you can find the tube
data.  It is a 25 KW water cooled metal tube with two 1000 Amp, 1.5 Volt
filaments, and they had to be balanced to prevent hum bars. There was
also a 12.5 KW version for the Aural section. The Aural section was a 1
kW RCA FM broadcast band transmitter with added multiplier stages, and
the power amp to bring it up to 12.5 KW

   As far as museum quality, a little polishing compound and a good coat
of car wax, and the TTU-25B look damn good. a few small scratches around
the sliding doors, but the outside looked new. There are several guys in
the US with warehouses full of older transmitters they are parting out
because no one wants them intact. They sell parts to radio and TV
stations to keep their older equipment working, just enough to use for
standby transmitters. I have a friend who still maintains a number of 1
to 5 KW AM stations here in Florida.  Several times I have been offered
working transmitters for free, and they were offered to stations for
shipping only.  They all turned down the offers, because the shipping
was more than they felt the transmitters were worth. What a couple
collectors will pay for a transmitter has nothing to do with its real
value. 
-- 


Michael A. Terrell
Central Florida