The AM Forum

If...you only had room for one or two, full size vintage real radio station +/- 1000 watt AM transmitters for 160/80mtrs.
....such as vintage RCA, Westinghouse, maybe Gates, etc...classic beautiful, Cool from a real AM radio station....
Which models would I be looking for? considering availability/costs of tubes etc. to keep them working, etc.
These days many people are just trying to find a good home for these beautiful transmitters, and to keep them "On the Air" of course. 
Would I be looking for ...vintage RCA, Westinghouse, etc...
What do you think??
Which tubes/ parts are just practically, not really available for practical operating?
I see them every now and again, keep looking them over...
What are some opinions? before I start moving and storing, working on...etc....
Of course something with oldtime classic Beauty counts alot.
73
Donnie/AG5UM

  Admittedly, I have little technical experience with that big iron (although I do have the entire iron complement from a Gates BC-1T in my shop awaiting a future build), but the Vintage Radio and Communications Museum of Connecticut has a wonderful old RCA BTA-250, and it's a truly beautiful thing with its classic Art Deco styling. Much more attractive than the later Gates models, in my opinion. If you're looking at watts per pound, though, you'd probably want to go with the Gates.

Thanks for the response,
Every once in awhile you see one of these come available,
And I start thinking about them....
I need to keep up the research on them,
The Museum transmitter is very cool, the great people involved, etc.  I remember the one that ARRL did the Timtron article on, in the magazine, etc. There was the one that went to the museum...very cool. The year they had with Rally, etc.  Very nice.
Thanks again for the response.

 

Well, I have two RCA BTA-1R1 transmitters, that came from the WSBC/WCPT family in Chicago. One is still as received, in storage, and I'd like it to find a new home. There's a listing in the For Sale page.  The other is converted to 80/40/20, and gets occasional use.

First, the conversion is not trivial. There's repairing/restoring original operation, then there's an output network to design, and there's antenna switching and sequencing, and those are the easier things.  The hard thing is figuring out the drive. How do you switch it, how do you get the right amount of RF into the final's, grids, etc.  It is arguably easy to convert to 160m because it's close enough to BC AM to mostly work stock.  But higher frequencies require a redesign.  These steps and the station integration will cost much more and take much longer than you'd think. But in the end, entirely worth it, and fun to have that strapping big signal!

I like the RCA's because they are upscale. Built like tanks. The one I converted, besides tubes, is almost completely original. You can tell by the parts and wiring what's been swapped.  Five resistors, one contactor, and the blower motor... That's it, after forty years on the air and sixty years of time since manufacture. Same five resistors in both of mine.. Really solid units.  Want one??

Ed