The AM Forum

Submitting this from motel WiFi in Cheyenne tonight. My Tacoma is riding low in the rear, pulling 12 foot trailer. We drove up from Santa Fe, 700 miles for the auction (in Electric Radio). Here are some of the results that I wrote down, it was an AM'ers dream, Dewy built some very fine transmitters. There are a 4 remaining transmitters that are heavy and need to go - no takers today. He had two active studios, most of the receivers in use were 75A4 and the transmitters varied from HB to 32Vs with HB linears, and 9 broadcast transmitters converted to ham bands, all switched audio and PTT remote. It was hot at the farm, and there were three buildings plus various other places with gear being hauled out. This is only a partial list. There were approximately 25 hams bidding for this stuff. Congratulations to those who attended and got some swell radios. I think the family was grateful for the help in moving out so much heavy iron.

7 Collins 32V1-3 transmitters             $100-400
7 Collins 75A3, A4s                              $300-425
4 Collins 20V and V2s                          $50
Gates BC1T                                            $50
Gates BC1G            20 meters              $45
Gates BC500K        40 meters             no sale
RCA BTA1R2          80 meters
RCA BTA250L                                       no sale
Gates BC250GY with 2-20MHz         no sale
Bauer 707                                              $375
Homebrew 160 (2)450TL (2)833 mod   no sale
Homebrew 10 meters (2) 100TH (2)250TL
Homebrew 40 meters (2)250T (2)833  $50?
Homebrew 8005
Signal One CX7A                                  $400
Globe King 400C                                   $530
Globe Champ 150
Globe Champ  300                 
SP600 JX26                                            $75
HQ170 with speaker                             $130
HQ180
Viking Challenger                                  $40
Valiant
(2) Viking II
Desk KW                                                 $400
NC240-4                                                  $35
NC300
NC303
S40
Harvey Wells Bandmaster Sr
Lycos?
3-1000Z homebrew monoband PA       $30
3-1000Z homebrew monoband PA      $30
(2) 4-400 homebrew monoband PA   $75
Ranger                                                    $150
Central Electronics 200V
Hallicrafters HT9                           
Hallicrafters 4-20
BC610
R388                                                        $100
DX100                                                     $35
Collins 310C exciter osc                     $60
CBS Volumax 4000 AM                      $10
HP 8640M sig gen                              $>100
Bird wattmeter                                      $70
SB220                                                   $250?
Shure 55 mikes                                   $95
Shure 51 mike                                     $75
D104                                                     $40?
MFJ250 VSWR analyzer                  $110
Hickok Tube Testers, 752A, 539     $100-150
Measurements GDO                          $35
Components:
Many modulation reactors, Mod transformers, plate transfomers, etc.
Many air variables, wide spaced
Many BC inductors, edge wound
Many mica BC capacitors
Many tube sockets for high power
Many tubes from 100TH to 833 size
329 lb Moloney plate transformer, 6.7 kVA, 4430-0-4430
50' Windmill tower with tri bander
2 Rohn 25 towers

I bought three modulation transformers with reactors, Electro, RCA and a CVM5. There were plenty more, RCA 1 kW, Kenyon, Peerless, Thordarson, UTC, etc. Also a number of tubes, 833, 450TL, 828, 810, 5514, 3-1000. And a Globe King 400C got into my trailer for the ride home.

Looks like some good stuff at 1960s prices.  Wish it hadn't been so far away. Hope the rest of the stuff finds a home.

hopefully those broadcast rigs that went for $45-50 dollars are going to a good home and not a junkyard.

Day-um !

Thanks for taking the time to list.

I'm looking forward to hearing some of these on the air this winter or in the time ahead from their new homes.

Why can't I find something like that close to home?  :'(

Larry

None of the big iron rigs went to scrap metal, all to hams. I know one guy was hauling all the 20Vs, said they were mostly spoken for. The Bauer 707 was a cutie but the price rose too fast for me. I pondered the Gates 500K as it has dual 833 modulators with only one final, so should have strong audio. However, the drivers were 6L6s. It was already ready on 40 meters with 2 Xtals in it. This was the first BC transmitter I laid eyes on at WCKM 1250 in SC when I was a teen with a 3rd class ticket years ago. But so BIG and wide; I didn't haul it off. Its still there. The nicest of the bunch was the homebrew 450TL with 833s on 160, no taller than 5 feet in a compact black package with 8 meters on the front. It had a quad of 2A3s for audio driver. It had 1 kW RCA mod iron in it.

Photos will be here in a day or so. I have to stop in Denver this morning and pick up some new furniture for the YL in my trailer, this is part of the deal. Then drive over the mountains back into northern NM. Mileage has dropped from 18 to 14 last evening with the load of iron.

John thanks for taking notes and posting them here.  Wow look at those prices.  I'm jealous.  But I am sure glad there were some hams there like you and John Lyles.  It would have been a major tragedy if say one ham had attended, bought the DX100 and left with everything else going to the scrap yard.   Most of the rigs will live on for a few more years.  Still, it looks like a few really nice rigs and parts did not sell, probably because everyone there was overwhelmed with trailers hitting the weight limit.   Maybe there will be another auction or they'll get listed individually in ER or something.  That 2x450 TH rig sounds really good.

Wow, great prices.  Thanks much for posting that, John!

OMG!! Those prices!

<jaw drops>

Problem is that they are so low because of the location, I expect.

Even pretty close to South Dakota, you'd spend hundreds of $$ today for gas to make the run... no chance from a place like NY, on the unknown chance that the prices might be low... of course.

Even so, the drool is running down my face as I write.

Ah well.

<sigh>

                       _-_-bear


PS. no pix? (we could live vicariously)

The really sad thing is the loss of Dewey John.  As you know there wasn't a kinder, nicer gentleman in the middle of the country.  Also there wasn't anyone more technical capable than Dewey as evidenced by the home brew equipment.

Over the years I talked to Dewey many times and he was always a delight.  He certainly wasn't one of the S-9, 73 types and could discuss almost any subject that you cared to broach.  I am glad to see that you got that equipment because I know you will see that it is used properly. 

73

John

Jim/W5JO

The call seems familiar, but I'm not sure if I ever had the opportunity to work or hear Dewey. Sounds like we lost a true AMer from our ranks, though. Glad to hear that most of his equipment found new homes, and while the prices are indeed amazing, having the gear preserved to return to the air one day is worth it.

Many thanks for posting the detailed outcome, John. It was a topic of discussion on 80m last night into this morning, with plenty of concern that the location might doom much of it to scrap. Thankfully that was not the case.

Dewey operated for years on 1.915 with a litney of hams in CO, ND, SD, WY, MN, OK, TX, NM, AZ and our nice neighbors to the North in Canada.  He did operate some 75 but I never heard him there much except SSB.  160 AM seemed to be his favorite.  You could find him on in the mornings particularly.

I seem to remember hearing him on 1980 or 1985.  Never had a really strapping signal down this way as I recall, but always interesting to listen to, but I didn't work him that often. He usually was in a fairly large roundtable with other guys from the upper midwest.

I understand he has one or two sons who are also hams.  Hopefully, anything that didn't go will eventually find a home if they don't want to keep it for themselves.  It's just too far away, and I wouldn't have room for anything but small parts and wouldn't need another large transmitter anyway. Sure, gas prices are higher, maybe double what they were a few years ago, but that still wouldn't break the bank if one really wanted to make the trip. Food, lodging and wear/tear on the vehicle add up as well, plus the time involved, especially for someone employed in a regular day job. I probably would have tried to attend if I had been in the market for some more heavy metal and had room to accommodate it.

Here's a little Dewey tribute, or maybe it is more like a reminiscence of Dewey in rig rescue action:

http://www.kktyonline.com/RCA.htm

Well, in post-auction frame of mind my thinking is (short form): No guts no glory.

We all know about hindsight.  Of course if I had known what the gear wound up going for, I might have at least looked into the time and costs involved in flying out there, attending the auction, renting a truck and coming back here with something.    BUT, I tend to shy away from traditional auctions--they often bring out the heavy hitters against whom I can't compete.   So, some guys like John stuck their necks out not knowing what would go down, and risked time and money getting there with trucks and trailers knowing they might be disappointed and come home with little or nothing.   So they were rewarded with some real good deals and a happy ending.  I bet Ray O. was there or will have some photos and a report in a forthcoming issue of ER.

In that part of the country many hamfests have auctions as well as regular sales.  Interestingly enough unless the item is extremely rare, prices are in the normal range for the area.

One other item, Douglas, WY, where the station is located, is the home of the Jacklope.

Dewey was a kind, considerate gentleman, sorely missed.
We had a great many QSOs on 160 and 75 with his big iron on his end.

We all need to remember him for being a Real Ham and Gentleman, not just for the hardware he left behind. No, he wasn't a big DXer, just enjoyed QSOs with the locals, Al, W0PUF and Anre, KOAS. Dewey and Al made it down to my QTH many years ago and we had a great time in Lyons, CO.

Although, I'd still rather my 304s than your 450-THs. LOL.

73, Dewey. Thanks for the good times, fun and your kind words. I miss you, man.

Bill

When I was in North Dakota, I spoke to both Dewey and Doug VE4BX many times. They were both great gentlemen and great ambassadors for ham radio. They are both greatly missed in this part of the country where they were heard regularly. Dewey's widow Ruth, was a great hostess and seems to be as warm and wonderful a person as Dewey was. My friend Bob Weaver K0GZL and I were also at the auction. There were a total of 22 registered bidders. As John said, one guy carted off a total of five broadcast transmitters (four 20V's and the BC1G) and he also got the homebrew 10-15-20 meter rig - 250TH's x 100TH's. He told Bob that he was a Tech, and I could tell by the questions he was asking about the 10 meter homebrew rig that he was an AM newbie. BUT... he was the guy with the foresight to bring a BIG truck and BIG trailer, and away he went with those broadcast rigs. I will fill in a few of the gaps that John had in his list.
RCA BTA-1R - $50.00
HomeBrew 80 meters 100TH's x 805's - $50
Homebrew 160 meters - 833's x 250TH's - $50
Homebrew 8005 x 811's - $25.00
Globe Champ 175 - $160.00
Globe Champ 350 - $25.00
Valiant 1 - $320.00
BC610E - $300.00
Hallicrafters HT-9 - $25.00
 CE 200V - $350.00
NC 303 - $50.00

Ron W8ACR

Here is a partial list of the stuff I hauled away. Surprisingly, aside from transformers,  I didn't see any smaller parts like coils, capacitors, switches, knobs and the like. Also, I wrote down all the serial numbers of the 75A-4's that sold to see how many of them end up on the Bay. Hard to say what my best deal of the day was, but I was very pleased to get the RCA BTA for $50, and the CVM-5 for $25. I spent less than $1000 for everything on this list. A once in a lifetime opportunity, that's for sure.
Johnson Viking 2
RCA BTA-1R
Homebrew 160M - 833x250TH
Homebrew 80M - 100THx805
Homebrew 160M 8005x811
Hallicrafters HT-9
Collins 75A-4
Hammarlund SP-600
Gates modulation monitor
Collins 310B
Collins 75A cabinet
UTC CVM-5 w/ electro engineering reactor
large transmitting tubes probably 50 or so
Ron

Thanks Ron for filling in the list. It was too much to keep track of after a while. I did notice out in the old house in back a bunch of edgewound coils, air variables, and other parts, but i think the small chokes and caps were probably in the cigar boxes in the studio B which didn't even get pulled out. It was good to see you there too. Another guy drove from Salt Lake there, a long way. Steve and I drove 1500 miles RT, got back at 7:30 tonight, and unloaded my transformers, reactors, and tubes, and the Globe King. It was raining hard in Santa Fe but the King was shrink wrapped and tarped in my trailer.

I didn't bring home a BC transmitter as I have 3 already, all workable but needing conversions. Dewey's were all ready to roll on HF, but I don't have space for another one, really, even though i was bidding for the 707 earlier. I found the auction to be really refreshing from ebay ($$$) and the hamfests around here that seem to bring out old computers, printers, monitors, and worn out parts, but few working radios. It'll be something to remember for a long time, as he didn't even mess with SSB, everything was pure and simple AM, and in a big way. Loved it. I just uploaded photos, coming up.

Photos of W0ZUS studio A being decommissioned

More photos in Studio A

More photos in studio A

Studio B and workbench area

More Studio B

Studio B storage

BC transmitter gallery

few more photos. I didn't take any of the bunkhouse load of radios nor the school bus or panel wagon radio storage.

Oh man, I was starting to get over the pain of missing that auction then I saw the photo of chokes and transformers and the one of the tubes and wanted to lay down and die all over again. 

Boy, what I would have given to be there and just haul one of those rigs away! The black wrinkle would have fit in nicely with the decor in the 'dungeon'. 833's X 250T's is the bees knees. The man was obviously a craftsman!

"Transmitter Gallery."  I knew this was gonna be something else.

Invoking a quote from Vortex Joe, N3IBX:

I got major wood!!!

Sounds like my type of ham, wish I had the chance to meet or work Dewy.
I treasure the times I've had to know folks like him, they've got so much to share, and once that wisdom is lost, is gone for good.
So thankful for the folks I've had the privilege to know over the years who are now Silent Keys: Dick Haungs W2UJR, John Rollins W1FPZ, Fred Hammond VE3HC Fred.

Does anyone know what line of work Dewey, W0ZUS was involved in?

I ask this as the construction quality and overall layout of the home-brew rigs appears to be first rate, and he obviously had a lot of broadcast-related equipment.

Perhaps he was an engineer associated with the broadcast industry?

What a magnificent collection of equipment and parts that are so well suited to high-power plate-modulated transmitter enthusiasts. And it was well organized and kept in environmentally benign storage. It looks like a lot of that gear will eventually end up on the ham bands, and was spared a most unfortunate fate.

73,

Bruce

Someone told me that he was doing electrical engineering or technical work for a power company as a line of work. Not broadcasting.

I want to mention that its not too late, there is still an RCA BTA250L, a Gates BC250GY, a Gates BC500K and a homebrew kW on 1.8 MHz, along with many transformers and tubes there. I'm sure Gary would like someone to come and take more away, prices very reasonable. If you are running a 1 kW tube radio, and need a spare modulation transformer or reactor, I think there is one more set of RCA iron.  And lots of smaller pieces for 500 watts and down, maybe not all BC audio fidelity.

John,

Many thanks for posting all those great pictures.  Unfortunately, I never got to know Dewey, but its apparent that he was a great individual. 

The prices were close to give-away, but thing appeared to land in good hands.  Regardless, the stuff did not end up in the scrap yard and that is good. 

All the pictures were great and I agree with Paul, WA3VJB, the one that's my favorite is "BC transmitter gallery".  Very impressive shot! 

I hope Ray does document it in an ER article.

Joe, W3GMS     

An impressive set-up to say the least. If I had been there, I would have at least asked to see the small stuff stored in boxes and in the room where stuff didn't get pulled out, since that is the kind of goodies I look for mostly now. Those homebrew rigs look commercially manufactured. I never can get my stuff to come out quite that pretty.

I suspect the remote location had a lot to do with the prices most of it went for.  If the same auction had taken place in the Northeast or along the west coast, or somewhere like Ohio or the Chicago area, you can bet things would have been a lot different. Interesting that the GC175 (those things never impressed me all that much) went for so much more than the HBR 160m rigs. Like Rob, I wish I could have made the trip.

Kind of sad to see such a nice station de-commissioned and dismantled. Something to think about: one of these days, probably sooner than we think, the same thing will be happening with each one of our stations.   :(

    Probably able to see more on ebay sooner than it is heard OTA  ;)

    Probably able to see more on ebay sooner than it is heard OTA  ;)

After I go through all the stuff I brought home, I may offer some tubes and other items to users of this website, but I can assure you that nothing from this QTH will end up on the BAY. If I had the ability, I would have bought everything that didn't sell at auction, and would have kept it in the AM community through this website. I am not looking to make a killer profit, but the gasoline bill alone for the round trip to Edgemont was over $250. It would be nice to recoup some of those expenses.

That being said, I'm sure some of this stuff will be flipped on EBAY. That is the right of the new owners, and I have no problem with it, but that's not my style or intent. I'm in the process of negotiating for some of the leftovers, and I will be making at least one return trip to Edgemont. I'll try to salvage as much stuff as possible. I'll keep you all posted.

Ron W8ACR

 No complaints here either. It makes the stuff more avaiable to those who could not make the auction. It also inflames a few folks who think it sold for more money than it was worth...which of course translates more than they would pay for it ...but often less than they would sell theirs for  ;) Funny how that works  ???

    Good to see it salvaged either way. (your way or their way)

Good for you Ron.  Your intent is the sign of a true gentleman like Dewey.

Wow, really nice pictures and nice transmitters. I wish I could have got my hands on the 450TH rig or the 833 rig. I need to become a multimillionaire so I can jet around to buy some of this nice old stuff. 

He certainly had a good collection. So many transmitters built from parts is really impressive. There was not by any chance a 5-10KW FM rig around? or a 5000V+ 10-15KVA power trans and requisite LC filter stuff? Needing 4800V/2A CCS. Have 'variac', can lower the voltage.

I hope it will all be bought fairly, or in the end the residue given, and not go the scrappers. I would not want my stuff going there, even if it was given away. Just a sentiment I suppose. RIP and God bless him though. No doubt a full life was lived and enjoyed. When someone like that departs, and leaves such a legacy of excellence in the field, a website ought to show off some of those accomplishments and tell about them if the family does not mind and is not going to do so.. An SK section would be valuable.

 Too bad it seems his family is getting such a small return compared to the real value of the gear. Sure would like to see them do a little better. :-\
  I doubt anything worthwhile is actually going to be scrapped although it seems some of the stuff is going at or maybe below scrap prices  ???

I know there have been some misgivings expressed over the prices paid for the gear in the estate auction, but I'd like to remind everyone of a couple of things:

1.  The owner(s)/organizers of the auction could have easily set minimums for at least some of the gear.  IOW, started the bidding on the Johnson Desk at $500; $300 on the broadcast rigs (i'm just pulling numbers out of my head) but they evidently did not.

2.  Or, they could have scrapped the whole idea of an auction, and listed everything for sale with firm prices, but they didn't do that either, and from what I know, these were not naive people.

I often am unhappy with what I see as widows being taken advantage of, but in this case I would have paid the prices because for one thing, not everyone's main motive is making a lot of money, and if that had been the motive here, the sale would have been set up differently.

It's not really ours to fret about in the first place.  In the past I caught myself being resentful of those who acquired the gear and sold it for great profit.  I've had a change of attitude after I considered worst-case scenarios.

Among those I've seen --

George, W1GAC's place had a reverse mortgage on it and was being quickly moved to market. All his stuff was being quickly moved to a dumpster in the driveway, and only portions were saved by a quick-acting member of the AM Community.

Ralph, W2WME, who was electrocuted while working on a rig, had a bunch of stuff that casually drifted away, some of which was flipped for revenue, other pieces kept by those who really wanted them.

Another guy in NY who died unexpectedly had a STORAGE RENTAL UNIT full of gear.  THAT was a scandal not fully reported as people arrived like vultures and made off with pieces, according to someone who was there.

A Maryland AMer who passed away left no specific directions to the widow, and she called someone from another state who organized a crew and a rental truck who then took away scads and scads of gear. Supposedly that person intended to hand the gear out to people interested, without an intention of flipping for revenue.  But, there was never a full inventory or accounting of what happened to it all.

NOR did it get thrown out, so I'm settled with it.

At least ZUS had a structured close out.  

Hey Paul I wonder what happened to his BC-610? I think that was his main rig? He seemed to always be using it when talking to Irb.

Terry

Exactly, Paul.
Unless one is directly effected by the situation it's all, usually, soar grapes.
If you really care about flippers, keeping the rigs in the "A.M. Community" and all that, and don't DO something about it then posting ain't gonna change it and amounts to nothing.

 

I'm sorry I never talked to this fellow over the air. I often believed that some of an SK's greatest assets are the ones he/she takes to the grave. Judging by the workmanship of how these rigs were built, there was a great technical void created with his passing.

 No Buddly , In this case is is not at all "sour grapes". I never been a flipper but I have often helped the very overwhelmed survivors get a FAIR price for the gear left behind. I have however seen widows at hamfests selling for example a very nice TRW CW/RIT . Walking up behind a rather well known flipper when he asked "How much" . Obviously not really knowing the value the widow said "Is $100 OK?" to which came the response "How about $50" . She let it go for $50. Her response came before any of the stunned onlookers could speak up .  The next item offered was a nice National speaker under the table. She asked $10 , I gave her $50. Still a very fair price for both of us. At that point I offered to help her with the remainder of the sales.


  I have seen this kind of thing very often locally . The "friends" of the deceased are considered "trustworthy " by the family. The family is often in disarray also may be in need of money .

 A few years ago Mike Monnier (W8BAC) and I went up to photograph a mothballed station from 1962. The article , written by Mike appeared in ER back in 2005. The family needed money and was finally offering the station for sale. The ham, W8GLW was a long time operator , passed at the station 1962. He had a load of antique wireless gear. The family had no idea what had value and what was just junk. Both Mike and I suggested they set up at the Radio Extravaganza in Lansing rather than attempting online sales. Further Mike and I both took time off work for the Friday and Saturday sales, just to help. The family got the needed money, the gear went into willing hands at fair prices. I would hope someday my family is treated as fairly.


 Not pointing any fingers here did not want it to look so. Just my regrets that the situation was such that the family will not realize anything close to a fair return for all of this very nice gear. By contrast, the K9RJ estate has been taking a while to dissolve but the family is getting a lot better price out of the gear.

  While I have no interest in the equipment nor any stake in the ownership, the part of me that likes to see people treated with fairness reaches out to people like this. That IS my prerogative .

 

And I believe you, Gary. I know where YOU"RE coming from, man.

But I said USUALLY not ALL and have been around long enuf and witnessed enuf to know it IS usually soar grapes. Your example of witnessed flipper in action, albeit anecdotal, is evidence.

Bud , the anecdote was more rule than exception from what I have seen. We have a local that brags about how well he works Ex-XYLs .

   We had a local ham right here in MI, Art/ W8TMS . Mike, N8SDD, Sam AA8WL and I worked with him for years after he had a stroke . He was very insecure about operating on 75 AM afterwards so we set him up with 2M and made a point of having some "Art nets" during the week. As time went on , Art got a little more senile. Spent less time on the air and more time taking the gear apart. At some point his as well as his wife's health got so bad they no longer took company. The three of us all had gear at Art's house. Art had a very clean VikII , a complete ,loaded Omni5, Centurion, PS, Speaker along with a Drake R8B and loads of tubes recording gear and stuff from his broadcast days at WWJ.   A fellow was later telling me how he went to a house in Troy to buy tubes for someone else and found all this ham gear. He was to pay $500 for the tubes. When he saw the gear he offered the unkowing son another $500 to toss in the radio stuff. As he was telling me the story I immediately knew this was the estate of our friend Art.
  I did not mind so much this time since it was only the son involved and he was quite content. I didn't really mind that some of the gear actually belonged to Mike , Sam and I. We all miss Art a lot more than the "stuff".

I had a feeling that this thread might morph into a discusion of the propriety of such low prices for such highly prized radio equipment and accessories. If I may, I'd like to point out several things.
1. Ruth (Dewey's XYL) is not ignorant of the value of the radio gear that was in her possesion.
2. She chose the auction format fully understanding that such large items in such a remote location might well result in low bids.
3. The men in charge of the auction were hams who were above reproach, and who were honorable in their dealings with Ruth and with the bidders. It was a very well organized auction.
4. I have had several communications with Ruth since the auction. She is, in general, pleased with the outcome. She said that while some items brought less than she expected, others brought more. She was pleased that much of the gear went to hams who knew Dewey well, if only by talking to him on the air. Her disappointment, if any, was that the radio gear that Dewey spent so much time laboring over, and caring for, may not be appreciated as much by its new owners. Nevertheless, she was pleased that at least it was not necessary for her to send it to a junkyard, which was the likely alternative fate. She told me that she and Dewey had several conversations about what to do with his gear after he was gone. He apparently wasn't concerned about what would happen to it. It gave him great joy as a hobby, and he found immense satisfaction in creating a highly crafted piece of radio gear and using it on the air. He was proud of his craftmanship. He simply loved ham radio and that alone justified it. If his beloved radio gear were passed to new owners who also enjoyed it, that would be icing on the cake.

If I am successful in my quest to obtain the remnant of his radio estate, my plan is to sell off the items that I don't want and forward the proceeds to Ruth. I think Dewey would be happy with that.

Ron W8ACR

 Sure, did not mean to send it in that direction. My comment was more generic and meant to wish people in this situation well. Like the comment about Art, his son knew what he was doing and was quite fine with that. It sounds like this is a quite similar situation. Good on all.

The thing you failed to mention is that auction like this is the favored format for that part of the country.  Those guys always try to pass things on to others at reasonable rates.  That is how they do things, and will go out of their way to help others.  Remember it is a long way between some of those cities and towns.

They do it here as well much the same. (When there is an open sale of this type) Just that there are usually more people turning out. The percentages of types are probably similar.

Patrick
There were no 5 or 10 kW rigs, only 1 kW and under. The largest transformer was the 329 lb Moloney plate transformer in the garage, which is 4430-0-4430 and 6.7 kVA. It would take major strength to load it up so I couldn't touch it - no bids. I told Ruth that it  had a lot of iron and copper and that a scrap yard might pick it up, since it was not oil filled. I thought of you, though, when I saw it.

John,

That would be better than what has turned up but I agree about the weight it being a major hassle. Like the 3.5H 3A RCA choke I got from the Black Hole. Took two people to move it and is still where we put it..

4430-0-4430 and 6.7 kVA what a beast. 4000V out..
It could possibly do what I want with a variac if not pushed.

5600VAC is the target. (4800VDC from full wave rectifier and LC filter)

more likely 4900VAC from it (+11%) to avoid overexciting, 4200VDC out.

I appreciate you looking though. The issue would be making an offer and then getting there in a reasonable time for Ruth's timetable. Hey can't have everything. Is it in the pictures?

Looking at the 450TL transmitter I see the tubes are 450T types which are very early tubes. Pre 1940. On the internal filament stem Eimac wrote, hi or lo to let you know if it's a TH or TL type as that was the only way to visually know what it was. Nice workmanship!

Wow....  Dewy was a ham's ham! Great pictures.  Nice homebrew gear and lots of valuable parts and rigs.

It made me a little sad to think of all the time and effort he put into that FB station but now it's over for him forever. But glad to see the stuff went to people in the know who will make use of it.  

As we go on I think this stuff will continue to go down in price as the demand diminishes and auctions like this will pull in even less. That's just how it goes.

For some reason the call W0ZUS  stands out to me, as if I worked him on 75M AM coast to coast a few times over the years.

RIP, Dewy.  Thanks to all who helped to distribute his precious treasures.


T    (Still on generator power until MAYBE next week)

Great minds think alike Mike, man, when I think of all that lost knowledge, it makes me very sad.
I've made a point to try and interview and "download" that from every OT I know, just wish I did
it with my elmer. When it's gone, its gone forever. Sure you can read it in books, but its the stuff
that's not in the books, experiences, that has the greatest value.

That is why it is important to publish the results of any tedious experiments, meaning when you have a weird troubleshooting task and have to characterize something fully over a range of conditions. This is a good place to publish them.

Hey all
read all the post about the auction. I am the moron that bought the 20vs for a buddy of mine 3 of the so far made it safly to il. All of the transmitter are sold. I ended up with thee total un known what i am going to do with them besides get them on the air the remainder are going to IL to be put on the air. If any one knows a good way to pu a gates bc1t on 80 meters.

With all due respect I suggest you work on upgrading your ticket before fooling around with the rigs you got.

p.s. Welcome to amfone.net.  There are a few AM ops out your way in SD.  Maybe when you get one of the rigs going I'll work you on 75 m.

I will be upgraded before they are on air it will take me a year or so to get set up

Outstanding!  Always great to have another tall ship on from the midwest, particularly SD.

And welcome to AMFone.net!

Thanks need to be loud to be heard from western sd. Any advice on audio chains would be appriated i am new as you get it comes am trans mitters.

Then I'd strongly suggest you put a lot of time and study into high voltage supplies and familiarize yourself well with the equipment you have before ever putting power to it, or considering any audio chain. It would be a shame to lose a new AMer to electrocution before he got his HV feet under him.

Once you're comfortable (in a 'Respecting High Voltage' kind of way), check out the Audio section of the AM Handbook on here. There is a lot of excellent info there. Read through the applicable posts, familiarize yourself with your specific needs, then post whatever questions you have. You'll be hard-pressed to find a more knowledgeable group than the AMers here and on the AMRadio list.

Thanks for the advice.
 I am comfortable as one can or should be with hv i like my orangs un cooked

If you want any help, look up Arne, K0AS.  He is in Deadwood and a dedicated AM operator.  He and Dewey were good friends.  You can find his email on QRZ.  If you have trouble, let me know.

Just got back from SD with my second load of W0ZUS stuff. This time I brought back the RCA BTA-1R and the homebrew 160 meter rig - 450TL's modulated by 833's as well as the remaining tubes and some large transformers and some small miscellaneous parts. There are four braodcast transmitters still there, but they have all been sold and are awaiting pickup.

I was successful in my quest to obtain the remaining loose parts and will be returning to SD in a few weeks to hopefully get everything that's left. But there is so much stuff it may take two more trips. Once I get it all here and semi organized, I'll pick the stuff I want to keep, and put the rest up for sale. I told Ruth that I would like to recoup my expenses, but anything over and above that will go back to her. My objective here was to keep this stuff from going to the junkyard, and it appears that I have at least achieved that. Will keep you all posted......................

Ron W8ACR

Thanks for the update Ron, especially that the BC transmitters have found new homes.

Also, kudos for the noble effort you're putting in, seeing to it the components and other "loose parts" are rounded up and eventually distributed among those interested.

South Dakota is not a simple trip across town for you ...

As a reward it sounds like you'll have many hours of enjoyment this coming radio season with a couple of very nice Big Rigs.

Best to you ...

Thanks for the kind words Paul. Yeah, I put 1200 miles on the Suburban and the horse trailer this past weekend. There is still a mountain of parts that needs to be moved. Looks like there is some really cool stuff in the pile. It will be fun to sift through it all and see what kind of treasure I can find. I'd say there is enough stuff to build ten or more large transmitters from scratch, and there would still be lotsa stuff left over. Start making a list of parts that you might need! Don't know when I'm gonna get the new rigs on the air. They were all so big I basically had to dismantle them to haul them away. It may take some time to get them back together properly. Dewey's homebrew schematics are not the best. :-\

BTW it has been forever since you and I spoke on the air. I think I was living in Plattsburgh NY the last time we had an actual QSO. Moved away from Plattsburgh in 1997. Maybe it's time for a 40 or 75 meter SKED.

Ron