Harris Gates 1KW AM Transmitter

[Pete, WA2CWA]

They decided to clear out hundreds of unused 1930's vintage tubes that had been gathering dust for decades but the boss told him that if he took any of the tubes for personal use, he could be fired for "theft".  Instead, they were crushed on the concrete floor with a tractor, and the remains scooped up and hauled to a landfill.

Some people just ought to be shot.

Shot? Is that before they are hanged, or just after the hanging has been started and right before the commencement of the drawing and quartering?

The company policies of destroying worthwhile and irreplacable items is not new. They know nothing about what they are doing, except what the bean counters and lawyers tell them. The place I work at now at least had several sales and employee auctions. It was quite nice of them.

Corporate tax laws are fairly clear on the disposal of excess company inventories regardless of what the inventory is and regardless to any who make claims of some historic, or "it's still usable" significance. Giving it away to company employees, or selling it for pennies on the dollar, isn't high on the list. Back in my corporate life, I was involved in the company identification and junking of over 100 million dollars at cost of new and used electronic equipment and parts.  Generally, an official certificate of destruction was required to be formally submitted by the junking/disposal  company back to the originally company. Business decisions are what they are and these types of business activities generally help the company to move on.

[John K5PRO]

The Gates BC1E manual has been posted this weekend here.

http://louise.hallikainen.org/BroadcastHistory/index.php/GatesRadioCompany

Its a neat old box, probably none remain that are workable.

[W2XR]

Hi John,

Thanks for making this information available!

Reviewing the technical write-up section of this manual, the BC-1E had an interesting audio line-up; a pair of push-pull 6B4Gs driving a pair of push-pull 845s as the audio driver. The 6B4Gs are transformer-coupled to the 845s; I wonder if that rig had negative feedback from the plates of the 833A modulators to the 6B4Gs? I question this as there are two audio xfmrs in the signal path after the 6B4Gs, and the phase shift of such a circuit would most probably make voltage feedback from the 833As back to the 6B4Gs extremely difficult to achieve without instability.

There is one surviving example of the BC-1E that I am familiar with; Greg, WA2IAC had one, at least several years ago, that he pulled out of an AM station in upstate New York. I have no idea if he still owns it.

Do you possibly have the full technical manual for the BC-1E? If so, any possibility that you will be posting it on this site? It would make for interesting reading.

Thanks & 73,

Bruce

[W7TFO]

Actually the "E" had pretty good audio, as the transformers in the audio chain were strictly HI-FI, wound for good performance across the passband with as little phase shift as could be had.

I took care of a pair or 'em years ago, never had a problem making the required audio proof in terms of THD and even IMD with the 4:1 method (not required then but a good indication of overall health).

73 dg

[W2XR]

Actually the "E" had pretty good audio, as the transformers in the audio chain were strictly HI-FI, wound for good performance across the passband with as little phase shift as could be had.

I took care of a pair or 'em years ago, never had a problem making the required audio proof in terms of THD and even IMD with the 4:1 method (not required then but a good indication of overall health).

73 dg

Do you know if the "E" used NFB in the audio section? Based upon my previous posting on this rig, I suspect not, but I'll defer to the man who has actually worked on this transmitter.

Just curious.

73,

Bruce

[Opcom]

I can send a PM about trading material, and also ask more about the Harris rig.

I did, and learned that the rig is not practical for myself (cannot be made to run on single phase at reduced power). Sure is a fine piece of gear though and I thought a plunge into pulse modulation would be an education..

[WA3VJB]

Gregg, WA2IAC has an "E" and yes, what a pretty transmitter.

Here's a load of images, a technical rundown, and some storytelling as to how he acquired it.

http://wa2iac.infoweb.net/bc1e/index.html

The Gates BC1E manual has been posted this weekend here.

http://louise.hallikainen.org/BroadcastHistory/index.php/GatesRadioCompany

Its a neat old box, probably none remain that are workable.

[The Slab Bacon]

Gregg, WA2IAC has an "E" and yes, what a pretty transmitter.

What ever happened to him?? I havent heard him for a lllloooonnnnggggggg time??