Did anyone hear of, operate, or hear one of these on the air...

[w1guh]

I'm assuming and hoping that it had an "AM" position.  But its rarity might be a mitagating circumstance.

Multi-elmac designed and planned to market a transceiver in 1963, and I saw it demonstrated and hyped at a ham club meeting in Pontiac, Mi in june of that year.  It looked like a honey, and of course the guy showing it to us was very enthusiastic about its performance.

Some time laterI heard that they had decided not to go through with that product, and the prototype I saw wound up in the shack of W8PDB, Manly Phetterplace.  Manly got it because he was the pre-eminent ham in Pontiac.  Not only was his station great, not only was he a great guy, not only did he rule the hidden transmitter hunts, but he was in a wheelchair most of his life.  Somthing happened in his childhood that prevented the full development of his legs and they were simpoly too small and weak to support his full adult weight.  But to know the man, even if you were looking right at him, his disability just didn't exist.  What a wonderful person.  I spent many evenings hanging out in his home...that may be my very favorite ham experience.  And his station - a Viking II and an SX-28.   Worked him lots on 10 m.

Anyway, to get back to the radio, has anyone else heard of and know anytihing about the Multi-elmace transceiver?

Oh, yea, that reminds me of another radio, maybe I've mentioned it before.

Multi-elmac also sold, for a brief time, something called a CD-10.  It was basically a CB radio with crystal controlled transmit and tuned receive, but modified for 10 meter ham use.  They were very popular for local communications, but rare.  Multi-elmac only sold a few units as prototype tests for it's CB radio.

73,

Paul

[w1guh]

Guess not.  Multi-elmac was "local" to Pontiac, in Allen Park if I remember correctly, and one of the local hams was a distributor for them.  That's probably why I saw those radios.  I'd love to get my hands on a CD-10.

So, to broaden out the Multi-elmace topic, AF=67's and AF-68's were pretty classic AM radios, along with the PMR-7's and 8's.  But I can't recall hearing any in the AM Window, and certainly any discussion of them.  It's hard to think of them as "rare", but maybe so.  Or were they junk?

Kinda related are the Gonset mobil twins. 

Any comments on these radios?

Paul

[Pete, WA2CWA]

A bunch of guys use to get on with their Multi-Elmac's on Tuesday(?) evenings around 3880. Don't know if they're still active. A lot of AF-67's and 68's still are floating around. I saw several at Dayton last year along with some PMR-6A's and 7's. I've had a number of requests for manuals for these rigs.

On the Gonset twins, I hear these rigs most of the time on 10 meters when the band is open.

[K4MO]

You might be able to get some inside information from "Ange" ... he designed some of the Multi-Elmac AM  transmitters so he may have some knowledge. I used to hear him on 20M SSB quite often.

Angelo, W8ERN used to work
there. He may be helpful.

EVANGELO DIAMANTONI
5056 KIERSTAN DR
BRIGHTON MI 48114-9050
USA

angelo@tir.com

[K3ZS]

I have heard Angelo on 40M SSB on the low part of the band many afternoons.

[W9GT]

Try checking into the "Mighty Elmac" Net on Tues nite at 0000Z on 3880.  Net control is Mike, N8ECR.  Lots of Elmacs check in. Including AF-54Hs, AF-67s, and 68s.
Not necessary to have an Elmac, they are just considered the "mascots" of the net.
Great fun and chance to hear a lot of nice sounding AM sigs.

73,  Jack, W9GT

[Herb K2VH]

Try checking into the "Mighty Elmac" Net on Tues nite at 0000Z on 3880.  Net control is Mike, N8ECR.  Lots of Elmacs check in. Including AF-54Hs, AF-67s, and 68s.

I was going to mention that net.  Lots of Elmacs around.  I use an AF-67 to drive my homebrew 250TL.  I use separate audio for the modulators, but could modify the Elmac audio to drive the modulators.  As is, Elmacs had potent audio for mobile, but certainly not "east coast" sound.

I have a total of three AF-67s and two AF-54s.  I also have a PMR-6 and a PMR-7.  Newbies call them Multi Elmacs.  Old timers refer to them as just Elmacs.  The story is that EIMAC (the tube manufacturer) got annoyed with people referring to their tubes as ELMACS, and hearing the little mobile rigs referred to as EIMACS, so they sued, and made the Multi-Products Company (the makers of Elmacs) call their rigs Multi-Elmacs.  But the old timers still call them Elmacs.  One of my AF-67s has a name plate that says ELMAC; the other two say MULTI-ELMAC

BTW, as far as I know, the Multi-Products Company is still alive and well and making garage door openers.

There were one or two of the SSB transceivers made, but my old friend, Larry, W2FHS, used to be a salesman for Elmac CB  rigs.  He apparently sold quite a few.  They sure made a great product!

[kg8lb]

"Elmac" transmitters and receivers were built on 10 Mile Road in Hazel Park, Michigan.
"Multi-Elmac" Transmitters were built by Multi Products Company in Oak Park Michigan on Coolidge Highway a few miles from the Elmac shop.  The CD-40 started out as a club project supported by the Elmac company. I was raised less than 1 mile from the Hazel Park "Elmac" shop at the time they were producing the Elmac products. We knew some of the people who actually worked there at the time.
  The MS-1070 power supply was based on the Jones vibrator supply. As an alternative a more robust supply, the PS-2V was also offered. The PS-2V was an AC input supply with generously sized transformers. Sized to match the AF-67 and packaged in a perf-metal cabinet, the PS-2V is less common than the MS-1070 but can be well worth the search. The PS-2V uses tube type rectifiers and independent rectifier/filter stages for the high and low voltage supplies along with 12 VDC for the control circuits.
   The A-54 and AF-67/68 run well with B+ voltages from 385 to 500+ volts, power output in proportion to supplied B+. The filaments may be operated from either 6.3 or 12.6 volt sources depending upon how you wire the 15 pin "Jones" connector.

   Quite well built using quality components, the Elmac and Multi Elmacs are a good choice as low power transmitters or as  exciters for higher power transmitter lash-ups. The AF-67 and AF-68 "Trans-citer" has a very convenient 500 ohm audio tap on the modulation transformer output. The taps are brought out to the 15 pin Jones plug on the rear apron.

Some folks consider the Elmac/Multi Elmacs a step up from the Johnson Rangers !

[K3ZS]

They were mobile Rangers.