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Author Topic: Meissner 150b - what the heck are all those TRANSFORMERS for??  (Read 30688 times)
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steve_qix
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« on: October 14, 2010, 04:15:49 AM »

Man !  I checked out the Meissner 150b that's on Ebay (see the for sale section for a link) just to see what it is.

Looking at the top of the cabinet, the thing *appears* to be chuck full of transformers - there must be 10 or 15 of them in there.  It looks like it must weigh 500 pounds and puts out - what - maybe 100 to 125 watts with a single 813??

Definitely a contender for the lowest power-output-to-weight-ratio (watts/pound)  Wink  And that doesn't even include a VFO, and as I recall the companion VFO probably weighs another 20 or maybe 30 pounds on its own (and still drifts and FMs if I'm remembering correctly from the '60s and '70s when there were a couple of them on the air around here).

Ain't that sumpth'n.

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Jim KF2SY
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« Reply #1 on: October 14, 2010, 06:14:31 AM »


I think Tom, N1HCI uses one.
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W3FJJ
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« Reply #2 on: October 14, 2010, 06:59:23 AM »

Definitely a BA table top rig..
Yeah I worked N1HCI the other day using one,
and  I believe KW1I uses one, quite often in Mil rad Net, and
W3NP has one, I saw in person, very impressive..
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K5UJ
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« Reply #3 on: October 14, 2010, 07:09:34 AM »

Yeah the 150-B, ummmmmm  Grin   A little over 2 lbs. per watt.  Uncle Ray beats it I guess, at least 4 lbs. per watt.  
If that one on eBay were not so dang far away I might be tempted to get it, but the front name plates are missing and the dummies broke the fil. switch (not a big deal to fix though) and I think it is overpriced and they are selling the POS exciter which is in really bad shape separately (starting bid $199!! it's worth maybe 30 bucks?).  Fortunately I already have the exciter in nice shape.  
All the Meissner gear was built to be put on a chain and used as a wrecking ball.   That rig will sit there and do 150 watts forever.  There are three chassis inside that come out so it can be moved by pulling them out and moving them individually then the cabinet.  Makes the job brutal as opposed to impossible without 3 guys.  But, about the iron.  All Stancor but beyond that I don't know.  Plate, fil, low voltage, modulation, filter chokes...you got separate RF and audio supplies including stage coupling...when you think about all that it starts to add up...there's an article on the 150B in ER issue 88 or 89, can't remember which.

Rob  
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« Reply #4 on: October 14, 2010, 08:17:26 AM »

I almost bought the one that Dave (W3NP) now owns. We were both at Berryville that day and the guy that was selling it had it priced pretty reasonably. I really wanted it but.................................

I was still recovering from a really nasty back injury. The thought (and the pain)
of moving it around just changed my mind. the thought of further injuring my back at that time just turned me off and I reluctantly changed my mind. (I saw it before he did)
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W3FJJ
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« Reply #5 on: October 14, 2010, 09:08:19 AM »

Yeah Frank, not the rig to have with a bad back, if you don't have one now, you will
after lifting that beast..

W3NP-Dave has nice write up of Messiner (hamfest special) and Pics of his restoration, on his page.

http://w3np.com/meissnerpage1.htm

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Carl WA1KPD
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« Reply #6 on: October 14, 2010, 09:37:52 AM »

If its like the Hallicrafters HT-9 I have
There is a separate PS for the exciter, the modulator and the final
add in the chokes interstage and mod iron, and you have a lot of metal in there

Carl
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w1vtp
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« Reply #7 on: October 14, 2010, 10:45:38 AM »

Funny Tom HCI is mentioned in relation to this beastie.  Yup he does own one and yup he has a bad back

Nice sounding rig.  Hope someone gives this one a good home.

Cue the song "youuuuu are so beautifullll"

http://w3np.com/images/meissner/866glow493.jpg
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« Reply #8 on: October 14, 2010, 11:56:35 AM »

I was running one on the air for 3-4 years and recently passed it on to another rabid AMer. It is a great rig and the audio is excellent. They have negative feedback in the audio section. The way I figured it the transformer salesman helped with the design! He recommended one of everything. They laid it out on a barn door and went from there. I have a small electric forklift in the ham shack so no problem with the weight.
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The Slab Bacon
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« Reply #9 on: October 14, 2010, 01:07:05 PM »

I have a small electric forklift in the ham shack so no problem with the weight.
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Yea but, you have a bigger toybox than me  Shocked  Shocked  Shocked  Shocked
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KM1H
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« Reply #10 on: October 15, 2010, 09:22:54 AM »

Thats the wrong VFO. The 150B was prewar and used the earlier one with the plug in coils.

Most 150B's went to the Army and a Olive Drab VFO with a coil draw was part of the package. I have that VFO and use it often on 30M. Paid $10 at Deerfield 20+ years ago with the coils.

Carl
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« Reply #11 on: October 15, 2010, 10:08:17 AM »

Carl,
Are you familiar with the Meissner model shown in the attached photo?   A red back lit pointer appears when in operation.  It is also a military unit I picked up and included all of the coils still sealed in envelopes.  The glue on the attached coil labels didn't last for 50+ years but otherwise it appeared perfect.

These are very useful VFO/exciter units.  I also have the older model with the metal dial and a later model with the turret coil unit.


* SS1.jpg (1174.25 KB, 1536x1024 - viewed 899 times.)
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Rodger WQ9E
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« Reply #12 on: October 15, 2010, 12:13:50 PM »

Wayne N0TE wrote the ER article on the 150B that was in issue 89.  Yes, the appropriate s.s. is the one that matches the 150B transmitter gray wrinkle paint and has the coil drawer with the 18 coils and the Signal Corps plate on the front panel (although electrically probably any signal shifter will work).

Rodger, yours looks like the 1941 Deluxe model; I have one of those also but mine is not in as good shape as yours. 

Rob
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« Reply #13 on: October 15, 2010, 12:38:08 PM »

I happen to have 4 of the EX models. Two are cherry originals, another has the 160M strip and the last is a rack model that has the 6/12M strip. I also had one in 1956-57 running barefoot on 15M CW before I got the Viking I.

Roger the one in your photo is the civilian version, maybe it was appropriated by the military.

The one purchased under contract along with the 150B has a tag from the Signal Corps, Meissner Part # 02433, and a 1943 contract date. In addition the dial scale is factory calibrated, can you imagine a soldier trying to figure out the civilian one?

Carl
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« Reply #14 on: October 17, 2010, 07:21:35 PM »

Okay which one of you guys got the 150B that was on eBay?  I'm just curious that's all.
Probably no one here.

Rob
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« Reply #15 on: October 18, 2010, 09:37:42 AM »

Someone with a lot of "spare change" lying around.  Big money for low power and excessive weight!!!
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« Reply #16 on: October 18, 2010, 10:46:54 AM »

Not me, way too pricey plus Ive no room for it even if it could be crated for truck shipping. Maybe JN got it to go with his Trafficmaster Grin

Those sold items are civilian models, maybe purchased by the Army before the contract. But wrong color, no tags, coil drawer was only for the contract VFO, and included coils for down into the BCB and up to 18mc in later versions.

http://www.qsl.net/la5ki/org/me/150b.jpg

http://jpcummins.net/ad4s/fdim2001/P5190081.jpg

Ive had a lot of fun with that VFO before it moved to the ham bench. It makes a great little rig to rebroadcast streaming audio to the vintage radios scattered around here. Add a small modulator and pick a frequency in the BCB or elsewhere Shocked

Carl
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« Reply #17 on: October 18, 2010, 01:15:01 PM »

Yep, in my case getting it here would add at least $400 to $500 for the cost--two days each way plus 6 tanks of gas making it a very expensive 150-B considering W3NP got his for free! 

What made this one kind of desirable was that all the coils and the three mica caps seemed to be there, although getting substitutes and doing some home brew coil winding would be easy enough. 

Carl thanks for clearing up the mystery about the paint color and why some are gray but with Army ID plates.   I'll bet this one was repainted at some point since the color does not appear to match the originals I have seen.
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Todd, KA1KAQ
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« Reply #18 on: October 18, 2010, 01:40:46 PM »

Yep! You're dealing with a scarce piece of history here, especially when you consider its completeness, condition, and overall scarcity. I think it went for the right price, kinda cheap for even a year ago. Think about it - where are you gonna get a Meissner 150B complete with new tubes and coils, for that kinda money?

True, it's not the same as building a Class E rig for $5 and a handful of parts from your junkbox, but being a bonafide piece of history with real meters, tubes, and transformers, it's in a class with very few others: rare, and pretty cool to boot. Would love to have one myself. Passed on an opportunity locally last year, been kicking myself since. Need to move more stuff out first.

You shoulda snagged it, Rob. It's just what you need!  Grin
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« Reply #19 on: October 18, 2010, 07:48:13 PM »


You shoulda snagged it, Rob. It's just what you need!  Grin

$650 seemed on the high side considering the sig. shifter was not included and the WW2 Sig.Corps plates were not on the f.p.  What did the hamfest one sell for last year?   I was under the impression they go for $250 to $500. 

The other thing is that the $650 was the opening price.  The buyer got it for that because no one else bid, so even if I had tried to get it, it could have zoomed up depending on what the other guy's max bid was.  There will be others; I'm glad this one got picked up by someone so it didn't get scrapped.   Besides, even if I had gotten it and gone down there and brought it up here, it would probably sit in my garage for at least two years before I could do anything with it.
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« Reply #20 on: October 18, 2010, 09:10:03 PM »

Rob,

There are probably several of them sitting in barns and basements here in the Midwest, hopefully some of them will make it to hamfests instead of the dumpster.  The Pierson KP-81 receivers and Halli HT-45 I picked up at Peoria a few years ago surfaced as part of a basement cleanup before everything went to the dump.  Two years ago a bunch of tube type audio gear was buried in a basement when the downtown area near the university was being remade as "uptown Normal".  I was in a suit and walking with the university provost so I didn't think that jumping a construction barricade to rescue tube type gear would be seen as appropriate behavior.  But had it been an HT-20 all the provost would have seen was the blur of a professor jumping into a hole in the ground Smiley

I drove down south of Houston to pick up my Ranger/Desk KW and I picked up a Viking 500 in AZ as part of a western trip but I just don't have time for long road trips like that now.  Plus I have enough projects already to keep me busy for a LONG time.

I hope you find a 150 next hamfest season.

Rodger WQ9E
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Rodger WQ9E
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« Reply #21 on: October 18, 2010, 09:28:43 PM »

" I was in a suit and walking with the university provost so I didn't think that jumping a construction barricade to rescue tube type gear would be seen as appropriate behavior "

Isn't that's what's Tenure's fer'??


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« Reply #22 on: October 19, 2010, 08:23:47 AM »

Hi Rodger, well I have enough to keep me busy so I can be patient.   Cheesy   I expect that any around here are either being used or will come up for sale on the net, or on-line.  Most of the heavy rigs don't get lugged to hamfests, the exception being Dayton.   Maybe after I get the TR-1 going I'll figure one 813/811A rig is enough hi hi.  There have been a few choice rigs for sale way out west but dragging a trailer 4000 miles is too much for me.  I hope you find a HT-20 if mine doesn't wind up at ur place.  I wonder which is harder to find.  Tossup I guess.

Rob 
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« Reply #23 on: October 19, 2010, 10:43:11 AM »

Both of my HT-9's came out of barns. The black one from CA and the gray in Northern VT. My son rescued the one in CA and had it truck shipped as part of his belongings to his military home of record and I drove to VT. Both are in excellent shape with no rust or mouse damage.

Those beasts are heavy enough along with the 32V2. I might sell a HT-9 for a HT-20.
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« Reply #24 on: October 19, 2010, 10:20:17 PM »

Quote
Someone with a lot of "spare change" lying around.  Big money for low power and excessive weight!!!

Not really if you love old radios. Would it had been better if it had hit the scrap heap  Cry Cry
Once they are junked, history is gone. But then again, I'm not thinking progressively. I need to stop living in the past and scrap everything I own.

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