The AM Forum
March 28, 2024, 06:51:02 PM *
Welcome, Guest. Please login or register.

Login with username, password and session length
 
   Home   Help Calendar Links Staff List Gallery Login Register  
Pages: [1]   Go Down
  Print  
Author Topic: Wilcox Electric RF Unit  (Read 10504 times)
0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.
K6DUY
Guest
« on: August 05, 2011, 07:19:30 PM »

Friday, Aug 05,2011
From: Bill- K6DUY, Sheep Ranch, Northern CA.
Looking for info regarding the following  RF Unit.
What is this unit mated too?
Label : Wilcox Electric " RF Unit " Type : 95415C   s/n 2341.
It obviously slides into a larger unit. Neither the driver or final tube is ID'ed next to the sockets.
Unable to ID on a NET search.
Pictures attached. hinterland01@dishmail.net   


* Wilcox_Type 95415C xmtr 009.JPG (549.27 KB, 1600x1200 - viewed 626 times.)

* Wilcox_Type 95415C_xmtr 011.JPG (447.67 KB, 1600x1200 - viewed 596 times.)

* Wilcox_Type 95415C_xmtr 012.JPG (425.68 KB, 1600x1200 - viewed 527 times.)
Logged
kb3ouk
Member

Offline Offline

Posts: 1640

The Voice of Fulton County


« Reply #1 on: August 05, 2011, 09:33:46 PM »

i see three tubes in it, and one empty socket, that's four tubes, it that all thats in it? if so, the four tubes i see are a 6L6G, an 807, a 6SN7, and a 6AC7.

wait, now i see the other two sockets under the chassis. dont know what they are.
Logged

Clarke's Second Law: The only way of discovering the limits of the possible is by venturing a little past them into the impossible
k4kyv
Contributing Member
Don
Member

Offline Offline

Posts: 10057



« Reply #2 on: August 05, 2011, 10:29:29 PM »

The big tubes may be 250TLs or THs.  John, KN4ME had a Wilcox that may be similar to this one.  His had a separate set of finals that could be pre-set to different frequencies, with common modulator and power supply.

Jerry, W4FRE now has it.  He can be contacted at w4fre@hughes.net
Logged

Don, K4KYV                                       AMI#5
Licensed since 1959 and not happy to be back on AM...    Never got off AM in the first place.

- - -
This message was typed using the DVORAK keyboard layout.
http://www.mwbrooks.com/dvorak
K6DUY
Guest
« Reply #3 on: August 06, 2011, 12:36:08 AM »

Don thanks for the come-back.
I have a Wilcox 96D & the finals are 450TL's. The Type 95415C is quite different and the final socket could very well be a 450TL or TH.
I'll keep working on this mystery RF Unit & let you know when I find out.   
Logged
k7yoo
Member

Offline Offline

Posts: 405


WWW
« Reply #4 on: August 06, 2011, 02:45:58 AM »

This is an RF module from a Wilcox 99. Most of these ran a 250TL driven by an 813. These transmitters were used for public service RTTY and ground to air AM service. They could accept up to 4 modules and the power supply was capable of running 3 at once. They generally covered HF but there were VHF, and SSB modules also. There were provisions for 2 modulators, and remote rotary dial control. Control wiring was a nightmare.The unit I had was sold to WI state patrol in 1962 and was pretty much obsolete by the time it was installed. It coordinated with neighboring states to run data on RTTY. It worked great on AM.
Skip
Logged
W4AAB
Member

Offline Offline

Posts: 314


« Reply #5 on: August 06, 2011, 04:51:30 AM »

Back in the late 1970's when I lived in Alabama, there was a store that sold"amatuer amplifiers". They had one of the 99's.It wound up on 11m in a neighboring town. The guy built a building around it like an outhouse. I never saw the setup myself, but I do remember when the business was sold, the whole 99 sold for $300.The guy who owned the business had the original books on it. Seems like the company name on the 99 read Wilcox-Gay. Come to think of it, I believe that unit was a Model 66-B, not a 99.
Logged
KM1H
Contributing
Member
*
Offline Offline

Posts: 3519



« Reply #6 on: August 06, 2011, 09:37:09 AM »

Those were all over the surplus markets as cheap parts amps as they were impossible to de TVI.

Carl

Logged
Todd, KA1KAQ
Administrator
Member

Offline Offline

Posts: 4310


AMbassador


« Reply #7 on: August 06, 2011, 11:52:04 AM »

Skip nailed it, it's indeed the Wilcox 99. Had one for years that I sold to a list member in NY just before moving south. Was the size of a portly refrigerator and even had a similar door and latch for the top half of the transmitter. 4 plug in units inside along with an old rotary telephone dial for selection. Bank of 4 meters across the top behind glass. Easily weighed 1000 lbs with the iron. I remember a crew of us laying on the tailgate of my dad's truck edgewise with the iron and drawers removed to slide it in, at which point the tailgate folded in half.

One of the best made units I've ever seen. That thing was so packed with quality parts it could've easily spawned several homebrew rigs. Mine had some mild cannibalizing done to a couple of the doors, parts unbolted and missing. I remember it had either quarter or half inch tubing running along the tops of the stand off insulators inside instead of wire. Each drawer used a number is handy parts, including those big neutralizing caps with the can-inside-a-can scheme made by Johnson or National. A lot of cool linkages and hardware, too.

The one I had needed a paint job and good cleaning up, but was probably 95% complete missing only some drawer parts. Quite an impressive beast. Hope the new owner gets it on the air someday. Could never find complete drawers when I owned it but have seen maybe half a dozen in the last 3 years.
Logged

known as The Voice of Vermont in a previous life
k4kyv
Contributing Member
Don
Member

Offline Offline

Posts: 10057



« Reply #8 on: August 06, 2011, 12:29:44 PM »

John's used plug-in coils. He had a whole trunk full of coils that went with his unit. He moved house one year, and hired a professional mover to do the job. The transmitter arrived at the new location intact, but the trunk full of plug-in coils disappeared off the face of the earth. He finally let Jerry have it.  Reportedly, Jerry has homebrewed a set of coils for 75m and has it on the air.

Too bad those rigs that got parted out or trashed because of TVI didn't make it to the day when most people had cable and now that most over-the-air TV is UHF and digital. 
Logged

Don, K4KYV                                       AMI#5
Licensed since 1959 and not happy to be back on AM...    Never got off AM in the first place.

- - -
This message was typed using the DVORAK keyboard layout.
http://www.mwbrooks.com/dvorak
KE6DF
Member

Offline Offline

Posts: 784


WWW
« Reply #9 on: August 06, 2011, 12:37:17 PM »

I have a modulation transformer from a Wilcox 99.

It's a autotransformer and used a pair of 813's (triode connected, I think) to modulate the 250TL.

Dave
Logged

WBear2GCR
Member

Offline Offline

Posts: 4135


Brrrr- it's cold in the shack! Fire up the BIG RIG


WWW
« Reply #10 on: August 06, 2011, 11:14:58 PM »


I have that exact unit... bought it cheap decades ago at some hamfest or another. Many of the tubes were missing. The large hole in that unit is an 813 iirc... I was always unsure of exactly what functions this module performed. I take it to be an RF "exciter" more or less...

But it has outstanding parts!

Look at the neutralizing condensor! The shaft couplers. The Veeder Root counter. The tube sockets, etc, etc, etc...

Never had the heart to take it apart! Too nice! Cheesy

                    _-_-bear
Logged

_-_- bear WB2GCR                   http://www.bearlabs.com
K6DUY
Guest
« Reply #11 on: August 07, 2011, 12:19:39 PM »

Sunday-Aug.7th
Well it looks like the gang nailed down the identification of the RF Deck.
Thank you one and all.. the mystery has been solved.
Since I have enough projects to last a life time, I don't need another so this Deck will be going out the door.
73 -Bill
Logged
Todd, KA1KAQ
Administrator
Member

Offline Offline

Posts: 4310


AMbassador


« Reply #12 on: August 07, 2011, 12:49:54 PM »

And 250TLs aren't as plentiful as they once were.

Hopefully you'll be able to locate someone with a model 99 who can put it to use rather than tearing it down for parts. If not, someone will have a good time and well-stocked junk box as a result.
Logged

known as The Voice of Vermont in a previous life
K6DUY
Guest
« Reply #13 on: August 07, 2011, 01:33:46 PM »

Hey Todd,  hopefully someone out there will have a need for it. It's all together, nothing missing. I'll see what "Electric Radio" produces.
Bill
Logged
w3jn
Johnny Novice
Administrator
Member

Offline Offline

Posts: 4620



« Reply #14 on: August 07, 2011, 02:08:13 PM »

I have the mod deck for either the 96 or the 99.  Pair of 813s, but the mod transformer mounts somewhere else.  It's the entire low level audio chain + fil xformer for the 813s.
Logged

FCC:  "The record is devoid of a demonstrated nexus between Morse code proficiency and on-the-air conduct."
KE6DF
Member

Offline Offline

Posts: 784


WWW
« Reply #15 on: August 07, 2011, 02:46:20 PM »

I have the mod deck for either the 96 or the 99.  Pair of 813s, but the mod transformer mounts somewhere else.  It's the entire low level audio chain + fil xformer for the 813s.

There was one of those mod decks for sale on ePay a couple months ago. I might have bought it, but the seller set the starting bid higher than I wanted to pay.
Logged

Todd, KA1KAQ
Administrator
Member

Offline Offline

Posts: 4310


AMbassador


« Reply #16 on: August 07, 2011, 03:42:10 PM »

I have the mod deck for either the 96 or the 99.  Pair of 813s, but the mod transformer mounts somewhere else.  It's the entire low level audio chain + fil xformer for the 813s.

Sounds like the 99. I had that deck and several other bits upstairs in the carriage house in VT when you 'n Stevo stopped by the first time. You might've seen it up thar. Gray deck with orange ID plates attached. It mounted in the lower section of the transmitter just above the iron. Had to drag it all back down the stairs and back up to Billtown where the main transmitter was stored before the new owner had it picked up.

Hey Todd,  hopefully someone out there will have a need for it. It's all together, nothing missing. I'll see what "Electric Radio" produces.

You might try listing it in the Classifieds section on here too, Bill. The fellow who bought mine is in 2 Land and a member of the board who logs in regularly. I'll drop him a PM to see if he's interested. I think that deck and a manual would pretty much complete his transmitter.
Logged

known as The Voice of Vermont in a previous life
K6DUY
Guest
« Reply #17 on: August 07, 2011, 05:43:32 PM »

Thanks Todd, I'll heed your advice.
Bill
Logged
John K5PRO
Member

Offline Offline

Posts: 1033



« Reply #18 on: August 08, 2011, 04:00:45 PM »

Yes that's a 99 chassis. I have a Wilcox 96D and it is different. The paint jobs are similar, and the quality of parts.
Logged
Pages: [1]   Go Up
  Print  
 
Jump to:  

AMfone - Dedicated to Amplitude Modulation on the Amateur Radio Bands
 AMfone © 2001-2015
Powered by SMF 1.1.21 | SMF © 2015, Simple Machines
Page created in 0.142 seconds with 18 queries.