Collins 233D-3 Autotune Transmitter

[WBear2GCR]

Wow, I saw this listed in the ebay section here, but it really struck me and I thought it was worthy of mentioning and discussing. This is some rig, and the last picture in the auction shows Vern in his shack. It just set me to thinking...

[flintstone mop]

Very nice TX!!!
BIG tubes and lottsa power

[K5UJ]

We talked about that rig a little last night on 160.  That's a heck of a transmitter and I sure hope the only people who bid on it are hams who are genuinely capable of running it.   IOW, I hope it doesn't turn into a trophy war with the winner being some rich guy who just wanted it because it looks impressive and stashes it in a storage facility or some kind of museum because he has no resources to put it into operation.  

BTW, in the photo of Vern, what is the EF Johnson rig up on top of the console to his right?  Courier?  Looks too big to be a Courier.

[W1ATR]

That's a Johnson Thunderbolt.

[KE6DF]

We talked about that rig a little last night on 160.  That's a heck of a transmitter and I sure hope the only people who bid on it are hams who are genuinely capable of running it.   IOW, I hope it doesn't turn into a trophy war with the winner being some rich guy who just wanted it because it looks impressive and stashes it in a storage facility or some kind of museum because he has no resources to put it into operation.  

I agree, but given a choice, I'd rather see it in a museum than parted out and sold piecemeal.

I'd like to buy it, and I live close enough to Ventura to pick it up, but my wife would kill me if I did.

I have a second home in Phoenix that has 230V 3phase power, but if I stashed it there, my sister would kill me instead. (She is part owner of that house).

[Steve - K4HX]

Clearly too many women in your life.   

[WA1GFZ]

Bribe them with bling

[K3YA]

Thanks for moving this topic here for discussion, Bear.  What a beautiful old transmitter.  I figured that it would draw some attention when I found it posted on EBay.

A couple thing I found interesting were the two tone cabinets.  Wonder why the center one is a different shade of gray then the outer two?   Also, 3KW output on AM sounds like it's asking a lot of the 450TL's. 

Charlie

[WBear2GCR]

Heck of a box!

I noticed it seems to have a rotary dial on it!! With a Collins logo there too.

What was really interesting to me is/was "Vern's" story.
I was hoping someone knew...

                  _-_-bear

[ke7trp]

Thats brians rig. He used to run the ami net once in a while. Nice guy and a nice rig.

[Bill, KD0HG]

Thanks for moving this topic here for discussion, Bear.  What a beautiful old transmitter.  I figured that it would draw some attention when I found it posted on EBay.

A couple thing I found interesting were the two tone cabinets.  Wonder why the center one is a different shade of gray then the outer two?   Also, 3KW output on AM sounds like it's asking a lot of the 450TL's.  

Charlie

Good point. The similar Collins 231-D is also rated at 3 KW but used a pair of 750TLs in the PA. WA8LXJ owns one, it came out of the VOA facility in Bethany.

Bill

[ke7trp]

Its 3k input. Each 450tl is rated at 1250 watts each in class c modulated service.  2500am output. 450s are stout.

[K3YA]

I see it sold for $1000. A bargain in my opinion.  I guess the size scared folks away.  I hope we hear it on the air soon.

[flintstone mop]

A $1000.00??? Yes a very good deal. 3 phase power can be figured out.
Let's hope it doesn't get stashed somewhere never to be heard on the air.

Fred

[ke7trp]

I think its worth alot more.  However, Its in three 6 ft tall rack cabinets and is very complex.  Someone here can probably get the thing up and running but not me.

C

[K5UJ]

I am really surprised.  I expected a bidding war and the rig going for a lot more than a grand.  I would not have been surprised if it had gone for $5K to $10K.   You never know with eBay.

[ke7trp]

Me thinks an outside deal was made. The CCA had there panties in a wad over that thing.

C

[K5UJ]

I would have bought it and told them I'm parting it out just for the fun of seeing them flip out.

[The Slab Bacon]

Dont forgit that crating / shipping / logistics and shipping costs may have somewhat played into the sale pricing. Getting that thing relocated, unless you plan to do it yourself will cost some serious bux!!

I would have bought it and told them I'm parting it out just for the fun of seeing them flip out.

And besides, after some "dealings" with the CCA in my early days of playing with kwummy 2s and the screwing they tried to give me, it's fun to see them get their panties in a bunch! !

[NE4AM]

The transmitter was purchased by the Collins ARC and Rockwell Collins Museum in Cedar Rapids.  While plans are not final, it will be completely restored and there is a good likelihood that it will be put on the air at one of the club stations.  Regardless, it is going to a home where it will receive the treatment it deserves.

73 Dave

[The Slab Bacon]

Me thinks an outside deal was made. The CCA had there panties in a wad over that thing.
C

That whole thing reminds me of a personal story from some years ago................

We had a young fellow in the Mid Atlantic Antique Radio Club that was a tube collector. At that time he wanted an original globe / baloon shaped #50 so bad he could taste it. I just so happened to have one "laying around" that tested good on my emission tester.

He asked me what I wanted for it. I scratched my head for a minute and told him that I had no need for a 50 and would swap him for a tube that I could use. I told him: "Go to a hamfest and get me a used but usable 4-400, it will probably cost you around $10-20." "Do not waste your money on a new one, I'll wait."

Well.................. he couldn't wait, He bought a new chineese 400 from RF parts.
He then bugged the hell out of me untill we could get together, he was having a hyper fit. He wanted it reeaallllll bad!!!!! At the next meeting, we got together and he had to test it on his Hickcock tester before we consumated the deal.

Keeping in mind that this tube had been setting on my shelf for over 20 years without being lit off except once to test it before I handed it to him. He walked over to his table and tested it, and then walked back with a long face all down in the dumps.

He then tells me that it tested 1 graduation on the meter more gassy than he was happy with. (He was never going to use it for more than a display item anyway)
He then started to give me a hard time for trying to take advantage of him. I handed him back his NIB chineese 400 and bitched at him that all that I had asked for was a used one and he went and bought a new one.

While we were talking, I had the 50 in my hand and was going to "accidently"
(intentially) let it fall to the floor and bust just to see the look on his face. The club just then called me up front to give me an award so the 50 went into my coat pocket as I walked up and got spared it's execution. I later gave the 50 to Vortex Joe who was overjoyed to get it!!  The shame of it all was that just simply letting the filament burn for a 1/2 hour, and me rechecking it , it was fine.............

 

[Todd, KA1KAQ]

I think its worth alot more.  However, Its in three 6 ft tall rack cabinets and is very complex.  Someone here can probably get the thing up and running but not me.

It's only worth as much as the buyer is willing to pay. Unless you bought it for a lot more, it's not worth a lot more.

Good to hear that it's going to be saved and hopefully used going forward. More and more of these monster rigs seem to vanish due to the logistics more than the asking price. It's no small feat to move a large transmitter on a good day. Multiply it by three, stick it several thousand miles away on the opposite coast and the likelihood shrinks even more.

Dont forgit that crating / shipping / logistics and shipping costs may have somewhat played into the sale pricing. Getting that thing relocated, unless you plan to do it yourself will cost some serious bux!!

Indeed! In 2003 I made a 4900 mile round trip from Vermont to pick up a 300G in the SW corner of Colorado. The trip cost more than the transmitter which wasn't cheap, and took nearly 5 days. It was a single cabinet transmitter, so we were able to move it with a pickup and U-Haul trailer. When Steve/HX and I went to Syracuse to pick up G's 21E, it required renting a Penske lift gate truck R/T and pay higher diesel prices along with everything else. It was a full 3-4 days. I can't imagine what freight would be on either rig, or trying to move something like that without a lift gate.

So the cost of procuring is certainly only the tip of the iceberg. There's a whole lot more expense and other considerations well beyond just buying something. The AM community has grown, but it's still a mere fraction of the audience you'd have if selling a newer Yaecomwood. And beyond helping a friend, the few of us who have traveled the country hauling these beasts to new homes are less inclined to undertake such projects. The Spring Chicken in us appears to have beat a hasty escape after the first or second trip.

[W2XR]

Me thinks an outside deal was made. The CCA had there panties in a wad over that thing.
C

That whole thing reminds me of a personal story from some years ago................

We had a young fellow in the Mid Atlantic Antique Radio Club that was a tube collector. At that time he wanted an original globe / baloon shaped #50 so bad he could taste it. I just so happened to have one "laying around" that tested good on my emission tester.

He asked me what I wanted for it. I scratched my head for a minute and told him that I had no need for a 50 and would swap him for a tube that I could use. I told him: "Go to a hamfest and get me a used but usable 4-400, it will probably cost you around $10-20." "Do not waste your money on a new one, I'll wait."

Well.................. he couldn't wait, He bought a new chineese 400 from RF parts.
He then bugged the hell out of me untill we could get together, he was having a hyper fit. He wanted it reeaallllll bad!!!!! At the next meeting, we got together and he had to test it on his Hickcock tester before we consumated the deal.

Keeping in mind that this tube had been setting on my shelf for over 20 years without being lit off except once to test it before I handed it to him. He walked over to his table and tested it, and then walked back with a long face all down in the dumps.

He then tells me that it tested 1 graduation on the meter more gassy than he was happy with. (He was never going to use it for more than a display item anyway)
He then started to give me a hard time for trying to take advantage of him. I handed him back his NIB chineese 400 and bitched at him that all that I had asked for was a used one and he went and bought a new one.

While we were talking, I had the 50 in my hand and was going to "accidently"
(intentially) let it fall to the floor and bust just to see the look on his face. The club just then called me up front to give me an award so the 50 went into my coat pocket as I walked up and got spared it's execution. I later gave the 50 to Vortex Joe who was overjoyed to get it!!  The shame of it all was that just simply letting the filament burn for a 1/2 hour, and me rechecking it , it was fine.............

 

Hi Frank,

Type 50 directly-heated triode (DHT) tubes are in the same league to audiophiles (AKA audiophools), of which I am one, as the Western Electric 300B, the RCA 845, etc., and are priced accordingly. The globe or balloon 50s are the most desirable of the lot, and they generally do test gassy after being out of production since the mid-1930s.

I'm not usually a betting man, but I'll wager that "your young friend" was going to sell that 50 for big bucks to an audio enthusiast in Asia, where they command the highest prices. That was BS when he told you about just wanting to use the tube as a display piece, as evidenced by his wanting to test the tube first for emission and gas, and his resulting disappointment when the tube missed the grade. He knew he lost the sale at that point.

I had a bunch of 50s that I finally decided to sell. I had been acquiring them over the years for my own homebrew audio creations, but the plate resistance of the 50 is a little too high for my liking, and there are other DHTs that are better than the 50 anyway. So up they went on e-Bay a few years ago, and they all went to the Orient.

Just my $0.02.

73,

Bruce

[W7TFO]

Does anyone know if this particular transmitter was modified from 750tl's to 450tl's?

It would stand to reason as the larger tube is really hard to source today.

Otherwise (as noted before) 3kW modulated output would be spanking a pair of 450's pretty hard....

A museum may indeed be a good home for this, but generally museums leave me as cold as the gear in them. 

This beast deserves to be fed the proper AC power and run just like it did when new, not 'restored' as a dummy.

73DG

[The Slab Bacon]

Hi Frank,

Type 50 directly-heated triode (DHT) tubes are in the same league to audiophiles (AKA audiophools), of which I am one, as the Western Electric 300B, the RCA 845, etc., and are priced accordingly. The globe or balloon 50s are the most desirable of the lot, and they generally do test gassy after being out of production since the mid-1930s.

I'm not usually a betting man, but I'll wager that "your young friend" was going to sell that 50 for big bucks to an audio enthusiast in Asia, where they command the highest prices. That was BS when he told you about just wanting to use the tube as a display piece, as evidenced by his wanting to test the tube first for emission and gas, and his resulting disappointment when the tube missed the grade. He knew he lost the sale at that point.

I had a bunch of 50s that I finally decided to sell. I had been acquiring them over the years for my own homebrew audio creations, but the plate resistance of the 50 is a little too high for my liking, and there are other DHTs that are better than the 50 anyway. So up they went on e-Bay a few years ago, and they all went to the Orient.

Just my $0.02.

73,

Bruce

Bruce,
          Nah, I know the kid pretty well. (so does everyone else in the club) He wasn't going to flip it. He wanted one for his collection and didn't want to have to pay the audiophool price for it. He was actually a tube COLLECTOR. His goal was to have at least one of every tube ever made in his collection. I haven't been to a meeting since I got sick 2 years ago, so I dont know if he ever succeeded or not. I really wanted to see the look on his face when it hit the floor.....................