Valley Engineering Co, Los Alamos, NM

[John K5PRO]

Their model 140 looks interesting, in a vertical form factor. Has anyone ever seen one of these in the flesh? Since I work 'on the hill' I needed a clue. I need to find one! Someone I work with gave me this receipt he had from 1967, attached. They sold stereo gear as well, but that was 13 years after the transmitter business.

[w4bfs]

good luck on this one, John ..... never seen one of these

[Pete, WA2CWA]

I seem to remember something similar appearing in QST or the Handbook as a construction article back in the early 50's. Maybe this guy(s)  decided to do some basement or garage manufacturing. According to Moore's info from the picture, it was only round for a year. Looks like simple aluminum/sheet metal box.

[KA2DZT]

I think I have the turntable,  never heard of the xmtr.

[KA0HCP]

I searched half the QST's for '54 and '55.  No adverts.  An keyword search found nothing as well.

Jan 1954 for CQ found this advert.  There is a similar ad with just the photo on right in the Dec 54 edition.  I'll do more searching later.  This should be an encouragement.   bill

[edit: added Dec advert]

[KA0HCP]

There may be more ads in 1954, I didn't check every issue.  Checked half the CQ 1955 issues, and found no ads.  b.

[John K5PRO]

Thermonuclear! Those CQ adverts are really interesting. Note the PO Box 2. Los Alamos was a closed city at that time, with a gate and guards. Valley Engineering was most likely the sideline project of some employee(s) at the scientific laboratory, or their familites. In the Manhattan project (10 years earlier) the address was only PO Box 1663, Santa Fe, for everyone who worked there.

[Pete, WA2CWA]

Maybe they didn't believe in using on-board metering. Tune up by watching the glow.

The transmitter I was thinking about was designed by Chambers (parallel 6146's, driven by 5763, and 5763 buffer) and written up in June 1955. At least it had a meter.

[KA0HCP]

I checked the rest of CQ 1954.  No different ads.

BTW, $89.50 in 1954 equals $777 in 2014 dollars!

[Steve - K4HX]

Valley Engineering at 7000 feet elevation? 

[John K5PRO]

Maybe they had them built down here in the Rio Grande valley, where my QTH is located. Labor is cheaper...
Still 5600 feet ASL though, and Denver claims to be the mile hi city. We're the mile hi valley.

[Pete, WA2CWA]

Maybe the builder/ designer's name was "Valley".

[Steve - K4HX]

Albuquerque is a mile high city.

[W3RSW]

Rhodes' "The Making of the Atomic Bomb" has a good description of wartime Los Alamos and I believe there was a plateau of labs, a valley and then the residential area with bachelor barracks, etc.  Can't remember fully.   I'll have to dig it out to review.  Few living there at the time except for the chosen were enamored with the place.

[John K5PRO]

In 1954, when Castle Bravo (below) was exploded, the cold war was in force. To live in Los Alamos, you had to be employed there, or supporting the lab. Who knows about Vallenco, what they were doing at PO Box 2.

Los Alamos today is an atypical town still, with one McDonalds, a Radio Shack (maybe), and enough restaurants to count on both hands, even with two Starbucks now. Its a "company" town, and one whim of Congress can change the value of real estate quickly. A pretty safe place to raise a family though, with spectacular mountain scenery. No more of the old wooden buildings downtown that were in Rhodes' books, but some of the apartment buildings still have that cold war look.

http://www.atomicarchive.com/History/coldwar/page06.shtml