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Author Topic: Identify the Mystery Boat Anchor - Antique Tube Ham Radio Device  (Read 925 times)

WT5M

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Identify the Mystery Boat Anchor - Antique Tube Ham Radio Device
« on: December 26, 2022, 12:44:20 PM »

No tangible prize but you will certainly win the endless admiration of your friends if you can identify this old gear.    If I had to guess I'd say it was a home-brew filter or amplifier.   









-Mark
WT5M
Post Falls ID
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KB2WIG

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Re: Identify the Mystery Boat Anchor - Antique Tube Ham Radio Device
« Reply #1 on: December 26, 2022, 01:18:02 PM »

  TRF type receiver.

Adjust tube gain by changing filament voltage.
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K7AAT

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Re: Identify the Mystery Boat Anchor - Antique Tube Ham Radio Device
« Reply #2 on: December 26, 2022, 01:41:02 PM »

A very old TRF commercial receiver - not a ham receiver ...  took an A and a B battery.   I had one exactly like that in pristine condition when I was 16.  I very foolishly stripped it for parts .... something I regret to this very day 50 years later.
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KD0REQ

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Re: Identify the Mystery Boat Anchor - Antique Tube Ham Radio Device
« Reply #3 on: December 26, 2022, 02:04:43 PM »

pity they painted the cabinet, hard to tell who made it. headphones or horn speaker (horn on a high-impedance "can" element), there were lots of radios built in the 20s that had a similar form factor to the Atwater-Kent 20. this one uses variometers instead of capacitors for stage tuning. with the 01A tube, 1.5 volt A battery and 45 volt B battery for the plates.
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KC0W

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Re: Identify the Mystery Boat Anchor - Antique Tube Ham Radio Device
« Reply #4 on: December 26, 2022, 03:28:14 PM »

 It Looks Just Like A Telefunken U47.
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KF4HR

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Re: Identify the Mystery Boat Anchor - Antique Tube Ham Radio Device
« Reply #5 on: December 27, 2022, 05:38:35 AM »

The case, knobs, and connections on the back look very much like an AM broadcast receiver from the 1920's, perhaps an Atwater Kent model.
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K8AXW

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Re: Identify the Mystery Boat Anchor - Antique Tube Ham Radio Device
« Reply #6 on: December 27, 2022, 08:31:12 AM »

I can tell you what it ISN'T.  It ain't no "boat anchor"!
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WT5M

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Re: Identify the Mystery Boat Anchor - Antique Tube Ham Radio Device
« Reply #7 on: December 28, 2022, 03:56:18 PM »

I can tell you what it ISN'T.  It ain't no "boat anchor"!

I guess that would depend on the size of the boat? 

Thanks to all for participating in identifying this mystery gear.
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K8AXW

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Re: Identify the Mystery Boat Anchor - Antique Tube Ham Radio Device
« Reply #8 on: December 30, 2022, 08:54:42 AM »

WT5M:  Just to clarify my remarks OM.  A boat anchor is an old and heavy piece of gear of no value that might be considered for use as a row boat anchor.

Your photos are of an early antique radio that has value.  It might not work but like most antiques it represents an era long gone and should be preserved. But, I would bet you know this.   :)
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AC2EU

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Re: Identify the Mystery Boat Anchor - Antique Tube Ham Radio Device
« Reply #9 on: December 30, 2022, 10:27:24 AM »

Yes, a very early TRF broadcast receiver.
In fact, so early, it was before variable capacitors were used for tuning.
Instead, the cap is fixed and the coil induction was adjusted!
They called it a variometer.

With a little research, to find what voltages it needs, an antenna, and pair of phones, it will probably work!

WB0CJB

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Re: Identify the Mystery Boat Anchor - Antique Tube Ham Radio Device
« Reply #10 on: January 20, 2023, 08:49:10 PM »

Possibly an Atwater Kent Model 20 receiver.
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