Showing posts with label 1930's. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 1930's. Show all posts

Inside the G6YL Transmitter

G6YL QSL Card, 1933 Barbara Dunn, G6YL was the first British transmitting radio-lady - her amazing story and some beautiful old photos can be found here: "Tribute to Barbara Dunn".

When I came upon that page at the very first time, I've noticed the unusual transmitter with a spectacular Marconi vacuum tube (I prefer to use term "valve" in this case), described in the text as "Her original transmitter employed an L.S.5 in a Hartley circuit". Digging the Net I discovered (here), that that Hartley has been turned into the TPTG transmitter later. Unfortunately I had not found any more information about this radio - neither drawings, nor interior view. As it turned out then, my friend Lou, VE3AWA has looked for this information too, so we joined our efforts.

In a word, here it is:

TX Front Panel G6YL TX Inside View

I really appreciate Peter, G4XEX, volunteer operator at the RSGB National Radio Centre, who took these detailed photos and allowed me to publish them on the Internet. In email communications of August 2013, Peter told that he would help "in case anyone else wants pictures of anything we have at the NRC".

TNT Uncovered - Flea-Power (QRP) Telegraph Transmitter in the Pilot Radio's "Radio Design" magazine, 1930's

Pilot Radio And Tube Corporation, trade mark

I found this article in the Lloyds Dipsy Dumpster - site, where you can find a lot of rare vintage radio articles, manuals and data sheets.

It is remarkable, that "Pilot Radio & Tube Corporation", well known as a manufacturer of the great Super-Wasp receivers, was a publisher of a Ham-Radio literature, handbooks and magazines, as well as many of early radio manufacturing companies. As for me, I like that sort of advertising much more, than modern spam in my mailbox and if it would be possible, it should be a nice choice to make this QRP transmitter using a native Pilot's parts only.

Anyway, when I've read this article, one interesting fact has drawn my attention - I can recognize the TNT when I see a TNT design, but in the text this transmitter has been described as a TPTG.. Moreover, there is a grid capacitor on the assembles view, but with a opposite description below: "condenser is not needed". So, in the article we can see that mysterious moment, when as the chrysalis becomes the butterfly, TPTG transmitter was transformed into a trendy TNT.