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Post by MonkeyMan on Aug 29, 2015 9:07:37 GMT -5
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Post by BBB on Aug 29, 2015 11:33:10 GMT -5
That makes me want to build a neon transformer spark gap transmitter to "fool you friends"
Let'e see I've got a few 15,000 volt 60 ma units around here somewhere...
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Sandbagger
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Post by Sandbagger on Aug 29, 2015 12:05:29 GMT -5
Yes, radio was never a hobby for the lean-of-funds set. That's why amateur radio clubs came into play in the early days. Early hams would pool their resources and share a club station, because the equipment was too expensive for the average guy to afford. WWII surplus changed some of that, as low cost parts and military radios enabled a whole lot of home brewing and allowed more people to have their own stations. Looks like Pottstown was on the map in the early days of radio. I'll have to see if I can find any information on that company, where it was, and what happened to it..... |
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Post by MonkeyMan on Aug 29, 2015 12:39:27 GMT -5
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Sandbagger
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Post by Sandbagger on Aug 29, 2015 18:51:10 GMT -5
Strange. That location is a rather unassuming residential building. Hardly the kind of place I would imagine a radio company would manufacture products from. binged.it/1JpyoIX |
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Post by MonkeyMan on Aug 29, 2015 19:38:53 GMT -5
Kinda what I thought. Maybe that was the store and they manufactured at a different location? Or they were private labeling someone else's equipment? Neither would be unusual.
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Sandbagger
Administrator/The Boss
Posts: 6,247
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Post by Sandbagger on Aug 29, 2015 21:11:34 GMT -5
Kinda what I thought. Maybe that was the store and they manufactured at a different location? Or they were private labeling someone else's equipment? Neither would be unusual. I had a thought that maybe that property was "recycled" from commercial to residential sometime between 1920 and now. But even as far back as 1942, that house is still there, so a re-purposed property is probably not the case. Maybe it's simply a case of that being the owner's residence, and where he had his ham station. |
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Post by MonkeyMan on Aug 29, 2015 22:00:27 GMT -5
I'll look up the year it was built, but it appears to be at least 100 years old.
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Post by MonkeyMan on Aug 30, 2015 11:29:48 GMT -5
I'll look up the year it was built, but it appears to be at least 100 years old. Year built, 1910. |
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Post by BBB on Aug 30, 2015 12:42:43 GMT -5
Didn't mean to hijack the thread, but talking about amateur radio costs made me think about the new systems. Yes, the Yaesu digital system incorporates analog devices when they're in use unlike D-Star, but I'm sensing that the digital system will stay "all digital mode" when only the digital rigs are in use. So if you have an analog radio and are just listening in, you will only hear digital noise/ static. I'm not sure if all you have to do is ker-chunk your analog radio on the repeater to get it to transmit the other digital-only radios in analog OTA signals. Oh well, I'm not a member over there and someday if I get into the hobby further and start a repeater, I have a few Henry brick amps that will work repeater duty. One being a CL100D2 rated at 100 watts at 460 MHz and a 130A02 at 147 MHz rated at 130 watts. Both are low key 1-5 watts. Neither have RF keying. FYI, local operator "Joel" has a 2 meter repeater in Limerick. Hey, maybe PAARC will have there old analog repeaters up for sale   These sites have some links to photos of the cool stuff they made in Pottstown, Pa: www.radiomuseum.org/m/radioappa4_usa_en_1.htmlwww.sparkmuseum.org/collections/the-beginning-of-radio-and-the-wireless-era-%281853-1920%29/long-wave-tuner/Looks like they made some tubes also: books.google.com/books?id=bi8iAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA327&lpg=PA327&dq=radio+apparatus+company,+pottstown,+pa&source=bl&ots=szLBh12Dtm&sig=xGXyItGCw3QGOu0Og-bHkbf1-dA&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0CEIQ6AEwB2oVChMI24D_0KzRxwIVhVU-Ch2N2wrw#v=onepage&q=radio%20apparatus%20company%2C%20pottstown%2C%20pa&f=false |
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Post by MonkeyMan on Aug 30, 2015 13:26:19 GMT -5
I'm going with the equipment privately labeled for this company. There was a ton of industry in Pottstown at the time, but I've never heard of it or even a manufacturer of radio equipment. I could be mistaken, but in the 20 some books I have on the local area there is no mention. That said, I'd love to get my hands on a piece for display in the house. I love when people come over and ask, "What the heck is that?".  |
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Post by BBB on Aug 31, 2015 9:15:18 GMT -5
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Post by MonkeyMan on Aug 31, 2015 14:52:34 GMT -5
No bids from this guy, but I did find this cool picture of a vintage shack whilst researching this company...  |
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Post by MonkeyMan on Sept 1, 2015 11:04:38 GMT -5
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Sandbagger
Administrator/The Boss
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Post by Sandbagger on Sept 1, 2015 12:10:37 GMT -5
Yea, for a seeming pioneer in early wireless communications, you would think there would be more information available. All I keep coming up with are links to magazine articles which mention the company and their products. Strangely, they never give a street address in those mentions. |
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Post by MonkeyMan on Sept 1, 2015 14:34:13 GMT -5
In a Google search of the address I came up with the name H. C. Kuser on this list of motor vehicle registrations. From that I found an old Mercury article connecting his name (and his brother) to the "American Radio Co", from that I found this... Google book |
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Sandbagger
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Post by Sandbagger on Sept 2, 2015 9:21:32 GMT -5
In a Google search of the address I came up with the name H. C. Kuser on this list of motor vehicle registrations. From that I found an old Mercury article connecting his name (and his brother) to the "American Radio Co", from that I found this... Google bookRats! Just when they were getting into the meat of the case, we run out of pages. Did the company stiff the client? Did they go bankrupt? Did some other issue crop up? Inquiring (and expiring) minds want to know....... |
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Post by MonkeyMan on Sept 2, 2015 19:57:01 GMT -5
I've Googled my butt off, but the trail goes nowhere.  |
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Sandbagger
Administrator/The Boss
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Post by Sandbagger on Sept 3, 2015 6:17:01 GMT -5
I've Googled my butt off, but the trail goes nowhere. I'll give you credit, you went down far more sidestreets in your searching than I did. I ran into the same roadblocks, trying to find out information on the company, and sort of lost interest in digging sideways...... |
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Post by MonkeyMan on Sept 3, 2015 7:07:46 GMT -5
Every once in a while I stop by the Pottstown Historical Society when they have their open houses, twice a month I think. I'll put it on my mental checklist to ask about it next time I go. Yeah, I'm persistent. Maybe even to a fault. |
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