[BC] 25 Hz AC Transmitter

[Mark Humphrey]

On 12/8/06, r j carpenter <rcarpen1 at verizon.net> wrote:
> From: DHultsman5 at aol.com says:

> REL (Radio Engineering Labs) appeared to be the "appointed" / "official"
> FM manufacturer.  You'll find lots about REL along with their ads in
> Milton Sleeper's old "FM" and "FM & Television" magazine.


More background on REL history is here:

http://www.radioclubofamerica.org/people.php?page=frank_gunther.html

I had the opportunity to chat with Frank Gunther at a Radio Club of
America banquet before he passed on.   From what I gather, Major
Armstrong worked very closely with REL, and their exciter was based on
his phase-shift modulator patent, so that's the connection.

> The Rural Radio Network was mostly equipped with GE gear.  They used REL
> receivers for off-the-air relay.  Things must have sounded pretty ratty
> after 3 or 4 hops, all analog of course.  I've scanned the "FM" magazine
> articles about the RRN, but I understand it was far too large for
> Barry's site.  I don't know where the files are now.

I have that article and a bunch of other RRN material, including some
old pictures and airchecks, and FCC licnese files contributed by Xen
Scott.  Hope to have a profile posted on my website after the
holidays.

The article claims RRN was able to maintain less than 1% THD from end
to end -- but considering they were using Phasitron exciters, I'm
doubtful that it met that spec at 50 "cycles"!

Most programming originated from the downtown Ithaca studio, so it
would usually make one STL hop, then two rebroadcast hops before
reaching the outer stations.  The original receive antennas at each
site were big Hoisington co-linear arrays, later replaced with yagis.
After Pat Robertson (CBN) took over the network in 1969, the off-air
relay system was replaced with Moseley 303 STLs at all stations except
WJIV in Cherry Valley, which continued to take an off-air signal from
DeRuyter.

When I was contract engineer for the Wethersfield station in the late
'70s, the original REL receiver had been replaced with a McMartin, for
backup use in case the Moseley failed.

Mark