[BC] History AEL/QEI/CCA Arno Meyer- Exciter?

[Mark Humphrey]

On 12/31/06, DHultsman5 at aol.com <DHultsman5 at aol.com> wrote:
>
> I believe that Charlies exciter from QEI was at one time in  CCA, AEL  and
> QEI transmitters.  At one time Arno Meyer had an exciter design that  was used
> by several compoany that was manufacturered by him and sold by  transmitter
> companies.    Mark  in Philly do you  recall?

It wouldn't surprise me.  I need to call Arno this week, so I'll ask
him and report back to the list.

Steve Hemphill, who put together the WA2XMN memorial to Major
Armstrong last year, also does design work for Belar and I believe he
played a role in developing some of the FM gear built by local
companies.

On related subjects:

--  When I worked for Temple University Public Radio, Bernie Wise
would see my badge at NAB and *always* mention that the *very first*
transmitter he built was a "one-off" for WRTI, back in the late '50s
when the facility was increased from the original Class D 10 watts to
790 W  -- or whatever the next step was -- so I guess this was the
birth of ITA.   (If anyone is serious about Harold's idea to research
transmitter "genealogy" and draw a family tree, Bernie would be a good
person to call!)

--  Dana is correct; LPB sold the re-labeled Wilkinson (formerly ITA)
Serrasoid exciter as their 10 watt educational FM transmitter.  I have
a copy of the old LPB catalog sheet for this product, it has an
amusing "modulation capability" plot --  showing that it barely
squeaked by at 50 Hz.

--  CCA's Serrasoid exciter was almost identical to ITA's, except CCA
used a GE 7984 Compactron as the final, rather than the "industry
standard"  6146.  I suspect this was a cost-saving measure; the
connection to the plate of the 7984 is through the base, rather than a
cap, so CCA eliminated the need to install a box on the front panel
for the plate tuning network.

--  The block diagram of the first CCA direct FM exciter is very
similar to that of RCA's BTE-10C.  However, CCA used transistors and
ICs for the FMO and AFC, whereas RCA used tubes and a magnetic
amplifier.  Both manufacturers stayed with tubes in the multiplier
"chain" and final RF stage.

Mark