[BC] OLD earlier solid state consoles the good, the bad, and the horrific

[Powell Way]

On Mar 31, 2009, at 9:36 AM, Mike Erickson wrote:

>McMartin.  Good transmitters, bad consoles.

WSCQ a few decades ago sent one to the junk yard. It was a steaming 
pile of cow manure and always had something wrong with it. And my 
friend who worked on it was an excellent engineer.  I have never 
heard anything good about them.  I had a couple of Spotmaster boards 
but they became el charro in the fire in late 2006.  The only rotory 
pot board I would even consider using, and I use one daily,  is a 
LPB. Anything else will be  a continuing headache.  I gave another 
radio station a BE board I had. I did it "he" wanted it. That model 
was a POS. I didn't want to throw it away. It looked too nice.  If 
you removed and replaced the modules on some of the Gates solid state 
consoles the connectors became unreliable.  A friend of mine, the one 
that junked the McMartin console, rebuilt the large RCA stereo 
console that WDOG  uses. He rebuilt all the circuitry and modules 
with modern (at the time ) solid state devices. It works well, but 
those folks were rough on the switches. He told them the next time 
they broke one, the charge they'd get would make it worth their while 
to buy a new console..... :)

I think the Yard and the Gatesway are interesting consoles. My above 
mentioned friend had a shell of a Dualux console. It would be cool to 
recreate it as a stereo console. It also would be quite expensive to do so.

I enjoyed using my above mentioned friend's Wheatstone console. It 
made me feel like I was working at modern 50,000 watt clear channel 
station or a major market FM station. I found that I had no trouble 
using it. There were a few things getting used to but they amazingly 
came rather quickly. I have a small LPB stereo console in my "recording room".

I use tube type radios daily. I also am responsible and can do their 
upkeep. Using tube stuff in daily use in broadcast is a different 
matter altogether. The same is for older solid state devices. For the 
solid state devices I would have them shotgunned. For tube type 
stuff, such as a Yard or Gatesway, I would replace all capacitors and 
resistors, and modifiy the power supply to use a solid state rectifier.

As I type I am listening to a Zenith 6 tube AC / DC set. It differs 
from the 5 tube ones, as there is an additional 12BA6 for the tuned 
RF stage. Model is H-615Z.  I never leave it on unattended. It has 
not been recapped. I had seen it at the antique mall store for 4 or 
so years. So, one day, being VERY bored, I determined, that if it 
worked I would purchase it. I plugged it in, and it lit up. I was 
surprised.  In a minute or so I was greeted to the sound of the neon 
signs and fluorescent lamps in that large metal building. So I 
figured it worked, and I bought it.  When I was down the road another 
10 or so miles I plugged it in at my friend's Husky rescue. My word!! 
It played WKDK fine which at around 20 miles at that location is not 
an easy task. I then turned the radio UP and could hear it at the end 
of the acre of the fenced in section.  Why the original filter is 
still good I do not know. I will recap it when needed. This on 
broadcast stuff I would NOT do.

Now for a radio for the dog, I leave a radio on, as she knows 
everyone at the station. The radio is a Sony  TR-712 "Handy Personal" 
from the late 1950's. It works well and uses 3 D cells. I had a stack 
of old red Panasonic carbon zinc batteries that were 10 or more years 
old. In 8 or more hours daily they lasted a month. Now I have 
alkaline batteries in there. Wanna wager on how long it will play???

So tossing it out, what is THE worst of the early solid state consoles.

Powell