78 year old transmitter needs a home.

[Nymrod121]

Oh dear. I've just realised that I'm in breach of Forum Rule F.1 - !! - but then again - perhaps I'm saved by F.3

Guy

[Skywave]

Reference post #2, 2nd. photo. It states:

Output = 50,000 watts
Freq. = 50 cycles.

Now that's what I call undertaking VLF transmissions seriously!

Al.

[Station X]

It doesn't say cycles per second though does it? I'll get me coat!

[Radio Wrangler]

It becomes very relevant when you stop to think of all the radios over all the years that played programmes from these transmitters. Without this far fewer would have been sold, far fewer people would care about them.

You could say we were all living in Auntie's pantry

50Hz? The antennae looked big to me as a kid, but not that big.

David

[russell_w_b]

Originally Posted by Nymrod121

These were started manually by the engineer standing in front of a live front switchboard and closing the supply isolator knife switches (+ and - sides of the 235v DC station supply) -

I suppose you had your 'doffing cap' to hand? I'm told there was one engineer, who shall remain nameless, who closed the blades a little to rapidly and stood there as they turned to hot coppery goo.

The big sets... Did the diesels need to be barred over prior to starting? Were they 11kV generators? Or is that d.c. rating plate you put up from one of the main supply machines?

[Nymrod121]

Hi Russell

No doffing cap ... yes, the engines did have to be barred over / no, they generated 235 volts DC, 1065 amperes @ 335 r.p.m. as per the plate / yes, I did once make the mistake whereby having inadvertently applied a slight bending moment to the first field switch (thereby misaligning the 'blade'), I pulled the handle back to re-engage it properly in the receiving contacts ... interrupting 500 amperes through the HT MG set motor armature. Oops.

Tony Norcliffe (the resident Transmitter Technician, watching from outside the switchboard area) witnessed the blinding blue flash and made a short comment (liberally sprinkled with Yorkshire-flavoured Anglo-Saxon seasoning) that left me in no doubt that 'Yours Truly' would be the one having to re-dress the blade and contact assembly during the next maintenance break

Al / David / Graham: regarding the frequency shown on T4's serial plate - I forgot to mention about the x24300 multiplier stage located in the Aerial Tuning House [ barges past Mod. in rush to get coat ]

Guy

[russell_w_b]

Thanks for that, Guy. It wasn't your name who was mentioned, oh, no, but hey - it happened!

I never got to Moorside Edge. Frank Johnston, ex-Moorside engineer, has put some super pics of the station on his 'Flickr' pages. John Tysiorowski used to regale us all with stories about it, and there're some pics of it at Skelton that he took.

[Radio Wrangler]

From growing up in Almondbury, Pole Moor was clearly visible just across the town.

By 'eck I got a good signal on a crystal set.

David