Vintage Radio, Vintage Cars, Vintage Brain

Some "boatanchor" info I have collected

Boatanchors version of
Burstein-Applebee logo

radio gear suppliers 1927-80

1950's and 60's Ham Radio Gear at K4NYW

I got my Novice ham license KN4NYW around 1960. I built a Knight-kit SpanMaster regen receiver and a homebrew 6L6 transmitter - results were pretty pitiful! I later built a Knight R-55 receiver kit and homebrew 6 meter transmitter (6146 modulated by 6L6s). At some point I also acquired a BC-348 and Ameco 6m converter. I was active on 6 meters AM before college and afterward, but dropped out when I went back to grad school in 1972 and discovered the intriguing world of computer graphics.

I got active again around 1990 as KD4CPL (General, Advanced, & then Extra Class) and had great fun collecting, repairing, and operating gear I just read about and lusted after in earlier days. I was particularly interested in kit gear and at one time had one of every tube-type ham radio kit made by Heath, Knight, Eico, Johnson, Hallicrafters, WRL/Globe, & Lafayette - See photos below. Also see Heathkit ham gear collection

Here's a list of post-war tube-type ham radio kits

Here are photos of my Heathkit Apache/Mohawk era collection - one of everything

The earliest Heathkit I have is a Transmitter Power Supply with assembly instructions dated Jan 1948.

In 2007 I got really interested in Navy Radio and most all of my commercial gear has now been replaced by 1950's-60's Navy gear. I "upgraded" my call to K4NYW (which had never been issued to anyone) in Jan 2009. Here is info about my call's "namesake", Navy Radio D/F Station NYW.- Note - NYW was also the call sign for the WWI submarine L-10.

Station photos from around 1998-2001
- All this has now gone to new owners and been replaced by Navy radio gear

This was my main vintage operating position - Desks #1 and #2
bottom row: Mohawk, NC-303, SX-101, SX-88, HQ-170, NC-300 receivers
middle row: Apache, Ranger II, Valiant II, Valiant I, DX-100B transmitters
top row: Drake 2B, SX-117, R-388A, SX-62 receivers.
speakers: Hammarlund S-200, Heath AK-5, National NTS-2, NC-300TS,
Hallicrafters R-48A, R-46, R-46A, R-46B, Collins 270G-2

Another view of Desks #1 and #2 with some different gear in place. Desk #3 is to the right with a Drake C-Line, Ten-Tec Omni VI and various VHF and ATV gear.

This was my Hallicrafters heavy metal setup on Desk #2 - SX-88 receiver, HT-20 transmitter, & HT-18 VFO

Johnson Desk Kilowatt, found in a warehouse along with the Ranger and Valiant. It took about four rolls of paper towels and a gallon of Windex to clean off all the accumulated grime. The National HRO-60 was added later. In the background you can see Desk #4 with some Knight-kit gear - T-50, R-100, R-55, T-60, R-100A, T-150A

More vintage shack photos here