Told you that Buffalo NY was DuMont country!

Good God almighty, this thing weighs more than a lawn tractor.

I'm now the proud owner of a Dumont Sherwood RA-101! The guy I bought it from rescued it from a huge garbage pile, and we loaded it in my van from the 6th floor of a theater company in downtown Buffalo. He assumed it was used as a stage prop, but there's no way someone would buy a monster like this for just that.

It's got to weigh at least 300 lb. At the very least. and FORTY FOUR tubes.

Unfortunately, it's too big for my house and will be up for sale soon. Picture tube seems to have decent emission.

http://www.radiomuseum.org/r/dumont_la_sherwood_ra_101a.html

From the radiomuseum website: "Several Westminster sets are known to have survived; it is unknown whether any of the other versions can still be found today. "

I assume that I have something rare and great in hand :D. I have NEVER seen such a well built monster outside of ETF.

These are the pics from the Craigslist listing. I'll take some better ones when I can recruit a few neighbors to help me lift it out of the van and on to furniture dollies. Complete with both backs, and is in what I'd call pretty darn nice shape!

Great Job Tim, This is worthy of Museum Preservation.

but I have to ask...

How clueless could someone be to put something like this on a trash pile?????

Aaaaugh!

Moving out of a 2nd floor unit is more and more attractive every day... :tears:

Can you find something smaller next time so that I could at least entertain the idea of acquiring it?


If you can get some serious photos of that I'd totally run it through a large-format printer and make a poster out of it, since I can't physically have it, I could at least admire it. Beautiful doesn't even begin to describe it...

Great Job Tim, This is worthy of Museum Preservation.

but I have to ask...

How clueless could someone be to put something like this on a trash pile?????

This is the story.....

A couple musicians in their 20s were retained by the theater to clean out over 50 years worth of props.....everything from the usual costumes to an exact reproduction of an electric chair used in Sing Sing prison. Everything was tossed in one gigantic warehouse room on the first floor of the back of this immense theater, which the owner of the building wanted cleaned out to rent.

When I got up to the organized room on the 6th floor, there was TONS of antique and vintage furniture, kitchen stuff, etc. He said that this was only one of 2 TVs there, the other I saw, which was a late 50s RCA Sportable in semi-rough shape. Most of it they were still going through, and I had limited time (and funds, after buying this thing), so I didn't opt for the grand tour.

I don't know how the kids were being paid or whatever, but the owner just wanted all this stuff gone. And here it is :)

Very Nice find I would be very intersted in that TV. Are you going to list on
Ebay? I would hire a shipping company. What a find!
Mike

Not sure yet. Much as I'd love to keep it, I know that it needs to go to a better place.

This might be a set worthy of someone restuffing the wax caps, and while my restoration skills are decent, this is a set that I realize is probably way beyond my abilities.

did they use Stromberg Carlson record players in Dumont's?

What CRT does it use?

15AP4. Showed so-so emissions when I checked it right there, but I think it'll wake up :)

That is beautiful. I hope it goes to a good home. I would so love to have that though. I wonder how much shipping to Arizona would be for that.

Just checked in the back. This is the RA-101-A chassis. I looked quickly, but I saw what looked like a pair of Westinghouse WL-807 tubes on the chassis. Big honkers with ceramic bases.

"Versions with the -A suffix use a dangerous 60 Hz 4.4 kV transformer and a dual 2X2 voltage doubler to supply 12 kV DC to the CRT anode."

Yup, not plugging it in :)

I also have what appear to be the engineering blueprints of the schematic of the set. Each foldout diagram is a couple feet in length, at least.

That's a great find!
So which version is it? A or B?

It's an "A". We posted at the same time...see above :)

tv phono am fm sw vhf air - vhf hi - vhf marine , geez this thing almost covers everything

Shot some pics while I was on lunch. The coffee cup in the blueprint diagrams is to illustrate size.

This is a rare find indeed.

More....

That thing is a MONSTER! It's actually a prewar set, which was halted before production and held over for the '46 model year. I had one which was rescued from the home of Lon Cheney Jr. when they were bulldozing it about 20 years ago. The DuMont was so heavy, that the developer's cleanout crew just left in the house to get bulldozed. Luckily, someone on the demolition crew recognized it, and it was saved. I got it working nicely, but loaned/gave it to a collector friend due to space problems. WATCH OUT: That set has a direct HV power supply, which will deliver a fatal amount of current, AND it has big enough oil-filled caps to pose a fatal shock hazard as well...

Charles

And....more! Bear in mind that it hasn't been cleaned up, and as you can see, it's still in the van :)

WATCH OUT: That set has a direct HV power supply, which will deliver a fatal amount of current, AND it has big enough oil-filled caps to pose a fatal shock hazard as well...

Charles

I have no intentions on working on this set, nor powering it up. This set scares me :D

What a fantastic find! That is a rare, rare bird right there. Awesome set that should be restored to its original glory and end up in a museum!! :D

Wow, incredible! I bet that thing caused the 1965 blackout.

Definitely worthy of restoring. I thought only bakelite sets attracted white paint splatters, but I guess this one did too. Lucky it wasn't used as a prop because somebody might have taken the chassis out and dumped them to lighten it.

Great save Tim. There are relatively vert few of us who don't view these as "old junk". My Sherwood came from NY State as well about 4 years ago and is also an "A". There was one for sale in NJ several years ago but the guy wanted way too much money for it, don't know it's fate. My set also had the large schematics with it so I guess they were provided with the units. I see yours was upgraded at some point with a Garrard multi-speed changer as the original was a Webster-Chicago model 56 that only played 78's. My PS chassis has 203960 engraved in it.

Did you ever manage to get yours working?

I like to fall in love with the radio!:smsex:
So many knobs, so many push buttons!:o

TV-collector :stupid:

Fantastic! I think I wrote the text on Radiomuseum about it not being known if any RA-101's other than a few Westminsters have survived. I'll have to update the text now that I know a few Sherwood's have also survived. Is anyone aware of any other RA-101's out there other than Westminsters and these particular Sherwood's? I believe there are 3 or 4 Westminsters (one of which is mine).

These sets are so rare, unique, and technically elaborate that they deserve a level of notoriety higher than they seem to get.

The motorized tuning with wrap-around dial is quite something to behold!

I've got my Westminster up and running with a 19DP4 in place of the original 20BP4. The Sherwood used a 15AP4, as you have pointed out.

Given all the bands and that CBL push button how much ya wana bet it's 'cable ready' too.

Glad that is far away from me else I'd have a harder time resisting making an offer.

I think the CBL button is simply for a Canadian AM station. The buttons on that particular chassis would only be for BC or SW.

This one does indeed have the 60 Hz HV supply. I had not seen a pic of that yet.

Another thing that's interesting to note is that Buffalo didn't get television until mid-1948. Since the stations on the pushbuttons indicate that this set is native to the area, it must have been purchased long before there was anything to watch, and from out of the area (presumably).

I JUST SO HAPPEN to possess that deflection chassis and perhaps the signal chassis too !! With line-powwred doubled HV and all--from a BIG power tranny--JUST for HV. The ONLY line-powered HV set I have ever had--so far.

I got it at the ETF some years back. it was part of some "built-in" deal, all mounted in a steel rack. I am AMAZED that when my garage was robbed--that it did not get stolen. Probably it was too HEAVY for the idiots to steal--but i has a LOT of metal in it , as you know. The audio amp, which I had seperated to sell--DID indeed get stolen--but that is all.

I got it, feeling that somewhere--sometime--someone would need parts from it.

I have no intentions on working on this set, nor powering it up. This set scares me :D


Not NEAR as dangerous as a Microwave oven. Surely you have worked on those before. they have at LEAST 100 TIMES the current rate that this does !!

I JUST SO HAPPEN to possess that deflection chassis and perhaps the signal chassis too !!...

I was wondering if you still had that :) I snapped a photo of it when I was out your way to pick up some sets.

https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5504/14496639061_f9c7a3250a_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/o624JM)

Except for missing the middle chassis (audio amp, P-p 6L6's) still is intact.

one or more tubes on the deflection chassis HAVE gotten broken over the years..but that is aabout IT.

Shot some pics while I was on lunch. The coffee cup in the blueprint diagrams is to illustrate size.

This is a rare find indeed.


:thmbsp: Nice Score !!!

Funny , the first thing I noticed after seeing those two awesome 807's in there was the small tube (a 6SN7 perhaps) next to them appears gassy ..

PS , the 807 is one of my all time favorite tubes , I once built an audio amp using 8 of them ! ( 4 per channel in a 2+2 push pull configuration )

rca2000,

Looks like what you have is part of an RA-101 Custom, which would also be incredibly rare. Maybe the only survivor. You don't have the CRT for it?

The audio chassis has PP-PP 6V6's (4 tubes), not a pair of 6L6's, unless yours was different than mine.

And out of the clear blue, looks like sale is pending on this set!

Did you ever manage to get yours working?

I have not been able to make time to restore it. I recently retired so now I will have the time get to this and other sets that have been waiting.

Regarding the brute force HV supply, the engineers (or the lawyers :) )put a toggle switch on the chassis to turn it off during service.

I noticed in one of the photos that your set has a date written in pencil on the chassis. Mine does as well, 12/13/47.

Another thing that's interesting to note is that Buffalo didn't get television until mid-1948. Since the stations on the pushbuttons indicate that this set is native to the area, it must have been purchased long before there was anything to watch, and from out of the area (presumably).

Tim, In your initial post, you just answered your own question:


"....immense theater.....6th floor..."


For you youngsters who grew up in the cable TV age, in the early antenna TV era, the height matters and long feed wires sucked up the signal before it got to the TV, so you wanted the TV near the highest possible antenna! With almost no TV stations on the air DXing was not only possible, it was fun!

Back when your set was new, most interference came from pre-1930's light bulbs still in service and from any thing with motors that used brushes. When I was young, you could count the Fords driving by, just by watching the flickering thin black streaks on Howdy Doody, but at the same time from our hill 80 miles north of Memphis, we often could pickup Mexico City during the summer like it was a local channel!

I'll wager a plug nickel that the owner of this TV was whoever, in 1947, had an office on the top floor of that theater, most probably the manager of this theater or the building owner. This 1947 TV cost more than a new Chevrolet at the time, so he was well heeled!

Hmmm. I wonder which could pull in the weakest signal, this Du Mont or the same age RCA 630TS.

It'll be close, but my vote is for four video IF RCA on 300Ω twin-line over the five video IF Du Mont on 72/75Ω coax, but the coax will reduce a lot of the stray noise that plagued us back then. Now, if one had modern coax, it should beat the 1947 vintage stuff. It looks like your set owner used twin lead with a primitive matching transformer.

You wrote: "I also have what appear to be the engineering blueprints of the schematic of the set. Each foldout diagram is a couple feet in length, at least."

Are these actually blue prints (dark cyan, and not prone to fading, unless in the immediate presence of sulphur where they turn brown, as in contact with rubber bands) or Mimeographed (Dark blue-purple when new and fade to pink over the years)? If these differ from the copies on ETF, it might be nice to take good photographs of them.

I was surprised to find that the original uncrating instructions that came with my RA105 was Mimeographed instead of printed and it is now has almost completely faded out.

First, congratulations for saving the set, but am sorry that you had to sell it.

It will be a real fun toy for your potential buyer! With a pristine RA-105 Colony (newest tube is one 1956 5U4) sitting in my living room waiting for restoration, I'm completely out of the market for big antique TVs in the foreseeable future. I'm not allowed to touch it until I get my to do list done.

James.

did they use Stromberg Carlson record players in Dumont's?

That looks like a Garrard in the 101A. Stromberg did not manufacture record changers.
Looks like a multi-speed, maybe a retro-fit?
Super good chassis. I've looked at the schematic for both the 101 and 101A many times and had to control the drool LOL.
Kevin

Are the three large transformers for each of the possible chassis'...tv, radio, phono? The wattage sticker shows four wattage listings. Two for radio only. Or did I miss another transformer? What a great catch. Is it going to one of us?

IIRC, the amp chassis had it's own power tranny. not sure if the signal chassis has a power supply or not--or if it is fed from the amp or perhaps the deflection chassis.


And some of the iron on the deflection chassis are chokes I think. That "can thing" connected to the pates of the 807 tubes if the "horiz.out tranny" IIRC--behind it between those big oil caps is the HV power transformer and the rect. tubes next to it.

Up front is what I THINK is the main power transformer--maybe. I think the other iro9n are chokes....again, maybe. I have never really sat down and taken a real close look are my setup. ( I nearly got my HAND crushed by the top chassis, after getting to my old garage and getting a cursory look at it--the chassis was loose and almost crushed my hand..but THANKFULLY, missed by about a SECOND !!) the And do--I never got the CRT or any such hardware---no one seemed to have any idea of it's whereabouts. Likely LONG ago landfill fodder. That is where I feared that would be--had i not gotten it. It intrigued me with that line HV power supply.

Dumont sure did it different in those days--didn't they?


Our sets....4 chassis..probably 6 power trannies between them...enough metal to make a DOZEN contempary sets of the time period...more than double the tubes of many sets...more than about ANY color set !!

Someone likely paid as much as a CAR of the time--a DECENT car--would cost for that set--and mine too.

did they use Stromberg Carlson record players in Dumont's?

Webster-Chicago model 56 was the supplied changer.

I have not been able to make time to restore it. I recently retired so now I will have the time get to this and other sets that have been waiting.

Regarding the brute force HV supply, the engineers (or the lawyers :) )put a toggle switch on the chassis to turn it off during service.

I noticed in one of the photos that your set has a date written in pencil on the chassis. Mine does as well, 12/13/47.

BUT--did that switch simply remove power from the HV supply--and not discharge those big oil caps--because if there was no bleeder there--those caps could hold a HELL of a punch--all by themselves!!


I never really messed with mine. Like I said--I once tried to sell the amp, but it got stolen--along with most of my other amp and hi-fi stuff in the robbery. Mine DID use a pair of 6L6 tubes--of that I am sure. Seemed to be an AWFUL lot of "stuff" on that amp--for just an audio amp though, as I remember. WAY more tubes and iron than a normal amp would use. It (the rack of stuff--at LEAST 200 pounds of it) is in the new garage now--safe and sound again--minus that amp chassis.

First, congratulations for saving the set, but am sorry that you had to sell it.

It wasn't a matter of "having" to sell it, it was a matter of recognizing that it needed an owner that's much more advanced in repair than I, and has a greater appreciation of what the set *is*. Here, it would be appreciated but not raised up, and would most likely never be restored.

I myself tend to gravitate to the reliable, workaday televisions of the late 1940s and early 1950s that I can get to the point where I'm able to watch them on a daily basis if I want.

The person that came to me and offered to buy it is the same that bought the recent RA-101 on eBay. His is missing the radio face and other cosmetics which would be otherwise unobtanium. His plans are to remove them off this set and have exact reproductions made, and have the rare sets next to each other in restored condition and celebrated for the unique and special things they are. Now to me, there's no better place for this set to be :)

The most important thing about a collection of any sort, I think, is recognizing when something is truly deserving of a different surrounding than you could ever give it.

The rack mounted set is a RA-101 "Custom". We have two of them at the museum:

http://www.earlytelevision.org/dumont_ra-101.html

Steve, Thanks for posting this. Yet another set I should have bought. There's one of these in the back of a garage somewhere on Long Island. I found it years ago but had no way to get it home. It was overpriced at $50. Did anybody on here get it? AL

I have a healthy respect for high voltages.

That said, I'd love to own an RA-101 set.

Great find. Buffalo has some great sets!

I spotted the set on the Buffalo Craigslist. It looked like an RA101 but with a different cabinet. It did not look like a custom cabinet because of the labels.

Is it exactly the same as the "Westminster"?

I STILL stand by my point...our sets are dangerous--compared to a normal RF or flyback-type HV supply...but are STILL not anywhere near as dangerous as a microwave oven HV supply !!

It has ALWAYS mystified me--as to how so FEW people realize just how DANGEROUS microwave ovens are to work on..NOT because of 'radiation"--that issue is VERY minor-but because of VERY high-current high voltage levels--that would make ANY flyback-powered HV supply look PALE in comparison--shock-hazard wise !!

...but are STILL not anywhere near as dangerous as a microwave oven HV supply !!

It has ALWAYS mystified me--as to how so FEW people realize just how DANGEROUS microwave ovens are to work on..NOT because of 'radiation"--that issue is VERY minor-but because of VERY high-current high voltage levels--that would make ANY flyback-powered HV supply look PALE in comparison--shock-hazard wise !!

Also IIRC some microwave tubes contain gases that are EXTREMELY toxic to inhale (as in if you break it open, RUN).

IIRC, Dumont folded and sold out to Emerson or such--in the Early 1950's..These sets tell us WHY.

We all marvel at our Zenith sets, such as the flat-chassis SS color sets, the "tin can" Zenith sets and even the 60's model tube color sets. WHy? because they were built MUCH better--than any other at the time. And that Build quality is why there are still sets out there for us to find and get going.

Well--Dumont seemed to be even a STEP, or maybe TWO--above Zenith Quality of build!! 4 different chassis, just for a tv and radio !! HEAVY metal used throughout. As much as I hate to say it--WAAYYY "over complicated and over-engineered" . Almost "rube Goldbergish", to be honest. That deflection chassis seems to be built to ABOVE industrial standards !! And it, and that amp , or signal chassis ALONE_-are as as big as-or bigger than--many COMPLETE tv chassis from 1947.. SO much so--evidently--few could afford them-- Dumnt lost money.. and they merged into a MUCH cheaper-made set...with just the "brand" on them.

Sad...because the few "real" Dumont sets out there..are WAAYYY above pretty much ANYTHING else built !!

I STILL stand by my point...our sets are dangerous--compared to a normal RF or flyback-type HV supply...but are STILL not anywhere near as dangerous as a microwave oven HV supply !!

It has ALWAYS mystified me--as to how so FEW people realize just how DANGEROUS microwave ovens are to work on..NOT because of 'radiation"--that issue is VERY minor-but because of VERY high-current high voltage levels--that would make ANY flyback-powered HV supply look PALE in comparison--shock-hazard wise !!

I tried to work on an old Amana Radarange once. I disregarded the first two HV warning stickers, but when I got to the third, it was so scary looking that I stopped....

Great find. Buffalo has some great sets!

I spotted the set on the Buffalo Craigslist. It looked like an RA101 but with a different cabinet. It did not look like a custom cabinet because of the labels.

Is it exactly the same as the "Westminster"?

Totally different....well...in some regards. 15AP4 picture tube, different cabinet, etc. Moved it out of the van last night and on to two furniture dollies, wheeled it into the garage. I'll take a few more shots when I get chance.

I'll say it again. This is a HEAVY sucker....comparable I'd say to an RCA 8PCS41.

For a comparison between the various RA-101 models, read the information here at Radiomuseum: http://www.radiomuseum.org/r/dumont_la_sherwood_ra_101a.html .

Here's a few more photos. Note that the set is on two furniture dollies. No major issues with the cabinet, just a light refinishing would make it look great. Maybe even a couple coats of Howards......

Turntable isn't what I'd call a "pro" install, but at least they didn't seem to chop up anything.

Someone commented earlier that this was a prewar design. I don't think so. It may have been designed toward the end of the war, and not manufactured until 1946-47.

IIRC, Dumont folded and sold out to Emerson or such--in the Early 1950's..These sets tell us WHY.

Actually they folded in the late 50s. After the DuMont Television Network folded in 1956. They sold the TV manufacturing division to Emerson, and the rest of the company to Fairchild. The TV network dissapeared entirely. Emerson continued to sell DuMont branded sets well into the 1960s. Allen B. DuMont was certianly an important part of American TV history.

I STILL stand by my point...our sets are dangerous--compared to a normal RF or flyback-type HV supply...but are STILL not anywhere near as dangerous as a microwave oven HV supply !!

It has ALWAYS mystified me--as to how so FEW people realize just how DANGEROUS microwave ovens are to work on..NOT because of 'radiation"--that issue is VERY minor-but because of VERY high-current high voltage levels--that would make ANY flyback-powered HV supply look PALE in comparison--shock-hazard wise !!

Aint that the truth!!!

My dad brought home a LITTON (golden girls kitchen) Microwave with a broken HV diode that went from the cap to ground. While working on it, i got a bite from that capacitor and can still recall its intensity to this day..

WOW!!! WHAT A PUNCH!! :yikes:

SR

Was this Dumont a RA101 in a custom cabinet? Are any of these known to exist?
http://www.ebay.com/itm/261496913808?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649

Also IIRC some microwave tubes contain gases that are EXTREMELY toxic to inhale (as in if you break it open, RUN).

It's not so much the gasses, it's the beryllium oxide that they use to make those lovely pink ceramic insulators. That stuff is particularly carcinogenic and is just like asbestos in that it wedges in your lungs and doesn't ever leave. (but is relatively harmless if left undisturbed)

Don't breathe this!

Was this Dumont a RA101 in a custom cabinet? Are any of these known to exist?
http://www.ebay.com/itm/261496913808?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649
That's the "Club 20" which indeed has a lot in common with the RA-101 in terms of components, but was in fact a totally separate model with a cabinet supplied by Dumont. Intended for use in bars, etc.

More info here: http://www.radiomuseum.org/r/dumont_la_club_20_ra_106.html

This model is actually closer to the "Manchu" RA-105 than the RA-101, but still there is a lot in common, including the 20BP4 picture tube.

The Radiomuseum model page documents the survival of at least one of these in the possession of one Steven Quay. Anybody know him? I'm not aware of any other survivors of this model.

The cabinet style in the eBay ad is a little different than the set shown at Radiomuseum. One seems to have legs and a bottom speaker grille, the other doesn't.

Here is a another DuMont Club, with a 15 inch tube (RA-102-3B):

http://www.earlytelevision.org/dumont_ra-102-3b.html

Interesting -- this one has yet another cabinet style, with the large speaker on the side.

About the picture at:

http://www.videokarma.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=183301&d=1403628344

. . . . . Since the stations on the pushbuttons indicate that this set is native to the area. . . . .


I've tried to get late 1940s information here, as call signs, frequency and power has changed over the years:

WGR 550KC Buffalo, NY
CBL 740KC 50,000 Watts Toronto, Ontario, Canada
WBEN 930KC 5,000 Watts Buffalo, NY
WEBR 970KC Buffalo, NY
WNYC 830KC 1,000 Watt NYC, NY
( button missing )
WBNY 1440KC Buffalo, NY
WKBW 1480KC 50,000 Watts Buffalo, NY

OK, something is very wrong here!

Six stations are correct for Buffalo.

There is no way that WNYC, at the time a puny 1,000 watt public daytime-only station with transmitter located in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, could be received in Buffalo, especially since in the late 1940's also on the same 830KC frequency was 50,000 watt clear channel WCCO located in Minneapolis, Minnesota! WNYC is one of, if not the oldest public owned radio station still using the same call letters.

Me thinks someone grabbed an AM button from another TV set that was from NYC.

James

I had an RA-101A Westminster. With the dual 807s. Nice cosmetic condition with good crt.

Sold it. I would not power it up or restore it. Too dangerous.:smoke:

LESS dangerous than a ham radio amp, or microwave oven.....

The tag on mine says it's an RA-101A, but the sweep chassis has the RF supply. My guess is that at some point, the chassis was upgraded for whatever reason.

The 60 Hz HV supply in a normal RA-101A is dangerous, so you would certainly have to be careful with it. I agree that a ham radio amplifier or microwave oven is equally dangerous, but so as long as you're clear and correct in your understanding, and follow strict rules (like "one hand in the pocket" when working on live circuitry), you have an excellent chance of avoiding danger.

By the way, the current needed to be lethal is something like 100 mA, and anything over 10 mA is considered pretty dangerous. A typical RF HV supply can only supply something like 1 mA, so although it hurts, you're going to be OK. A 60 Hz supply could also be OK if it were properly current limited, but the filter capacitors unfortunately can unload a rapid pulse with quite high current, even if the supply can't sustain the higher current very long.

Once the supply is capable of providing 100 mA or so, it doesn't particularly matter if it can deliver 100 mA, 500 mA, or 1 amp. So it's not really correct to claim that power supplies that are capable of delivering higher currents are more lethal than something around 100 mA. Once you get to that level, it can be lethal.

Some good reading here: https://www.physics.ohio-state.edu/~p616/safety/fatal_current.html

I am not really sure what those 3 big oil caps are for n the RA-101, but my guess is 2 are used for the doubler and one is the final filter cap. They look AWFUL big--MUCH bigger than most microwave oven caps do. And the transformer is NOT a little one either. The whole deal looks MUCH, MUCH too heavy duty to just power the HV for a pix tube--it almost looks like it was adapted from an X-ray power supply or such. And YES--I FULLY agree it easily would be able--especially with those big oil caps--of delivering a lethal shock.

Nonetheless--if mine was complete--and with the tube--that would NOT prevent me from messing around with it. But it is not complete--and only useable as parts--or for experiments. And if someone here who has a 101 wanted to get it from me to use as parts for one of theirs--I would happily sell it.

.

There is no way that WNYC, at the time a puny 1,000 watt public daytime-only station with transmitter located in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, could be received in Buffalo, especially since in the late 1940's also on the same 830KC frequency was 50,000 watt clear channel WCCO located in Minneapolis, Minnesota! WNYC is one of, if not the oldest public owned radio station still using the same call letters.

Me thinks someone grabbed an AM button from another TV set that was from NYC.

James

Or, since Buffalo didn't get TV till 1948, the previous owner could have moved to Buffalo from NYC. People actually wanted to move to Buffalo back in those days :D

Does the dial *actually* move to 830 when the WNYC button is pushed? How about the one next to it that is missing the ID tag? I'm guessing that the buttons were set up in order of increasing frequency from left to right, and for whatever reason, the WNYC tag is just wrong. :scratch2:

jr