SILENT KEY CHARLES JOSEY K4LNL



This page is in memory of Silent Key Charles Josey K4LNL, for his widow, Jo Ann K4LHO. Their house is in Macon, Georgia. Jo Ann has asked me to sell off Charles' beloved radio equipment. The last five or so years of his life, this equipment became his world. He built and maintained a commercial short-wave broadcasting station, still in operation, using mostly TMC equipment. It is licensed by the FCC as WWBS on 11.91 MHz at a power of 50 kW AM. People come from miles around to look at the craftsmanship in this hand-built station. Here are pictures of some of the equipment he had around his house. PLEASE NOTE: I HAVE NO TMC EQUIPMENT AT ALL. DON'T BOTHER TO ASK.



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This is a TMC Linear RF Amplifier model RFA-1A (or PAL 350A). I don't know the wattage, but it uses two Eimac 4CX250B drivers. My understanding is that it can put out 350 watts PEP all day and all night without straining. Jo Ann says it was in good working condition at the time of his death.

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This is the grandaddy of all amateur TMC transmitters. The GPT-750 is as clean and well-built a unit as I have ever seen. Charles built a modulator in the middle drawer. I know it works for AM, but Jo Ann wasn't sure about any of the other modes.

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"Portable Master Oscillator" model PMO-2, serial number 166. I really have no idea what this is. I assume it is some kind of very stable oven-controlled oscillator for the 2-8 MHz range, but I don't really know. Do you? Given the weight, I must say that it is not really very portable.

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This is one of the great, old general-coverage radio receivers made by TMC. It is in excellent condition. It works in all modes. The alignment seems quite close (not perfect, but quite good). It is a bit dusty, but is not scratched up. Charles replaced the 5U4 rectifier tube with two silicon rectifiers under the chassis and a 125-ohm dropping resistor. Comes with an original manual.

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There are two tags on the front of this that said "Antenna Tuning System, ATS 50-2, Serial Number 832" and "Monitor Control Unit MCU 50-2" (same serial number). It is connected to a Directional Coupler Unit CU 2/50V, serial number 8459. These were in the main power output path of the GPT-750. My understanding is that there is another piece to this which is an antenna tuner placed outside. That was missing. The dial on this is the most remarkable way of showing SWR and power on the same scale.

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This is a PAL-500 transmitter. It has the largest Eimac transmitting tube I have ever seen. I am told it is a PL-172 and is quite scarce. The tag calls it a Radio Frequency Amplifier AM-2785A/URA-36, Serial Number 2. It comes will all the power supplies and cables, including the big military "AT"-style connectors. It was alledged to be in operating condition. It shows signs of modification - maybe some kind of break-in circuit. See pictures for more details.

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This is an SBE-2A Transmitting Mode Selector. It also has another tag that says Exciter Unit A-1516A. Both tags give the serial number as 27100. It comes with power supply A-1397 and the cable that connects them together.

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This is a VOX-2 Variable Frequency Oscillator. I believe this is an ultra-stable master oscillator that may be used with most TMC transmitters and exciters.

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This is a Frequency-Shift Exciter, Model XFK.

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This is a Tone Information System, Model TIS-3. I'm not quite sure what these are for.

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This is a Tone Information System, Model TIS-3A.