Modifying a 1950s AM Transmitter for Ham Radio
by ae2ea in Circuits > Electronics
1418 Views, 2 Favorites, 0 Comments
Modifying a 1950s AM Transmitter for Ham Radio
![Pt2 Thumb.png](/proxy/?url=https://content.instructables.com/F5O/C1G1/K9K8IUL2/F5OC1G1K9K8IUL2.png&filename=Pt2 Thumb.png)
There's something about old vacuum tube electronic equipment, it's kind of like steam locomotives, they're hot, inefficient maintenance nightmares, but totally seductive. I was able to acquire a mid 1950s RCA BTA-250M, 250 watt AM broadcast transmitter and set about converting it to the 160 meter ham radio band. Here's how I did it.
The Project Begins...
![Part 1 - Converting an AM Broadcast Transmitter for Ham Radio Use](/proxy/?url=https://content.instructables.com/FBO/IS8Z/K9K8IUEX/FBOIS8ZK9K8IUEX.jpg&filename=Part 1 - Converting an AM Broadcast Transmitter for Ham Radio Use)
Identify the Circuits Needing Modification...
![Part 2 - Converting an AM Broadcast Transmitter for Ham Radio Use](/proxy/?url=https://content.instructables.com/FNZ/BO9O/K9K8IX63/FNZBO9OK9K8IX63.jpg&filename=Part 2 - Converting an AM Broadcast Transmitter for Ham Radio Use)
Modifying the Tuned Circuits, Testing the Results
![Part 3 - Converting an AM Broadcast Transmitter for Ham Radio Use](/proxy/?url=https://content.instructables.com/F7O/4TM8/K9K8IY1S/F7O4TM8K9K8IY1S.jpg&filename=Part 3 - Converting an AM Broadcast Transmitter for Ham Radio Use)