Updated 4-17-2010

 
VINTAGE RADIO
May 2010 Column
www.K2TQN.com/

 
Lafayette Radio

Layfayette
1930's Lafayette ham Radio Pair

Professional 9 Superhet

This kit radio was also designed by Frank Lester and it came out in 1935, the same year National was selling the HRO. According to Lester, many hams who could afford a nice HRO still wanted to build their own receiver, so he made this kit.

Lafayette Trutest Transmitter

I found this nice 1937 Lafayette Truetest transmitter (Jr.) through a newsletter with photos of a radio meet I didn't attend.

The Trutest is a three stage transmitter producing 25-watts out on 20, 40, 80 or 160-meters, sold for $22.50 wired and tested with one set of coils. It's tube line up is a  triode 56 hot-cathode oscillator driving a 53 high-mu dual-triode with it's sections wired in parallel. This in turn drives a pair of 46 tubes connected in parallel. The power supply was an additional $8.50, or you could build your own.

front
rear view
rear
schematic

 

Thanks to Bruce and Charlotte Mager

My thanks to Bruce and Charlotte Mager of the Waves Radio Store in New York City, for sending a reprint of William Orr, W6SAI's article "1937 On the air for sixty-one dollars" along with the transmitter. From this I was able to find the original article by Frank Lester, W2AMJ, in the 1936 Short Wave Craft magazine. Frank worked in the radio department for the Wholesale Radio Service Co. at 100 Sixth Avenue in NYC. Frank and WRS produced a whole line of ham gear and was well known among hams.

K2TQN's Speaking Tour for this Year

I will be making a few presentations about the 1923 Bowdoin expedition, titled the “Wireless North Pole and the Adventures of Don Mix” with lots of the original photos. I regret not being able to go everywhere I have been invited.

          None scheduled at this writing.
John Dilks, K2TQN    125 Warf Road, Egg Harbor Township, NJ 08234-8501   e-mail: K2TQN@arrl.net