[Boatanchors] 40 Meters as new band in 50's

[BLIMPY]

Yes,
          I was talking about PHONE operation.  Since that is the only thing 
a Viking Mobile Transmitter does !

          Interesting to note that there is no provision for cw operation of 
the viking mobile, and no mention made of it in the manuals.

          These guys ran with puny 25-35 amp 6 v electrical systems in their 
cars ( nominal 7 volts at 30 amps = only 210 watts ! )
          Subtract engine, starting, battery charging, lights, bc 
reciever... and precious little is left to run  converter and transmitter 
filaments, vibrator supply,
dynamotor with relays and contactor, and maybe a motorized z-matcher or base 
loading device.

           If there had been a way to disable the modulator filament, speech 
amp, short the mod transformer - then considerable savings could have been 
realized in the overall current draw - in CW mode.  Reality has to set in 
somewhere.. and the reality is that there wasnt enough space, and the parts 
count and price  probably wasn't considered worth it for what - if we are to 
belive the name-  was concieved of purely as a MOBILE TRANSMITTER.

          Mobile Phone operation especially on 75.. was a really mainstream 
daytime activity - at least when I was growing up in the SF area in the 
mid-late 1950's.
It was the commuter's equivalent of 2 meter fm today.

         Mobile CW  was and it seems is.. pretty rare.  Too rare to move the 
price point .

          Clearly other makers took a different tack - offering radios 
designed to work either Mobile or Fixed.   These invariably included CW.  An 
example which was designed and built at about the same time - the 
Multi-Elmac  A-54  is a good example of the type.

          Other, better distinctions exist of course.  Particularly in tank 
circuit design and target loading Z.  Clearly the Viking Mobile is designed 
to work into the low Z presented by typical mobile antennas with reasonable 
efficiency... while the word deficiency better describes what multi-elmacs 
do in that arena.. despite being othewise good transmitters.