[Boatanchors] Anybody remember the "Wobulator"?

[Phil]

The discussion about having to repair the test equipment before being 
able to repair your boatanchor reminds me of my first signal generator, 
which was given to me.

I was in my teens and I don't recall the make/model (Eico maybe?), but 
it was a sweep generator and used a "wobulator" to sweep it's 
frequency.  Said Wobulator was actually a speaker with a metal plate 
attached which formed one half of a capacitor.  If I recall correctly 
the speaker was actually just fed from the 60 CPs power line.  Looking 
back I think that maybe it was fed from the 6 Volt filament supply.  The 
more voltage you fed the speaker through a pot, the wider the sweep.

However, I never did figure out a practical use for that unit at the 
time as most of the radios I had were old AA5's, consoles and so forth.  
NO NEED to sweep the IF of those radios.  But it was a fun toy for a 
teenager interested in all things electronic.

-- 
73 de Phil,  KO6BB
http://ko6bb1.multiply.com/ (OTR Blog)
http://www.qsl.net/ko6bb/  (Web Page)

RADIOS:
Grundigs: Satellit 750 (2011), S-350 (2006)&   G6 (2011).
Kenwood: TS130S Transceiver (circa 1980).
Radio Shack: DX-380 digital portable (circa 1990).
Yaesu: Two FT-8800 Mobiles, VX8R Quad-Band (circa 2010).
Zenith: Royal-7000 Transoceanic (circa 1969).

ACCESSORIES: MFJ 1040C Pre-Selector, W9GR Audio DSP.
ANTENNA: 88' Long Ladder-line fed dipole, Apex at 35 feet.

Central California