[Boatanchors] Plexiglass and the 1935 Station Project.

[David Stinson]

First- let me thank everyone for the great suggestions on 
working Plexiglass or Lexan.  These lists are the best!

Several have asked me for more details on this,
and why the Plexiglass.

I'm building a 1935-era station and want it to represent
what a young, new ham would actually have used to 
make his first QSOs.  The old magazines and 
boatanchor sites are full of big, multi-transformer,
multi-chassis, then-state-of-the-art transmitters.
Well, in 1935, only guys who were rich could
build such a transmitter.  Average young boys who were
in love with the magic of radio had no access to big money.
If they were going to have a transmitter at all, they'd have to 
build it from scavenged parts and pieces given them 
by older hams.  They'd have one transmitting tube if 
they were lucky;  they usually had to make-do with 
receiver tubes.  They'd build it on a wooden board,
not an expensive metal box.  And lots of youngsters
worked the world with those simple transmitters.

There are lots of those"rich man" transmitters still around
and they're beautiful machines, but I wanted to build
a typical "po-boy" rig to go with my new HRO and
see how it would do.  While I've got it on the air now and
have worked several states, I've still got lots of "finishing"
work to do.  I want to use Plexiglass as the top 2/3rds 
of the rack-mount front panel so I can enjoy the bright
glow of that big 1930s bottle.  Here are drawings of
the transmitter and station build concept:

http://home.netcom.com/~arc5/HRO/1935stncpt.jpg
http://home.netcom.com/~arc5/HRO/1935txcncpt.jpg

The red thing under the receiver is a small op desk,
which will hold the key and a small crystal rack,
in which I want to put the CM-2 and BC-2 
crystal holders.  The TX supply will be in 
the rack under the table.
The Plexiglass sheet has a window on the left;
you can reach-in and change the crystal in 
*relative* safety.  You'd have to twist your hand
around and try hard to reach any B+ 
from the window.

Lunch is over... Back to work!

73 DE Dave AB5S