[Boatanchors] Capacitor Information?

[Michael D. Harmon]

Hi Folks,

I bought a big Rubbermaid bin of components from a Craigslist seller 
across town yesterday,
and have been going through the goodies trying to identify just exactly 
what I have.

One of the 'finds' in this box of junque is a pair of brand-new 
in-the-box Cardwell Condenser
Model 9801 capacitors.  These caps look like variable caps, but they are 
not.  They are air
dielectric fixed capacitors.

The caps have ceramic end-plates 2-1/4" X 2-1/4".  There are steel 
support posts at the four
corners, comprised of 6-32 threaded rod with 1/4" spacers.  There are 19 
plates spaced on
1/8" centers, separated by the spacers on the threaded rod.  Half of the 
plates are connected
to the upper-left and lower-right rods, and half are connected to the 
upper-right and lower-left
rods.  The end plates are secured with lockwashers and nuts at both ends 
of the capacitor,
with 1/4" of threads extending at one end of the cap and 1/2" at the 
other end.

I have never seen a fixed air-dielectric capacitor like this before.  I 
assume that they were
designed for use in a transmitter circuit, based upon the plate 
spacing.  According to my Tektronix
130 L-C meter, the value is approximately 155 pF.

Has anyone ever seen anything like this before?

Mike, WB0LDJ
mharmon at att dot net