[K6NCG] California Kilowatt Ground Radials

[petevanp at pacbell.net]

Don's story about the "Textbook" radial system brings to mind its 
likely predecessor.

A few years earlier, Nov 1963, I reported aboard TI for ET "A" school 
and shortly there after found the West side ham shack.  One of my 
first memories of how things ran at K6NCG was the work party to 
install the "Station Ground" and general purpose antenna radial 
system.

Sitting to the west of the building, yet still inside the fence, was a 
large spool of phosphor-bronze 5/8" wire rope with one end run into 
the building and attached to the large copper bus bar that ran around 
the inside perimeter of the building operating areas and work benches. 
My recollection is that it was a 500" spool, but it was a long time 
ago.

After completing the engineering surveys conducted by the more senior 
members and mass consumption of an appropriate amount of pizza, the 
grunt work was begun by the worker bees.  We made quick work out of 
sending the spool in a westerly direction until it departed the Island 
and disappeared into San Francisco Bay.

I have no idea what the taxpayers forked out for that spool, but I'm 
sure it wasn't inexpensive.

That was the not so textbook radial system that was in place when I 
left the island a year later.  I'm sure it was much improved by those 
that followed.  As an antenna radial I suspect it wasn't too 
effective, but it did make a dandy station ground!

...pete...
WA6UDU
Then WA9DTY
1963-1964

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Don Shelton" <djs at donshelton.net>
To: <k6ncg at mailman.qth.net>
Sent: Friday, June 21, 2013 5:35 PM
Subject: [K6NCG] K6NCG Linear - California Kilowatt


| As a young lad in Oklahoma (K5VCZ) I used to hear stories about the
| "California Kilowatts".
|
|
|
| In the fall of 1966 I found myself at TI as a SN T/E.  Remember when 
they
| told you were no longer a T/E.  Now you are an ET! It did not take 
long to
| notice and investigate the hamshack on the west shore.  I was always
| impressed with how well we got out.  We had a good tower, 140 feet 
as I
| recall, a TA-33 beam and one of those textbook ground radial 
systems. Some
| of the radials actually extended into the water of the bay.  Talk 
about a
| good ground!
|
|
|
| The linear was built into one of those old gray Steelcase desks.  It
| occupied the space normally reserved for the typewriter stand. 
Across the
| back of the desk was an impressive array of meters.  Grid current, 
Plate
| voltage (2 KV), plate current (500 mils) and an array of other 
indicators.
| It used four 4-400's.  I believe the Collins S-Line may have been 
the
| exciter.
|
|
|
| My father then K5YBP, later the original K5OK had a linear that ran 
1 KW,
| but it only used two 4-400's and they glowed a dull red.  K6NCG's 
four tubes
| ran nearly white hot!  This could indicate a problem like spurious
| oscillations.  My buddy (whose name escapes me) was also suspicious 
so one
| Saturday night after every one left we decided to find out what the 
problem
| might be.  We broke out the test equipment and discovered the plate 
voltage
| was 4.4 KV and there was one amp of plate current. There were "funny
| additions" on the back of the key meters.  I remember saying "So 
this is a
| California Kilowatt!"
|
|
|
|
|
| Don Shelton K5OK - EI8KE
|
| Garland, TX
|
| djs at donshelton.net
|
|
|
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