Curt, just a note to let you know how much I enjoyed your article on restoring the old Gates FM transmitter.
It brought back memories of when I worked for WCMQ in Miami. We had a modern solid-state AM transmitter but no backup, so I purchased a used Gates AM tube-type transmitter. I no longer remember the model number. It was huge by comparison with the solid-state transmitter. I spent several weeks at the transmitter going over every part and cleaning and or replacing and making the old box look like new.
The only time that I remember using it on the air was during a hurricane. We leased space to another AM station and diplexed their signal along with ours onto our tower. During the hurricane, something changed in the antenna combiner that changed the antenna impedance to the solid-state transmitter and it folded back to nearly zero power. However, the old tube-type just played on.
Thanks for the memories.
E. Glynn Walden
Senior Vice President of Engineering
CBS Radio
Philadelphia
