Recovery and Restoration of a T1509 Transmitter part 5.  January 2006

The Big Lift

< The first visit of January was to continue the general tidying of the transmitter unit.  This is a view of the modulator unit.

< The valve caps of the 813s had been removed by whoever stole the original valves, so in the absence of correct replacements, some were fabricated from brass strip.

With everything seemingly in order, the next problem was to get a 2 1/2 cwt lump back into a cabinet some five feet above ground level.  The next week was spent pondering the situation........

....and the contraption shown here was evolved.
Consisting of four lengths of Dexion bolted together in pairs and extended with a couple of 2 foot lengths of 2" angle iron, a piece of aerial pole held across the top with a pair of aerial U-bolts and a 2 ton chain hoist which I had relieved from a derelict abattoir some 20 years ago.  This whole structure was stabilised by two further lengths of angle iron bolted to the eyebolts on the top of the cabinet.

When I arrived at TC on January 20th to assemble "the contraption"  there was no sign of anyone else so it looked like I was on my own.

With a length of 1" steel bar located under the top runners of the transmitter chassis to take the hook of the hoist I gave the chain a tentative pull.  The transmitter lifted easily off the ground and with a little juggling around to find the point of balance I soon had it suspended a couple of inches above the floor.  To make sure I was within the SWL of the "contraption" I sat on top of the transmitter!  Nothing bent or moved so it was looking good for a full lift!

The transmitter was soon raised to the correct height to align with the runners in the cabinet, these were pulled out and engaged with the tracks on the transmitter, the chain was then slackened a little.  The cabinet took the weight with no problem, so the hoist was released, the steel bar removed and the transmitter pushed into the cabinet.

The whole procedure then had to be repeated with the power supply unit!

With both units in the cabinet, the wiring looms were reconnected before sliding them fully home.

Just as I was dismantling the "contraption", Derek, a volunteer helper at TC, arrived to see what was going on.
I just pointed out that everything was back in the cabinet...!

It was tempting to plug it into the mains there and then, but I decided to do some safety checks first, which revealed a leakage to earth of less than 100k.  So I plugged it in anyway - which promptly tripped the RCD feeding that socket you can see hanging there.

Oh well, back to the drawing board......

We are looking for a presentable R1475 receiver to go with the transmitter to make up a complete station.