From the Newsletter history archives... Vintage Equipment From the April '87 Newsletter (entitled "Ham Radio News & Views"), it was noted that the 1987 Charlotte Hamfest was a smashing success judging from the attendance. A lot of dollars changed hands that weekend with the dealers enjoying mega-sales! The hamfest, however, had a bit of disparity! The Hamfest committee seemed to have sold more tables through pre-registration than they had on-hand. They had come up with about 100 to 150 tables short (mine was two of them. -Ed). There was a lot of disgruntled flea-marketeers who got quite peeved as they arrived and came to their assigned space only to find no tables available! When you sell pre-registration tickets and reserved tables, then...by golly...that's what you should get - a reserved table. Many had to wait two hours for the hamfest staff to round up extra tables from a rental place (they had already used all the 100 spare tables stored in the basement). It was noted that a hamfest of Charlotte's magnitude has its problems though...and no one has a crystal ball to predict unusually large attendance crowds. All ended well with the 1987 Charlotte Hamfest and everyone seemed pleased at day's end (me too!). (Note: Back in 1987, all hamfests seemed to enjoy a large attendance when compared to today...20 years later. Today, except for the very largest hamfests (Charlotte, Shelby, etc.), we are lucky to even find adequate dealers on hand. -Ed).
(Each month, a brief spotlight will appear here on equipment you may have seen at hamfest swap tables. This month the spotlight is on the Globe King 500 Transmitter ). Well, if you remember, I started this series of World Radio Lab equipment with the lowly Globe Scout 65A. Then came the Globe Champion 300 last month. It is only natural that I wind up this "selected" list with the world famous Globe King 500...the epitome of AM gear (back in the 50's and even now). Take a look at it. In its 36-inch rack cabinet - with its three separate modules (RF deck, modulator, and power supply) it commands respect in both design (it looked like a transmitter!) and in operation. The Globe King put out about 475 watts on all bands and, as I recall, when speaking to someone running one, it sounded great with its full-bodied studio-quality AM audio! Still keeping with WRL's pricing policy of "a buck per watt", the 500 ran about that...500 bucks. Properly priced, but way too rich for my teenage blood back then. Sadly, World Radio Labs (Council Bluffs, Iowa) went out of business and took with it a heritage of stable, attractive, high-quality equipment. Its been so long since I have seen one offered on hamfest tables that I'm afraid to take a guess as to the going price today...but I suspect it would be hefty!! Diehard AM collectors drool over this rig...keeping their price in the "lofty" range. -Ed Pg 3 Globe King 500 Home Previous Next

Auto Trivia - No, it's not exactly electronic in nature (unless you put a ham rig inside!), but I thought it would be a welcome departure to run an Auto "guessing game" for a month or two. Can you name the make and model of this roadster? Hint: If you are over 50 years old or older, you may have seen one on the streets! The make of this auto shared its name with washing machines, TV's, and refrigerators at the time. (Email me if you know! -Ed) ??? ??? Back Next