1930s TPTG (Tuned-Plate Tuned-Grid) Transmitter #1

Tuned-Plate Tuned-Grid CW transmitter similar to the design in the December 1929 article in QST magazine.

This is the Ca. 1930 TPTG CW Transmitter in the NEWSM collection.

This TPTG Transmitter is significantly more heavy-duty than the two TNT transmitters in the NEWSM collection. It has three tuning capacitors instead of just one, that makes it a TPTG design and not a TNT. As with TNT #1, it is similar to the plans in the December 1929 issue of QST magazine with updates published in the 1934 ARRL Handbook, but this one has adjustable capacitance for both the Grid Tank circuit, and the Plate Tank circuit. The third adjustable capacitor is part of the antenna tuning circuit. This one has a Duovac 242 tube (10V Filament @ 3.25A, 1250Vmax @ 150mA) which can dissipate about 100W when used as an RF oscillator. The 242 tube has a maximum frequency of 6 MHz, so the transmitter is probably designed to operate in the 80 Meter band. We need to measure the resonant frequency of the plate and grid coils to determine the frequency of operation.