♣Just to give you an idea of the brain trust ;-) we’ve got here behind the scenes at WVKR—-BILL EBERLE built a RADIO TRANSMITTER into AN OLD REFRIGERATOR!!!!!! WHEN HE WAS 15!!!!! Bill KNOWS radio!!! If you want to hear him in action, tune in to one or BOTH of his two great programs on 91.3fm: Classic Country on every Wednesday from 9:00AM to noon, and Radio Showtime on every Sunday from 6:00pm to 9:00pm!!♣
In BILL’s own words:
“I got my FCC novice radio amateur radio license at the age of 15, and later upgraded to a General Class.
I built my first transmitter, a low-power Morse code transmitter, and later bought a low-power code and audio transmitter. Then I decided to build a more powerful transmitter, 400 watts, for Morse code, as described in the AARL (American Radio Relay League) magazine.
I wasn’t sure what to build it in, and I don’t remember where the idea come from, but I decided to build it in an old unused refrigerator. My dad drove me to an appliance store where I was given an old refrigerator (no charge). When I got home, the first thing I did was add four wheels so I could move it easily. Then I sprayed the whole cabinet with a flat black paint.
I removed the compressor from the bottom, and the controls and cooling element from the top. I also removed the door.
I put the low voltage supply on the bottom where the food would go, and I put transmitter controls in the front of the cabinet.
In order to add modulation to the transmitter, I built an external Modulator in the back of the transmitter, which I would plug into the transmitter.
The last time I used the transmitter was probably in the early 80’s when band conditions were much better, making it easier to talk to other hams in distant parts of the country.”