What Have We Here??

[archie2]

I emailed an inquiry to the museum of early television re: the authenticity of my video booster and the difference in knobs and tubes. Here is their reply:

Dear........
"I found some photos of other RMS boosters, and I think your knobs are
original. I'll change mine (I have the right ones somewhere).

The VT-269 is a replacement for the 6AK5, made by Western Electric for the
military in WW2.

Regards,

Steve
www.earlytelevision.org"

So my better looking knobs appear to be the original, nice to know.

 

[electroking]

I plugged it in using a dim bulb tester with a 40W bulb but not wired to a receiver. All tubes and the indicator light lit up. Maybe the thing actually works. Now to find a receiver to use.

Edit: I wonder if it would work as a mono amp with a source and speaker.

Not a chance this will amplify sound. It is designed for VHF TV signals.
Could possibly be useful even with the new ATSC digital signals on VHF.

 

[archie2]

Darn thing actually works as a FM signal booster. It's 64 years old, I wonder when it was used last.

 

[darklife]

Definitely a VHF antenna booster. The Ant. is for your antenna input, and Rec. is the output to your receivers antenna input.

It probably would work for boosting FM broadcast signals if put on channel 6 or 7.
Channel 6 TV frequency is 82-88MHz, the bottom of the FM dial.
Channel 7 TV frequency is 174-180MHz, a bit above the top of the FM dial.

So it's possible 6 or 7 may boost FM and since it's old as heck it may not be precise on frequency clipping/filtering so who knows it may just work.

I noticed Channel 1 on the box. Channel 1 was dropped from TV all together in 1948. I wonder if that box is really that old? If not then that's an odd curiosity.

And no you can't use it as an audio amplifier. It's built for radio frequencies only and would not be an electrically passive device unlike small audio amplifiers.

 

[JonL]

I remember watching cartoons as a kid on an ancient B&W set we had that had channel 1 on the knob. I remember being upset that the cartoons were all preempted by new coverage when JFK was assassinated. The TV was very old even then.

 

[archie2]

Definitely a VHF antenna booster. The Ant. is for your antenna input, and Rec. is the output to your receivers antenna input.

It probably would work for boosting FM broadcast signals if put on channel 6 or 7.
Channel 6 TV frequency is 82-88MHz, the bottom of the FM dial.
Channel 7 TV frequency is 174-180MHz, a bit above the top of the FM dial.

So it's possible 6 or 7 may boost FM and since it's old as heck it may not be precise on frequency clipping/filtering so who knows it may just work.

I noticed Channel 1 on the box. Channel 1 was dropped from TV all together in 1948. I wonder if that box is really that old? If not then that's an odd curiosity.

And no you can't use it as an audio amplifier. It's built for radio frequencies only and would not be an electrically passive device unlike small audio amplifiers.

According to the Museum Of Early Television it really is that old, made in 1946 or 1947. It does work as a FM booster.