BTA-500R Ham Conversion Project
New Owner and QTH as of 12/16/2002
Neal Newman KA2CAF

CONTENTS

On July 10, 1998 I purchased an RCA BTA-500R from Jesse Carroll, the owner of the former WERA 1590 AM in South Plainfield, NJ. The station power was 1KW, but this was the backup transmitter. This page is an accounting of the events and progress in converting this broadcast rig for ham radio use.

I would like to thank VE3AAM for supplying a schematic, without which this project would have been far more difficult. Be sure to visit his site, especially if you're looking to buy a broadcast transmitter and/or parts. Thanks also to Tony DeNicola for connecting me to Jesse. Thanks also to Gary Kabrick - W7GMK and Tom McNally -WB2DRD for their inspiration, encouragement and his willingness to answer my questions.

The license of WERA was bought out by WWRL which was a 5KW station on 1600. WWRL now runs 25KW because of the shutdown of WERA. (WWRL uses a Harris DX-25 transmitter)

Don't miss the
summary at the end of this page which pulls it all together.


73,
Jim Hawkins.. WA2WHV


See also my new GE XT-1-A Project page.


BACK TO WA2WHV HOME PAGE