What Is This?

[DTB Radio]

I acquired this as part of a lot of vintage radio gear (including some nice Heathkit transceivers that I'll put up for sale soon), but I have no idea what it is. My best guess is that it has something to do with a fancy crystal radio set. Anyone have the correct answer?

 

[nomadradio]

Um, a lightning arrester for parallel open-wire transmission line? Clamp a pointy nail in each side, ground the center block and pass each side of the feedline under the lower thumbscrew on each side? Slide each side block to get the desire gap from each pointy end to the center.

Just guessing, mind you.

Does bring to mind my grandfather's tales about ham radio on the farm in the 1920s. A ham antenna was the longest wire you could string. Said he had one a quarter mile long. Until a thunderstorm. A lightning stroke left him with about twelve feet of charred wire, total. A lighting arrestor would stop the surge you get from a neighbor's tree getting struck, but not from direct hit.

73

 

[Lost Ram]

It looks like a center scribe tool.

 

[DTB Radio]

Um, a lightning arrester for parallel open-wire transmission line? Clamp a pointy nail in each side, ground the center block and pass each side of the feedline under the lower thumbscrew on each side? Slide each side block to get the desire gap from each pointy end to the center.

Just guessing, mind you.

Does bring to mind my grandfather's tales about ham radio on the farm in the 1920s. A ham antenna was the longest wire you could string. Said he had one a quarter mile long. Until a thunderstorm. A lightning stroke left him with about twelve feet of charred wire, total. A lighting arrestor would stop the surge you get from a neighbor's tree getting struck, but not from direct hit.

73

Your guess is literally as good as mine, lol!

 

[brandon7861]

With what looks like silver in the contacts, I wonder if there are connections on the bottom of the board. Why make good contact if it merely holds a solid conductor going through both? Does the bottom also appear to clamp a wire, or does it look like each clamp only holds one wire at the top? It looks like a wire would be inserted, the smaller top screw turned to just hold it, and the bottom screw turned to apply force on the wire in the top via some pivoting action. That might explain the different sized thumb screws. Maybe it's some test fixture for checking chokes/coils?

That thing in the middle that looks like it has a ground wire, I cannot figure out what function it would serve. Other angles would be cool because it looks like that piece is a clamp of some kind. The rusty thing on it looks like it might be a nut for a thumb screw on the other side.

If that middle piece is a two-part thing with a thumb screw, what is between the two pieces? There is corrosion that makes me think something else is between the two brass pieces.

 

[nomadradio]

Or is it the evil spawn of the Wouff Hong and the Rettysnitch?

73