So, I helped a fellow ham out by buying this from him. He sold some of his real estate and just can’t keep all the junk he used to. He’s been unloading it at hamfests all summer. What is it? It’s five identical 5k rheostats wired into a terminal block. But look at the workmanship!
The first thing I’ll point out is the rack mount. This is basically a bunch of stock metal bars bent, drilled and tapped. Some of this is off-the-shelf, like the terminal block, but I suspect the rest is custom-fabricated. We know the unit all together is a one-off. I feel like the metal to make this would cost much more these days because they just don’t make things this thick anymore. I don’t mean that they don’t produce metal bars this thick, just that they don’t get used much. Everything now is thin and light. This is built like a WWII battleship.
The next thing I’d like to point out is the wiring. That is cotton-insulated wire, making this a pretty old piece of equipment. The seller tells me that the man who built this insisted on wiring it up to AT&T’s standards, which requires tying off the wires every half-inch. I haven’t found a reference to this standard, but if you have one let me know from the contact page. Cotton-insulated wire is making a comeback amongst audiophiles who believe it gives a more natural sound than plastic insulated wire. Unfortunately, my ethernet wires are plastic-insulated. Audiophiles won’t be able to hear how naturally I’m rolling my eyes right now.
So what was this used for? The seller told me, but I didn’t quite follow. Tuning some sort of loops, based on the labeling. I assume the labeling is newer than the unit, since it is made of that adhesive labeling tape. Maybe not, though, I’m not sure how old those labelers are. The rheostats are made by ohmite, like the other ones I own. He also sold me a 10-turn potentiometer with matching dial, which is what I wanted. I may keep the rheostats but recycle the metal. It’s memorialized here well enough.