I need to find out what this item is. I believe it is a kind of radio antenna, possibly internal for a vehicle application. Please look at the photo in attachment and let me know if you can ID this and provide info.

Regards,

SFC

 

It might be a tapped tuning coil for an antenna or just a tapped power resistor.

 

It's a flux capacitor resonator.

 

Looks like a heating coil, except that the wire appears to be copper coated with green plastic. Odd.

 

Probably just a toroidal transformer

 

Interesting to see what Google thinks is a similar image.

Visually similar images

 

It's a flux capacitor resonator.

I would have thought the same but it is missing any fixture for the framis flange, and the radial bias oscillator adjuster is the wrong type...

%^)

Kidding aside, all I know is it has continuity with the four leads in two separate pairs; they only read in one configuration and no other
combinations work, so I have to assume it is a tapped coil, but I got this on eBay a couple of weeks back and it is fully insulated. Age is back to the days of cloth insulation, possibly as late as the 1940's. I am speculating it is some sort of antenna such as one might use inside an aircraft. I bought it for the cool factor and hoped to use it for AM/FM or shortwave frequencies. It didn't really do much, so I am wondering if it is supposed to have voltage applied to one side and the other connected to a receiver or amp of some type.

 

It might be a tapped tuning coil for an antenna or just a tapped power resistor.

I agree, but am at a loss as to what it is supposed to connect to.

Thanks for your service - (Former ASA 05d @ Phu Bai - those were the days...)

 

Interesting to see what Google thinks is a similar image.
Too weird - Googly boogly thinking is often a bit off plumb, and this is a great example. Makes you wonder what the how reliable their judgments are on other stuff!

Visually similar images
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Probably just a toroidal transformer

What would this be a part of? How does it work - is it an ac to dc conversion device if it is a toroidal transformer?

 

Looks like a heating coil, except that the wire appears to be copper coated with green plastic. Odd.

The coils are insulated with a green cloth that appears to have a resin coating, and the band around the rim of it appears to be like celluloid - amber tinted clear and stiff. Its got four leads that only have continuity if you put them together in the right pairs. There is no core, and the metal disks on both sides are ferric - probably mild steel, but the bracket seems to be aluminum. I am still scratching my head and it is only my speculation that this is a part of some RF device.

 

From my service in the Royal Signals many decades ago, we had something similar for loading or tuning the antenna on top of mobile radio sets.
Max.

 

What would this be a part of? How does it work - is it an ac to dc conversion device if it is a toroidal transformer?

No, it's not part of any power conversion application. It would have a steel core if it was. This is an air core toroid, an inductor but in an odd form. Is there any evidence of moving parts, something that might be related to mechanical tuning?

 

What would this be a part of? How does it work - is it an ac to dc conversion device if it is a toroidal transformer?

Yes. We used toroidal transformers in a line of high end CD players built by Wadia. It works by having two windings, one on top of the other, wound on the common core. As long as the wingings are insulated from each other there is no problem with the operation of such a transformer.

 

No, it's not part of any power conversion application. It would have a steel core if it was. This is an air core toroid, an inductor but in an odd form. Is there any evidence of moving parts, something that might be related to mechanical tuning?

No moving parts, but I don't know if this was a component of a mechanical device - perhaps just a part of an assembly???

 

From my service in the Royal Signals many decades ago, we had something similar for loading or tuning the antenna on top of mobile radio sets.
Max.

Is it possible that this unit is a part of or attached to other electronic/mechanical components, and if so what would that be; maybe a variable capacitor?

 

I would have thought the same but it is missing any fixture for the framis flange, and the radial bias oscillator adjuster is the wrong type...

Could be an early prototype!

 

MYSTERY SOLVED!

Its part of a 1920's era Erla battery radio, and here are the pictures to prove it.
Thanks to members of the Michigan Antique Radio Club, who pointed me in the right direction - they told me it looked like a battery radio part and a search on the web today found this radio and it appears to have 3 of them in it.

If it had not been for you folks I would not have a clue as to what it is, so Thank all of you who responded.

Regards,
Steve