[TowerTalk] Gotham antennas

Mon Jul 9 16:54:28 EDT 2007

Gotham advertised as the Gotham Hobby Company from New York in the early 1950s. They offered some antennas at less than $10.00.  They
moved to Florida in the mid-1950s and dropped "Hobby" from their name.
Their ads mysteriously disappeared 30 years later, after multiple
address changes in Florida during the early 1980s.

My only experience with a Gotham antenna when I and my pal Bill, K1JIV were early teenagers in 1960. Bill had a rooftop V80 vertical and I had a simple 20M dipole about 30 feet high.  I was having better success with my dipole, so Bill had to try a 20M dipole too.  Suddenly I had competition in the neighborhood!  I don't think he ever used the V80
again.  But the real competitors among the teenegers in Rhode Island
were K1JYN and W1CMH.  Does anybody know who they are now?

In the early 60s I was using a Harvey Wells TBS-50C, a home brew pair of 1625s running 150 watts, and dipoles for 80 through 10 meters suspended from a few trees on an 80x80 foot lot in the city of Providence, RI.

Those were the days!

73!
Frank
W3LPL

---- Original message ----
>Date: Mon, 9 Jul 2007 14:40:47 -0400
>From: "jeremy-ca" <km1h at jeremy.mv.com>  
>Subject: Re: [TowerTalk] Gotham antennas  
>To: "Pete Raymond" <n4kw at wildblue.net>, "James C. Garland" <4cx250b at muohio.edu>, <towertalk at contesting.com>
>
>Good stories from all.
>
>Gotham started in Harlem, NY, moved when the area got unhealthy, to Queens 
>for a short time and then to Florida.
>
>The average kid, and some older hams, that bought the verticals didnt 
>understand about radial systems. Attaching the coax shield to a ground rod 
>just didnt cut it. Same could be said about some modern newbies and 
>misleading info from some manufacturers.
>
>My 15M 3el stayed up fine for about 4 years and then my folks asked me to 
>take it down since I was in the Navy and home as little as I could manage! 
>Two years later I was working for National Radio in Malden, MA
>
>Carl
>KM1H
>
>
>KM1H
>
>----- Original Message ----- 
>From: "Pete Raymond" <n4kw at wildblue.net>
>To: "James C. Garland" <4cx250b at muohio.edu>; <towertalk at contesting.com>
>Sent: Monday, July 09, 2007 2:09 PM
>Subject: Re: [TowerTalk] antennas
>
>
>>I sure do remember the Gotham antennas.  My first antenna was a Gotham V80
>> vertical which operated on 80 up through 10 meters for the cost of $16.00
>> and some odd cents.  The antenna consisted of two 12 foot length of 
>> aluminum
>> tubing.
>> Assembly was simply to slide one tube into the other until you had a total
>> length of 23 feet.   A large coil was provided for 80 meters.  Radials, 
>> well
>> mine was simply a wire to the vent pipe on the roof where my antenna was
>> mounted.  I was sixteen back then and on July 26 1958 I worked VK0TC on 20
>> CW, now I want to tell you the electricity ran through my body for the 
>> next
>> two days.  When the qsl finally came it took a week before I came back to
>> earth.  Did the antenna work, I guess it did as I ran 75 watts back then 
>> and
>> my walls were filling up with qsl cards.  As I recall Gotham was out of
>> Miami, FL.  A qso and a time I will never forget.
>> 73 Pete N4KW
>>
>> ----- Original Message ----- 
>> From: "James C. Garland" <4cx250b at muohio.edu>
>> To: <towertalk at contesting.com>
>> Sent: Monday, July 09, 2007 10:10 AM
>> Subject: Re: [TowerTalk] antennas
>>
>>
>>>I DO remember all those Gotham ads. But, curiously, I never actually 
>>>talked
>>> to anybody who actually was using one. Even in the 1950s, Gotham prices
>>> seemed impossibly low. I always wondered if they worked and how well they
>>> were constructed? And if nobody bought them, how did the company pay for
>>> all
>>> those QST and CQ magazine ads?
>>> Jim W8ZR
>>>
>>>
>>> -----Original Message-----
>>> From: towertalk-bounces at contesting.com
>>> [mailto:towertalk-bounces at contesting.com] On Behalf Of Carl Smidt
>>> Sent: Monday, July 09, 2007 7:34 AM
>>> To: towertalk at contesting.com
>>> Subject: Re: [TowerTalk] antennas
>>>
>>> Nostalgia is getting to me.
>>>
>>> Remember all those good old Gotham adds in the magazines?
>>>
>>> 73,  Carl  VE9OV
>>>
>>>
>>> ----- Original Message ----- 
>>> From: "Tom Osborne" <w7why at verizon.net>
>>> To: "Towertalk" <towertalk at contesting.com>
>>> Sent: Sunday, July 08, 2007 9:52 PM
>>> Subject: Re: [TowerTalk] antennas
>>>
>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>> They ALL work.Some work better then others,some last longer then 
>>>>>  >others
>>>>> still others are cheaper then others.
>>>>
>>>> How true!!
>>>> I had a Gotham 2 element quad up for about 5 years till the wind took 
>>>> the
>>>> antenna and mast down.  Paid $27.50 for it.  Oh yeah, I know, aluminum
>>>> spreaders, etc, won't work, but it did work.  Better'n something else??
>>>> Dunno, but I sure liked it.  73
>>>> Tom W7WHY
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> _______________________________________________
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
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>>>>
>>>
>>>
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>>
>> _______________________________________________
>>
>>
>>
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