2016 PDF editionOld Familiar Strains

a newsletter for collectors of radio strain insulators and related itemsVolume 6 No.2 April.1999

"Se.neor-y" Lightning A::e.ter

USeneory" Liehtnina::Switch Pede.tal

t wr·"U; ...~ .. ;f_ ~{t-.:' ..~--.'~'.:,lJ.'

~"ScD.or7" Standard LeliaBattery Switch

·CSen.ory" RadioTube Socket

fRAO[-MARK

Radio Bus ine s s I sGrowing by Leaps

and Boundsand the dealer who intends to get his share of it inhis territory must, necessarily, keep informed as tothe most recent developments in radio equipment.

"Sensory" Radio Essentials are strictly up. to thestandard set by our foremost radio authorities andare the result of Our constant attention to theprogress made in radio practices today.

VVe are everlastingly at it in Our testing labora-tories to develop radio equipment that will simplifythe operation of receiving sets and increase theirreceptive efficiency.

Let us co-operate with YOlL

HEINEMANN ELECTRlC COMPANYPhiladelphia, Pa.

'·SelUory" IntulatoraBrown. Gl&%Cd Porcel.in Heme.maDl1

SolderlesoGround Clamp

Editorial Gene Condon writes:The transmission line standoff insulator(February cover and page 9) caught myeye. I have two in brown porcelain. Thelighter shade is a little longer than thedarker shade. No embossing. Instead of4 round holes, each size has 4 notched"catches" on the edges like the directiveantenna transposition insulators on thecover, that is shown with the alternativeholes on page 9.

I really appreciate the letters that I havereceived from the readers. Several veryinteresting items are shared in this issue.The lead article is about the HeinemannElectric Company. HECO sold porcelainand glass insulators and several types oflightning arresters. In other words, thereis something for everybody.

Please keep the letters and stories coming.

Carol MacDougald and Bill Meier haveset up publicity pages for Old FamiliarStrains within their websites. I've addedthe addresses to the publisher's notes pageof the newsletter. Why not check themout?

"SENSORYH

RADIO Est, 1888 ACCESSORIESHEINEMANN ELECTRIC CO.

PHlLADELPIDA. PA.Vernier Dials., SocketsLightning. Arre..t'ers, Ground ClampsBattery Swttches.' L' It' SPanel l\founting ,Switches I~;dl~t';['~witchesSere'," Eye Insulators Cha rzcr Switches,i ,.,DISTRICT REPRESENTATIVES

. a:atheW8Y ~ Co.' .~~w York City I H. P; Smith Co. Mlnneapolfa~.L .. LewIS Co. Boston, Mass. W. H.. Dyer & Co. St LoutsS.. H, Stover Co. Pittsburgh Wesco Co.;: Inc. 'DeriverFactl?n' Sales Co. Cleveland A. S. Knight Seatt lNickelson Sales Co. Louisville R. B. votue Sun Francisc~F. A. ~rl!e;. Jr. Detroit Henger-Beltzer Co, Los A.ngele~

Advertisement from the Radio TradeDirectory 8/25 pg. 68.

. ofs vol 6 110 2Page 3

Sensory Insulators and Lightning Arrestersby Dan Howard

Odds are pretty good that you have a"Sensory" item somewhere in yourcollection, whether you know it or not.Heinemann Electric Co., the companybehind the Sensory line, was a prolificjobber of everything electric. As you'llsee below, they sold all kinds oflightning arresters, porcelain, and. glassradio strain insulators.

Heinemann Electric Co. (HECO) wasestablished in Philadelphia in 1888. Thecompany's early products probablyincluded lightning arresters and otheraccessories for rail signal lines. In the1920's, ads listed radio accessory itemsincluding strain and standoff insulators,lightning arresters and switches, andground clamps.

Ser. No. 169,208. (CLASS 21. ELECTRICAL A.PPARA·TUS, )IACHJNES, AND SUPPLIES.) HEINEhl.l.XN

ELECTRIC CO)!PAXY. Philadelphia, Pa. Filed Sept. 8,1\)22.

Particular dcscriptioll of !/oods.-Battery Switches, Vac-uum-Tube Sockets. Lightning SWitches, Ltgb tninc Ar-resters, vartometers, Variocouplers, Detector Panel Units,Condensers. Rheostats, Detectors, A.mplifiers, Porcelain In-sulators, r.;,op Antenna Recervmg Sets and Parts Thereof.

Figure 1: Sensory trademark

In 1923, the company trademarked theSensory name and the lightning boltlogo. In actual usage, the logo appeared

with the words "Reliable EfficientWireless Apparatus" inside the lightningsymbols.

The company often put "HECO" and"SENSORY" on its porcelain insulators.However, only SENSORY appeared onthe lightning arresters.

Strain Insulators

Heinemann included both glass andporcelain strain insulators in their line.

The 3020 is the only known Heinemannglass insulator. As shown on page 9, itis a very common unembossed style.The insulator was identified after I foundseveral of them new-in-box (see below).Maybe other unmarked glass will belinked to the company in the future.

Figure 2: strain insulator box

The company sold a whole raft of brownglazed porcelain strain insulators.Nearly all of my correspondents reporthaving them in their collections. I'veonly seen the company's porcelaininsulators in brown. Dick Mackiewiczreported that they also sold insulatorsglazed in blue. Alas, I never had thechance to confirm this.

(continued on page 7)

ofs vol 6 no 2Page 4

Photo Captions

What a treat to be able to present photos of several nice collections.

Photo 1. Courtesy of Alan Hohnhorst.Alan's letter mentions the mint-condition purple strain that he found. That isonly one of several items that caught my attention in this shot of his nicecollection.

Photo 2.Courtesy of Dick Mackiewicz.The upper insulator is one of Dick's Sensory 3017's.The lower item is an embossed "Eagle" insulator. In his letter, Dick points outthat the word "Eagle" is embossed on the ribs - spelled out one letter per rib allacross the insulator. This little "missile" is a good companion piece to the blue"rocket" that was featured on page 12 of the June, 1996 issue.

Photo 3. Courtesy of Dick Mackiewicz.Here Dick provides photographic evidence that the Sensory 3017 came in both4 rib and 5 rib styles. .

Photo 4. Courtesy of Jim Singleton.This orange Pyrex box is a new one on me. I've seen several two-tone grayboxes and a couple of red and black boxes. But this unusual bright orangeexample is a real standout.

Photo 5. Courtesy of Don Hutchinson.Like me, Don uses framed pegboards to show his collection of strains to anadvantage. Very nice.

Photo 6 & 7. Both courtesy of Gene Condon.I couldn't include the photo of Gene's glass strains but here are two shots of hishuge collection of porcelain insulators. I was impressed by the variety andnumber of colored porcelain items.

Thanks everyone for the pictures! Keep them coming!

ofsvo16 no 2Page 6

(continued from page 4)HECO's insulator markings are a studyin creativity. The list on page 9 includesboth embossed and recess-embossedmarks. And the placement of markingsdiffered between insulators.

For some reason, HECO reused partnumbers - adding to the confusion.Figure 3 on the color page is a perfectexample. Dick's picture shows a 4 riband a 5 rib Sensory both marked 3017.

For more information on styles andembossings, please turn to page 9.

Standoff Insulators

The Sensory brand name also appearedon screw eye standoff insulators. Exceptfor the white glaze, mine are very similarto the Knox standoff that is picturedbelow. I have found embossed"Sensory" screw eye standoffs in both 3"and 7-1141' sizes.

Figure 4: screw eye standoff

Spools

The white-glazed "Sensory" spool lookslike it could have been "created" bytaking apart a standoff insulator. Thedimensions are identical. Of course, itcould also have been a cataloged item.Without more research, I can't say oneway or the other.

.""""'.~-J.. .

(

Figure 3: Sensory spool

Lightning Arresters

If you collect lightning arresters thenyou most likely have a Sensory or two inyour collection. They apparently werevery popular. HECO offered a verydiverse line of arresters. And I'm surethat we haven't found them all yet.

Figure 5: Sensory 3042

ofs vol 6 no 2Page 7

The 4-5/8" 3042 tubular arrester (Figure5) is an unusual design. This big guy isdesigned to hang from an angle bracketon a wall. Mine is glazed in black andactually looks like a Star Porcelain Nu-Blac item (OFS 12/96). Since it's glazedall-over, ~ can't verify that gray clay laysinside without breaking it. I guess we'llhave to just speculate for right now.

HECD's 3041 visible air gap arrester isshown below. The sketch is from DickMackiewicz's notebook.

~~~\~~

)..4._'-+.-Figure 6: Sensory 3041

The 3041 works on the same principle asa spark plug. The large brass pointsinside are separated by a small gap. Ifyou were inclined to do so, you couldwatch through the mica cover as sparksjumped across. Relatively fewmanufactures elected to go the visiblegap route. I find arresters of this type aninteresting and desirable addition to thecollection.

Returning to my question in the 12/95issue', I still believe that Heinemannsold the unmarked "3043" lightingarrester. As you can see in the colorphoto of Bob Puttre's collection (OFS10/96 pg. 11) the 3043's hardwarematches the Sensory 3107' s. And thepart number fits neatly with the othersshown the table on page 10.

How about the arrester on the frontcover? It appears to be similar to the3041, but who knows why they put thewhole works at the top of a column.

By the end of the 1920's, mostmanufacturers had standardized onsimpler tried-and-true designs. And bythe 1930's, successful companiesincluded doublet style arresters in theirlines. HECO's unusual designs lead meto believe that the company probablystopped selling radio lightning arrestersby the late 1920's.

Photo CreditsFront cover: courtesy of Bob StahrFigure 1: Patent Gazette 2/6/23 pg. 26Figure 2: Sensory insulator boxFigure 3: courtesy of Dick MackiewiczFigure 4: Knox Porcelain catalogFigure 5: Sensory 3042 arrester boxFigure 6: courtesy of Dick Mackiewicz

1 See OFS 12/95 pg. 11 "What Do You Tlrlnk?"

ofs vol e no zPage 8

Strain Insulators

3017 (type 1)brown porcelain 4 ribs3-3/16" Lx 1-7/16" max dia.left end flat, right end roundleft top: SEN (embossed)left bottom: SORY (embossed)right top: HEeO (embossed)right bottom: 3017 (embossed)pictured on pg. 5 figure 3

3017 (type 2)brown porcelain 5 ribsabout 4" long, round endsleft top: SEN (embossed)left bottom: SORY (embossed)right top: HEeo (embossed)right bottom: 3017 (embossed)pictured on pg. 5 figure 3

3017 (type 3)brown porcelain 4 ribs3-3/6" Lx 1-7116" max dia.left end flat, right end roundleft top: 3017 (recess embossed)left bottom: HEeo (recess embossed)not pictured

3020glass, 7 ribs3-7/8" long 1-3/16" max dia.unmarkedpictured below

CRYSTAL AERIAL INSULATOR

Constructed and de- g~~signed to give the I .. .

maximum amount . .

. of strain safety. "'., -cs •

It wilJ not absorb moisture. leak or crack.S'ze 3%" long. Packed in an individual box.

Figure 7 1942 leA advertisement forHEeO 3020 look alike.

3096 (type 1)brown porcelain, 2 ribs3" Lx 1-3/16" max dia., flat endsleft top: HEeo (embossed)left bottom: 3096 (embossed)right top: SENSORY (embossed)not pictured

Figure 8 Sensory 3096 drawn by JeffHogan3096 (type 2)brown porcelain, 4 ribs3" Lx 1-1/8" max dia., flat endsleft top: SEN (embossed)left bottom: SORY (embossed)right top: HEeO (embossed)right bottom: 3096 (embossed)pictured above

3099brown porcelain 4 ribs3" Lx 1-1/8" max dia., flat endsleft top: SEN (embossed)left bottom: SORY (embossed)right top: HEeo (embossed)right bottom: 3099 (embossed)similar to 3096 pictured above(could be an example of a 3096 with anembossing error - except for the partnumber, they are identical).

Spool Insulator

white porcelain1-1/8" dia. x 5/8" thickSENSORY (embossed)pictured on pg. 7 figure 4

ofs vol 6 no 2Page 9

Standoff Insulators

. Unknown standoff (eyebolt style)3" wI white porcelain insulatorSENSORY (embossed)pictured on pg. 7 figure 3

Unknown standoff (eyebolt style)7-1/4" w/ white porcelain insulatorSENSORY (embossed)pictured on pg. 7 figure 3

Lightning Arresters

3041brown glazed porcelain air gap (visible)3-5/16" Lx 2-5/8" W x 1-3/4" HTop: "SENSORY" (in quotes) RADIO

LIGHTNING ARRESTER(embossed)

Bottom: APPROVEDUNDER~TERSLABORATORffiS3041 (embossed)(also 3041B per Phillip Drexler)pictured on pg. 8 figure 6

3042black glazed porcelaintubular 4-5/8" L x 1-3/4" max dia.Front: SENSORY RADIO LIGHTNING

ARRESTER (embossed)Back: 3042 (recess embossed)Pictured on pg. 7 figure 5

3043brown glazed porcelain air gap5-1/6" Lx 1-1/2" W x 1-7/16" HTop: 3043 RADIO LIGHTNING

ARRESTER ANT. SETGND.(embossed)

pictured in color in OFS 10/96 pg. 11(column 1 row 6)

3107brown glazed porcelain air gap4-1/8" L x 1-1/2" W x 1-3/8" HTop: "RADIO LIGHTNING

ARRESTER" (in quotes) SENSORY3107 ANTENNA SET GROUND(embossed)

pictured below and pictured in color inOFS 10/96 pg. 11 (column 3 row 5 & 6)

Unknown lightning arrester(see cover illustration)

, ~ ,

L:"61ZN.DD\ ~ !@2_S -

\

Figure 9 Sensory 3107 drawn by DickMackiewicz

ofs vol 6 no 2Page 10

Military Insulator Update

New Find!

Style 52, 1-1/2" white glazed. Ink-marked "61087" (new navy item)Should be NP orNS **5212.

[Don Wrigley had this information to addto the military antenna insulator story(OFS 10/98 pg. 27). Thanks so muchDon!]

The Federal Stock Number (FSN) andNational Stock Number (NSN) questionisn't too complicated. The first four digitsdesignate the "supply category" and canbe separated from the rest of the number.It is also subject to change - an item canbe moved from one supply category toanother. The item number (National ItemIdentifier Number [NIIN]) does notchange.

Ideal with the following supplycategories:• 5800 Communications General• 5805 Telephone• 5810 Transmission Security• 5815 Teletype• 5820 Radio• 6625 Test Equipment

When they ran out of the 7 digit FederalStock Numbers, they added a 00 to theold number sequence, and used 01 for thenew number series. I have yet to see an02 or an 03. I do know that 01 does notmean that an item was necessarily madein the U.S. My unit currently uses 3foreign-made radios (Canada, France, andItaly) and all bear 01 series NSN's.

Picking Insulatorsby Dan Howard

I enjoy reading about the field trips thattelegraph insulator collectors take. It'samazing the lengths that people will go toin order to "pick" insulators in the field.The travelogues often include tales ofsnakes, stickers, and other nasties. Incontrast, we almost never have theopportunity to find abandoned radioinsulators. Stories such as Lee Stewarttold of wandering by the Bethany Relay(page 11) and being able to take insulatorsare wonderful reading but are too few andfar between.

A few weeks ago some genuine "picked"insulators came my way. Here's thestory.

My "insulators wanted" sign and I werewatching the table at the Rickreallelectronics swap earlier this spring. Mid-morning, a gentleman came looking forme with a pair of Pyrex 7-1/2" strains inhis hand.

My benefactor works on commercialantennas. While we visited, wecommiserated about how few wireantenna installations are left here in thePacific Northwest. During a week-longproject on Prospect Mountain (nearSalem, OR) he kept eyeballing 'thesePyrex insulators hanging abandoned 60'up a deteriorating pole. (better him thanme). Finally, on his last day, he put onthe climbing spikes and climbed up toretrieve them. Now they're mine.

Though they are not rare, it is kind ofspecial to have a couple of insulators ofmy own that were "picked" in the wild.

ofs vol 6 no 2Page 11

More About the Voice of AmericaBy Lee Stewart

Here are photos of some of the itemsrecovered from the old Voice of Americagrounds a few weeks ago (see page 13).

My wife and I live near the entrance to theVOA grounds and we go passed it a fewtimes each week. Union Township is nowin charge of the grounds and they are usingthe main building for offices.

One day in mid-December I noticedTownship workers taking down poles andwires between the main building and theswitching station. I stopped by there thenext day and noticed a large dumpsterbehind the building. It had a variety of stuffin it, including white and brown long Lappsteatite insulators and white and brown postelectrical insulators on short crossarms.Since it had been a year since the first largetowers were taken down, I assume theantenna insulators were from the smalltowersthat were taken down much later.With permission of the TownshipAdministrator, I got a few of each of theseinsulators. It took some time to detach themfrom the wires and brackets.

Also in the dumpster I found the item inPhoto II. It is 17 inches long with a wirecoiled arounda ceramic tube. The steelballs (electrical contacts?) are 5/8" indiameter with a 1/8" gap between them. Idon't know where or for what it was used.

The smaller items in Photo III are porcelainwire spacers, 4" to 4-1/2" long. I know theyare wire spacers because I took them off of114"diameter wires that had been removedfrom poles and left on the ground.

The larger item in the center of Photo III is aporcelain (steatite?) rod marked LAPP withmetal flanges on each end. It is 8" long and1-1/4" in diameter. The red covers on theflanges are a rubber-like material. I foundfour of these in the dumpster. Since theywere not attached to anything, I don't knowhow they were used.

Since the time of my last visit, everything atVOA has been taken down and disposed ofexcept the buildings and the switchingstation which are to remain.

Thanks for the great story Lee. To answer acouple of your questions -

Photo II "the wire coiled around the ceramictube with the electrical contacts" is alightning arrester. The coil is a huskyresister shunt. The balls form the gap thatinsulates the feedline in normal use butprovides a place for the lightning to jumpacross.

The Lapp insulator is a pillar-style standoffinsulator. They were used to support feedlines, equipment, and other gear that wouldneed to be insulated. I suspect that thisinsulator was used somewhere where peoplewould be close by (else why use rubbercovers to insulate the metal fittings?)

For more information on the Bethany (Ohio)Relay Station please see OFS 6/98 pg. 4.

ofs vol 6 no 2Page 12

ofs vol 6110 2Page 13

Show Reports

The new year has started offslowwwwwly for several of us. My firsttwo swaps were lots of fun but did notturn up much in the way of straininsulators.

This weekend I attended my first estatesale since "the big one" in October (seethe 12/98 OFS). I did find a niceCorwico cobalt blue lightning arrester.And a new style of porcelain strain - anunglazed porcelain rod with steel wire"keepers" on the ends.

NARC Winter Work Shop, PauckWireless Museum February 6th.Although there were plenty of radios andaccessories to look at, Phillip Drexlerdidn't see any insulators or arresters Hesaid that the weather was mild. [prettygood for Minneapolis in February Ed.]

Mike and Key Electronics SwapPuyallup, WA March 13th.Once again the show was lots of fun.This year I had the pleasure of myfather's company. And his sharp eyesadded a fair number of new ones to mycollection. Dad found an unreportedmilitary style (see military update). Healso came up with an unusual metal-ended strain that is probably foreign.The ends of the insulator are set up likeball-and-socket joints so that the metalhubs are free to swing in any direction.

About 6:30 am we came across a unique"DPA-I" military antenna. Starting witha beautiful hardwood tripod, the unituses wooden mast sections to lift atelescoping dipole antenna about 10 feetin the air. We assembled the antennawhen we got back downstairs and had an"instant landmark" to identify our table(and a terrific conversation-starter toboot).

Please support your local shows - and besure to let me know about your strainfinds.

Hope that you will attend ...

Northwest Collector's Show and SaleMay 1st and 2nd. Enumclaw, WA.We'll have an Old Familiar Strains tableand strain insulators galore on displayand available. For show information callVi Brown at (425) 868-4249 or call me(Dan Howard) at (503) 761-7799.

The third annual Filling the Voidinsulator show and saleAugust 14th in Portland, OR.I will once again be coho sting thisinformal tailgate sale. Lots of radioantenna insulators and lightning arresterswill be on display. All types ofinsulators will be available. I hope thatyou'll come. For more information, callme at (Dan Howard) at (503) 761-7799.RSVP appreciated but not necessary.

ofs vol 6 no 2Page 14

Old Familiar Strains2016 PDF edition

scanned from originalsin the OFS·archives.

Unidentified Porcelain Marking

Can you help me identify the markingshown below? The mark appears on awhite glazed spreader insulator fromWorld War II. The insulator wasbrought back from the Far East. Themark and the little plantt") are printed inolive green.

Pyrex Update

I would like to continue adding to the listof Pyrex mold markings and variations.As you come across additional Pyrexinsulators, please be on the lookout forunreported items.

I have one to add to the lists published inthe Feb and April 1998 issues: 7-1/4"style 2 (skinny) with an "El" moldmarking on the back of the second rib.

And check out Jim Singleton's neatorange Pyrex insulator box shown incolor on page 5.

ofs vol 6110 2Page 15

Rick Soller writes:In October last year, I bought 28 pieces of Akro Agate cullet that the seller personallydug in the Clarksburg Akro Agate dump site. She was from Kelowna, B.C. Canada so Iassume Clarksburg is somewhere near there. One of the items in the cullet was anunmarked, clear glass radio strain with one deformed eye.

This opens up some interesting speculation about the source of some glass radio strains.This may have been the type of item that many glass houses produced. What do youthink?

My response:What a neat item!. This is the first dump site strain find that I've heard of How about apicture? According to my 1943 Directory of Glass Factories, the Akro Agate Co. factorywas located in Clarksburg, West Virginia. This ad appeared in the January, 1971 issue ofCrown Jewels (reprinted by permission). Is that insulator similar to yours?

'"' .•ow •. _ "CTS

a••.•OIl'N D,.'-E_

THE CLs:UlKSnUR(. (.LASS CO:\IP ..\~'·•••• 'V ••TE '''0100

wo""CLARKSBURG, WEST VIRGINIA

CRYSTAL GLASS INSULATORS3 INCHES LONG

PACKED: As illustroted-100 pieces to ent. Shipping weight 12 Ibs.

A!so--SOO pieces to ent. Shipping weight S9 Ihs.

SHIPMENTS: All shipments or. billed F. O. B. Foetory, Clarksburg, West Virginio.

TERMS: 1% 15 Doys-Net 30 Ooys.

',I"t~d Ten". apply to well.rat,d fi""s or to thoM who 1'1"". e,tablish.d cr.dit with UI. To oth.n, ou, terms or. cOlh, check .r dm, with order.

ofs vol 6 no 2Page 16