The Joke's on you Tom;
Arthur Atwater Kent died in 1949, whoever he is he is simply using
that as a user name. The Atwater Kent Manufacturing Company was originally an
automotive electrical parts supplier; much like Northeast Electric or Allis
Chalmers; that was based out of Philadelphia. As a matter of fact he made
his fortune manufacturing spark coils, horns, magnetos, and flag
holding radiator caps.
In the 1920s he entered the radio market, more or less as a hobby,
and soon became famous for the quality of his products. Throughout the twenties
and early thirties his name was a household word, much like Sony is today,
because he was one of the prime manufacturers of radio sets at that
time. Atwater Kents are the only radios that I have run across that made their
chasis out of stainless steel but made short lived power transformers,
a strange paradox. His business carried on until 1936 when, after a second
major strike, he shut his factories down permanently and retired. I should
inform you that he was a millionare before he even made radios and owned his
business outright, with no publically traded shares, so he could basically do as
he wished with it.
With regards to the sending units for Imperials I believe that they
were made by some proprietory make like King- Sealey. If this is the case then a
Ford unit, or some parts of, would likely work. In any case there isn't much to
one of these units even in a modern car which is why I would attempt to repair
it rather then writing a check for a replacement. Apparently the rheostat
in mine is similar to that out of a VW bug's unit as Kerry fixed his that
way.
Best Regards
Arran Foster
1954 Imperial Newport
Needing A Left Side Taillight bezel and other trim parts.
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