TOM WALKER wrote in a message to ROY J. TELLASON:

RJT> JE> I'm getting old and my memory isn't what it used to be, but seems
RJT> JE> that the A battery was round, about 2-3" in dia and
about4-6" tall.

RJT>Never saw one,  so I can't comment on the size.

TW> That one turned out to the the #6 Battery. As I remember it was
TW> popular with model plane enthusasts for the engine Glow Plugs.

It was popular in a lot of other areas too.  I'd forgotten completely about
that being called a #6,  and still wonder what happened to the other
numbers...

RJT>The size designations were one thing,  but I thought that the functional
RJT>designations were a whole different thing -- maybe not?  "A" was
RJT>filaments, "B" was plate supply,  and "C" was
grid bias.  I 
RJT>remember some old battery tube radios but I don't remember ever 
RJT>seeing one that used a C battery.

TW> It was replaced with a voltage divider.

Yep.

RJT>Oh,  and there was one weird one I ran across one time -- I wanted
RJT>a 6V bat
RJT>and this place sold me a unit (I can remember that it had the
"Burgess"
RJT>coloring) that had five screw terminals across the top and a wire
RJT>coming ou
RJT>one top corner -- giving you a choice of 1.5, 3, 4.5, 6, and 7.5V!

TW> I rembember those. But don't recal lthe most common use.

I never did find out what its intended use was.  As things turned out I'd
have been better off with a 6v lantern battery or something.  It didn't
last long and I wouldn't be surprised to find that it had been on the shelf
a while.

RJT>I thought AAA was more recent,  and AAAA even more so.

TW> The AAA and AAAA are more rencet then the AA. In fact back in my
TW> Radio Repair days in the late 40's they didn't even exist. They are
TW> a produce of later year minitarizuation becauwee of Intergerated
TW> circuits. I find it increadable that they have Radios built in to
TW> fairly small headsets.

Another one that I'd forgotten about was the AF cell,  which I have four of
in a meter here.  Bigger than AA in diameter,  at least.

RJT>I remember doing that for all sorts of reasons.  The rods out of D
RJT>cells were handy for electrolysis,  for example.  And there were some 
RJT>other projects you could do that I'm not remembering at the moment.

TW> The Carbon Rods from the #6 Battery was also popular for various
TW> uses. Including the already mentioned Welding.

Yep,  even though it was a chore to get 'em out of there.

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