It is widely accepted that the Electra's ventral receiver aerial was damaged on take off at Lae. However, at 0758 Itasca local time Earhart reported she was circling and asked Itasca to transmit on 7500 kcs. She then said that she received the signal but cannot get a minimum. The DF loop control box could not be tuned above 1500kcs so how was she able to receive the 7500 signal if the ventral receiver aerial had been damaged at take-off at Lae? And if she could receive on 7500 why could she not receive signals on 3105 or 6210?
The attached pictures show the Electra before the crash at Hawaii (short V aerial attached to the dorsal mast at mid-cabin) and after the rebuild (dorsal mast at the front of the cabin). Before the crash there were two ventral receiver aerials supported by six masts (plus the trailing aerial mast) but after the crash and rebuild there was only one ventral aerial with three masts.
Previously when  the Hooven automatic direction finder was fitted, it needed both a rotating loop aerial AND a static aerial to resolve the bidirectional ambiguity of the loop aerial. Hence there were two ventral receiver aerials, one connected to the Western Electric receiver and the other to the DF receiver. Before the crash at Hawaii, when the Bendix RA1 receiver and the manual direction finder was fitted there were still two ventral aerials so presumably the RA1 was connected to one of them in which case the RA1 could be tuned to 7500 as a receiver or to 1500 as a direction finder.
 (It was not essential to connect the RA1 to the static aerial as the directional ambiguity could be resolved by the human operator but the RA1 would then be limited to the frequencies to which the loop aerial could be tuned).
After the crash and rebuild there was only one ventral aerial. Was that aerial connected only to the Western Electric receiver? In which case if the Bendix RA 1 receiver was not connected to the static aerial, she could not tune the Bendix receiver to 7500, only to 1500 through the loop antenna.
Or was the single aerial connected to both the WE and the Bendix receivers? Can two receivers be simultaneously connected to a single aerial? (I don't think so, both receivers would need to be tuned simoultaneously to the same frequency). Or is a switch needed to flip the aerial from one receiver to the other? Or is one receiver switched off when the other is in use?
Something does not add up. What do you guys think?

That's a blast from the past!

https://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Archives/Expeditions/NikuVI/Niku6dailiesweek2.html

Dateline: Nikumaroro, 0530 Local Time, 3 June 2010.

"Another thing was found, and right now they are thinking that it may be part of a vacuum tube used for target practice by the Coasties. They're calling it the "dragonfly." I have sketched it based on Ric's description, which is a risky thing to do, but I did it anyway. In total it measures about one inch by one inch, and is made of brass or copper. The center portion is a rod, too thick to be called a wire. It has serrations on one side – not threads, but regular indentations. The "wings" are flat and thin, with holes as shown. An interesting piece."

This item has always intrigued me. I believe I have an idea what it might be - the governor from a music box.

I am going by memory of what the item looks like as I can't find the particular TIGHAR Tracks that had a sketch.

If this is correct then the two holes on the 'wings' would have secured small pieces of flat steel by means of small tubular rivets. The length/area of these flat pieces would have been ground in length/size to set the tempo of the music. At one end would have been gear teeth to connect it to a larger gear on the. If these teeth are oriented in the axial direction, then this would have been the governor of a small spring-wound music box with low torque. If the teeth are helical, winding around the shaft, then this would have been the governor of something with higher torque like a weight-driven cuckoo clock. The mating gear in a high-torque mechanism would have been at a right-angle to the axis of the governor. Wind-up record players used a completely different governor mechanism. Given the environment any ferrous parts would have rusted away.

Did Amelia's cosmetic case have a music box in the lid?

Is it part of a timer from some other device?

Otherwise, I would say it is a spinner from a fishing lure. Maybe a re-purposed available music box item.

Thanks for the virtual tour and the photos, Diego.

Very much appreciated!

I live in the Pasadena area of Greater LA and happened to be passing within a few blocks of AE's old house on Valley Spring Lane in Tolucca Lake yesterday, so stopped by to see how it looked (I've stopped by once in a while before, but it's been at least ten years or so). Toluca Lake is a toney, subdued, and kind of quirky enclave in Los Angeles.  Lots of stars have lived there over the years, Bob Hope is probably the best known long-time resident, but there were many more old timers who lived there for a time - Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra, Andy Griffith, Roy Disney – and still many today, including Hillary Duff, Steve Carell, Andy Garcia, Ray Romano, Denzel Washington and more. It's not as gauche and grandiose as the Bel Air, Hollywood Hills, or Beverly Hill, but it's a centrally located place close to the studios for stars and execs who want to avoid all that glitz and glamour and just live pretty normally. 

AE's house is pretty normal looking, large by most standards (5265 sq. ft), but just average for the area.  Zillow lists it at $4.6 mil, also probably about average for the area. It's at the dead end of Valley Spring Lane, and her back yard abuts the beautiful Lakeside Golf Club (very swanky, I've been there a few times for events, not a member 😐). AE's house looks the same as the first time I saw it about 25 years ago or so, and probably hasn't changed much since she lived there. It's not marked in any way, except the house number, 10042.  It's most distinctive feature is a cylindrical front corner that has some intricate glass and iron work (see photo). Do I remember something about George Putnam holding a séance in this front room after AE disappeared?  Anyway, I took some photos of AE's house, in case anyone is interested.  Then I went up and rang AE's doorbell, but she wasn't in.
 
Btw, across the street from her is the eponymous, tiny Toluca Lake, which is ringed in by houses that offer virtually no view of the lake from the street or any public viewing area, but the place across the street from AE's has been torn down for new construction, which gave me a chance to actually see the lake, so I took a photo of that too.  I spoke briefly to the construction guys, who only spoke Spanish (common in LA), and explained to them about AE – they listened politely and nodded but had no idea of who AE was and didn't seem too interested.
 
Coincidentally, about 10-15 years I had some brief business interaction with a relatively quiet and discreet multi-billionaire (not Tim) who lives across the street and about two houses down from AE's place. In small talk with him back then, I found out that he was on the National Geographic board and had some moderate interest in AE.  Small world.

Glad to see that it's been taken down and the user account discontinued.

Quote from: Jeff Lange on January 02, 2026, 07:44:12 AMHappy New Year All!

Hear, hear!

Thanks Marty- I will watch that today!

Happy New Year All!

Quote from: Jeff Lange on December 30, 2025, 08:44:07 PMI have seen the short 8 minute clips popping up in my recommended list, but haven't watched any. I'm waiting to watch the full newer interview first.

So far as I know, this is the full interview (65 mintes):

Top Amelia Earhart Researcher Reveals What REALLY Happened to Her Plane

I have seen the short 8 minute clips popping up in my recommended list, but haven't watched any. I'm waiting to watch the full newer interview first.