[ARC5] History of Ham Mods: Opinions?

[Michael Tauson]

On Mon, Jun 15, 2009 at 3:52 AM, David Stinson <arc5 at ix.netcom.com> wrote:

> Should a collector's guide to WWII radios, which emphasizes the history of
> the equipment, include a section citing examples of exceptional ham radio mods?

Oh, boy.  This is a loaded question from the replies I've read so far.

My new book on Aircraft Radio Corporation is NOT a collector's Guide
per se, though it will have a significant amount of information in it
of interest to collectors.  On the other hand, it also has a history
of the company and of the equipment.  Some of that equipment was
modified by the services - notable examples: the NRL crystal
controlled ARA/ATA sets and the RN BC-455s modified for Lorenz use
(for which I still need more detailed information!) - and some by
companies after the war like Central Electronics redesign of the
BC-457(?) as a VFO/exciter for their SSB rig.

Even A.R.C. themselves got in on the act.  The original Type 15
receiver was a conversion of one of the VHF receivers A.R.C. designed
for the ARC-5 (followed later by the R-15 and R-19) and the R-11 &
R-10 were essentially modified R-23 and R-24/ARC-5s respectively.

There were others but I think the pattern of interest is emerging
here.  Amateur conversions & modifications unknowingly followed this
already existing trend.  I agree that a number of conversions aren't
worth considering except as bad examples.  The sentence, "First strip
the chassis." is a good indicator that things are not going to go
well.  On the other hand, I do plan to include a "typical 50s-60s 80 &
40m conversion rig" (which will include the least offensive
conversions I can find performed on already unvirginized equipment)
and the fundimentals of a Q-5er plus, with his kind permission (*beg*
*grovel*), Dave Stinson's information on how to run Type K-derived
equipment as built plus on reduced voltage.  Somewhere in there will
be a caution that making alterations to intact equipment will be
treated by this old vet on a par with treason.  Or worse.

This is a line tread softly, to be honest, as is the quantity of
equipment that went over the side at the end of the war and, sadly,
became part of landfills.  They are parts of the complete history
which, in this case, goes well past the end of WW II.  History isn't
always pleasant but even the ugly parts need to be included to be as
accurate as possible.

My ultimate goal is to try to trace the company's history until it
disappeared into Sperry's avionics division, though that may be asking
too much.  The Boonton facility closed in 1970 which may provide an
alternate ending point but the company itself lived past then as
Aircraft Radio and Control or, as a lot of radio shops started calling
it, "Awful Radio Company".  That is a good indicator how much the
quality slipped toward the end.

Let the flames begin!

Best regards,

Michael, WH7HG