[ARC5] [Milsurplus] ARC model D (actually Stromberg Carlson Model D)

[Michael]

Thank you, Phil.  (BTW: I'm cc-ing this to the arc-5 list.)

All, please note the date of this article and the tube lineup of the radio.
This receiver is more closely related to the 1927(?) S-C model B than it is
to the military sets derived from it however the design concepts for the
SCR-A*-183/-283 and GF & RU receivers can be seen in it.  For someone like
me interested in the history of both the company and the equipment, this is
a very interesting article.  

The BC-A*-179, -199 and -229/-429 plus the GF receiver (GF referred to the
Tx and Rx in the original set.) were all direct descendents of this
receiver.  They were more or less identical to each other right down to the
tube lineup - one each 37 & 38 and four 39/44s rather than the one 27 and
five 24s used in the S-C Rx.  I don't know how the RU and RU-1 were designed
but the first Rx for which I have reference that has an internal BFO is the
RU-2 which was also used with the GF Tx.  The RU-2's tube lineup differed
somewhat from later models although the general design didn't.  I don't have
any reference for when the RU-*'s tube lineup settled down to the one we all
know and love but I'm sure some kind soul will add that information along
the way.

So far, I haven't found any companion Tx to go with this Rx however my
records are far from complete so something may have slipped past without my
knowing of it.  The SCR-A*-183 and GF/RU equipment that has been called
Model B derived has in common a very weak Tx (1.5-3w out) while that called
Model D derived has a much stronger Tx.  On reflection, I suspect it's all
Model D derived although I don't know when the AAC's first contract for the
SCR-AA-183 went out.  The GF Rx/Tx pair came out in 1932 according to Ships
242 which is probably a good guide point.  It wasn't until 1934 when the
GF-2 (which roughly maps to the BC-A*-229/-429 but with a vastly different
tube lineup) came out that the power settled down at a more reasonable 15
watts out for the Navy version and slightly less for the AAC version.

Aside from the move, I've been trying to find the bitzenpieces needed for a
complete GF-11/RU-16 setup to park next to an ATA/ARA (for which I also need
many much lots of bitzenpieces) for a live display for "show and tell".
This far, I have a Tx with a hole in it and the Tx & Rx mounts with shock
towers that have experienced complete meltdowns.  (The ARA/ATA isn't much
better with the transmitters, modulator, modulator mount and Tx dynamotor
being my total holdings.)  Rather obviously, I still need to do the
hunter-gatherer thing a bit longer.

At the same time, I hope to gather enough SCR-A*-183 bits to make a sort of
complete set, although they don't have to be the same letter type, with
which I can experiment along the same lines as our Mr. Stinson to see if
some non-audiophool friendly tubes will work just as well with the Tx while
playing with the innards of an otherwise pretty-close-to-parts type Rx to
see if making something regenerative will help it become a CW Rx.  

As someone (David?) said, the SCR-A*-183/-283 and GF/RU are probably the
most underappreciated sets going, and part of my master plan is to change
that as much as possible.

Best regards,
 
Michael, WH7HG BL01vk76IM
http://www.nationalmssociety.org/chapters/NTH/index.aspx 
http://wh7hg.blogspot.com/ 
http://kludges-other-blog.blogspot.com 
Hiki Nô!