[ARC5] The RBA...

[Kenneth G. Gordon]

On 13 Apr 2013 at 19:34, jmfranke wrote:

> The RBA is a wonderful TRF. I wish I had one. But the RBA does not
> have a regenerative detector as evidenced by the presence of a BFO
> switch and no regeneration control.

The RBA is kinda weird: it DOES have a regenerative detector, but it is 
permanently set at the point just below oscillation: there is no manual 
regeneration control.  Then it has a separate tunable beat-oscillator which is 
set 750 Hz below (or above, I forget which) the frequency to which the 
receiver is tuned, and follows it when the receiver is tuned.

It is, essentially, a direct-conversion receiver with 2 RF amp stages (the 
second of which, by the way, is set up to operate as an RF limiter), and a 
regenerative detector, with a separate BFO. 

According to the manual, you can connect from 1 to 32 pairs of phones to it 
with no change in audio output volume. I cannot even imagine why one 
would want to connect 32 pairs of phones to it.

I have two RBAs.

I'd gladly sell you one. However, the derned things weigh over 100 lbs. Even 
if I sent one to you via FedEx Ground (which has been proven to me to be 
the least expensive and yet most reliable method of shipping such heavy 
rigs), it would probably cost at least $100.00 for shipping. 

You can see a front-panel photo of one of mine here:

http://www.w7ekb.com/glowbugs/BA/index.html

and here:

http://www.w7ekb.com/glowbugs/BA/RBA.html

This particular one has been converted by the Navy or by RCA to tune down 
to 14 KHz. It was called an "Extended Range" modification.

Kenneth G. Gordon W7EKB

"Courage is being scared to death but saddling up anyway."--- John   Wayne