[ARC5] [Milsurplus] ARB Canvas Cover

[J. Forster]

Dave,

What you say makes a lot of sense.

The ARB cover is a complex thing with flaps and snap fasteners on the
front so that it can be removed and replaced while the receiver is still
hooked up. At a guess, it looks like it was designed to remain in-place
in-flight.

On the spares issue, some time ago, I bought a mostly complete ARB Spares
Kit. The previous owner had removed all the resistors, but left pretty
much everything else. I've not checked the parts inventory against the set
components list, but it looks like the parts kit had just about every
electrical part, save switches and magnetic components. I can scan the
inventory if anyone is interested.

Oh, and if anyone has a shock mount, PLEASE email me.

Best,

-John

=====================



>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "J. Forster" <jfor at quikus.com>
>
>> I'm not criticizing. I'm just trying to understand why?
>
> Mike is right about the studies showing what salt spray
> will do to the equipment and doubtless, contracting
> officers saw these studies.  The question is:
> why did some officers spec covers
> while some did not?
>
> It could be as simple as this:
> Human nature and "like the last war" thinking.
> I posit that the officers who wrote-up the specs for
> the ARB/ATB radio contract included the covers
> based on their own judgement of "need,"
> which was not always shared by other such officers.
>
> Look at how many "spare" tubes were typically included
> in a WWII contract (and thank goodness for it).
> Most of those tube turned-out to be unneeded and thus,
> are available to us at reasonable prices today.
> I don't know about you folks, but a "bad tube"
> is way down the list of the things I find in a set.
>
> Tube reliability advanced by giant leaps
>  in the years between the wars, but the old men in the
> spec-writing and contract-writing chain of the Signal Corps
> and the Navy remembered the fragile tubes of 1922.
> They also bought-in to the "it's always the tubes"
> trouble-shooting meem.  Such human folly is still
> with us today (just take a car to a mechanic and
> watch him throw "pat answers" like "needs a tune-up"
> rather than actually trouble-shoot the car).
>
> So these fellows ordered dozens of needless tube spares
> for each set produced.
> The same thinking could lead these well-intentioned
> old radio guys to order canvas covers, while the
> younger guys working on radar and IFF saw no need.
>
> One theory, but I think it's a good one.
>
> 73 DE Dave AB5S
>
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