[ARC5] US Pushbutton VHF-AM Control Boxes

[Michael A. Bittner]

I goggled the C-30/ARC-5, and the C-118/ARC-3 and the C-118 looks more like what I remember.  It was mounted vertically against the right sidewall some distance directly below the instrument panel.  As such, it was difficult to see without bending down (bending down not a good idea when in close formation), so we learned to operate it by touch.  During formation training there were often more than four 4-plane formations + instructor in the air at any one time, all on different channels, so it had to have more than four channels.  So, I'm sticking with the ARC-3.  Thanks to all who contributed to this thread.
Mike, W6MAB
  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Mike Morrow 
  To: Arc5 at mailman.qth.net 
  Sent: Friday, March 29, 2013 6:04 PM
  Subject: [ARC5] US Pushbutton VHF-AM Control Boxes


  Mike wrote:

  > But I'm still trying to nail down what kind of VHF transceiver
  > we had in those 1955 SNJs with the red pushbuttons on the
  > channel selector control box.  Arc-5 or ARC-something else?

  Pushbutton control boxes were a fortunately short-lived legacy
  from British practice that was introduced with the UK-inspired
  SCR-522-A VHF-AM set.  There were only three such PB control
  boxes used for US military aircraft radios:

  SCR-522-A  4-channel VHF-AM
  Uses BC-602-A or -B 5-pushbutton channel select box.  (4 channel
  select buttons, 1 button for OFF).

  AN/ARC-3   8-channel VHF-AM
  Uses C-118/ARC-3 or C-118A/ARC-3 9-pushbutton channel select box
  (8 channel select buttons, 1 button for OFF).  This abomination
  could be replaced by the C-404*/A rotary switch panel.

  AN/ARC-5   4-channel VHF-AM
  Uses C-30/ARC-5 7-pushbutton channel select box (4 VHF channel select
  buttons, 2 MF/HF transmitter select buttons, 1 button for OFF).  Most
  of these abominations were replaced by the C-30A/ARC-5 rotary switch
  select box, even before the end of WWII.

  I doubt that any USN SNJs had the USAF SCR-522-A or AN/ARC-3 installed.
  That makes the C-30/ARC-5 the most likely box that you saw, for the VHF
  AN/ARC-5 set.  It controlled the R-28/ARC-5 VHF receiver and the T-23 or
  T-126/ARC-5 VHF transmitter.  The C-30/ARC-5 could also control up to
  two MF/HF transmitters, but typically there would be one 4-channel VHF
  transmitter (requiring 4 pushbuttons) and one MF/HF transmitter (requiring
  1 pushbutton) in a two-transmitter rack.  The pushbuttons on the C-30
  or C-30A transmitter control also selected the receiver channel as well.

  Mike / KK5F