[ARC5] US Pushbutton VHF-AM Control Boxes

[Mike Hanz]

On 3/29/2013 9:04 PM, Mike Morrow wrote:
> 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.

Wow!  I leave for a few hours and what a rush about pushbutton control 
boxes! :-)

I helped Chuck Wahl configure his SNJ-5C restoration for show 
competition about four years ago.  It had been used in the early 1950s 
aboard carriers, so that's the time frame he decided to focus on.  
Although it was a training aircraft and therefore prone to having 
hand-me-downs for years, he found a 1952 letter that ordered all active 
duty carrier training aircraft be brought up to the same comms 
configuration as active duty combat fighters.  That ruled out the 
C-30/ARC-5 pushbutton control.  I provided some of the boxes he needed 
and he dug up the rest - the C-30A was the "official" control box for 
the ARC-5 VHF set shortly after the end of the war.  The C-30 was 
apparently a dog - the pushbuttons kept dropping off and the switching 
mechanism was never very reliable.  The "Aircraft Radio Maintenance 
Notes" dated November 1945 has an reminder that BuAer Technical Note 
93-44  (yes, 1944) announced the introduction of the C-30-A to solve the 
problems of the C-30.  With those two smoking guns, the only remaining 
candidate with pushbuttons by 1955 is the AN/ARC-3.  But I think W6MAB 
already came to that conclusion.

Taigh Ramey took some marvelous photos of Chuck's aircraft at 
http://www.warbirdinformationexchange.org/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?p=319050&sid=0ad597d160520ce6231066bfe183b1c6 
for those interested.  It was a beautiful restoration!

73,
  - Mike