[ARC5] Saddle Up Boys!

[Michael]

-----Original Message-----
From: ARC5 [mailto:arc5-bounces at mailman.qth.net] On Behalf Of Ray Chase
> Well I have a fondness for the RU GF sets.  

The Model D-derived sets are of particular interest here as well.  The
earliest mention of them that I have seen is in QST from 1927 although that
may have been the Model B.  According to Bulletin D, the original version
used four Eveready-Raytheon ER 224s and one ER 227.  This was a change from
the two 222s, two 240s and a 112 used in the Model B and the lineup used in
the military sets.  Both models were designed by RFL, built by
Stromberg-Carlson and installed & serviced by ARC.  (This was the beginning
of a long and happy relationship between ARC & S-C which continued through
and shortly after WW II.)  Jimmy Doolittle used this receiver during the
first ever blind landing in 1929, which he wound up doing twice since the
Guggenheim observers were late and didn't see the first one*, where it
shared honors with Sperry gyroscopes.

* The observers were delayed by fog.  Doolittle decided to make the flight
anyway despite their not arriving on time and did so in that same fog.  When
he did it officially, the fog had lifted making the total flight less of a
challenge for him and his safety pilot.

Both the AAC and the Navy were interested in the Model D however the AAC got
first crack at a system (SCR-AA-183) despite severe budget constraints.  The
Navy's GF, which came a few months later, was essentially a copy of it built
to Navy specs.  The Rx used what became the standard line up for the
SCR-A*-183/-283 receivers, four 39s (later 39/44s) and one each 37 and 38
while the transmitter used the same 45 Special and three 10Ys the BC-AA-180
did.  According to Ships 242A, the 250-1800 KC RU and 250-14,000 KC RU-1
receivers (1930 and 1931 respectively) predate the SCR-AA-183 however I
don't have any reference that shows how many of either model were actually
built and put in service.  

After a few minor mods and changes, the design we all know and love finally
came to be with the SCR-AE-183 with minor changes afterward.  In the
meantime, the RU-2 Rx, associated with the original GF Tx, pretty much
became the model for all later RUs while the 1934 GF-2 Tx was the basis for
later GFs.  Er, the transmitters, not the [usually] 2-legged kind.  

> They are the direct descendents 
> of the radios that Radio Frequency Labs (RFL) designed and that Stromberg 
> Carlson and Aircraft Radio (ARC) built for the Signal Corps when they 
> briefly took over Airmail Service in the late 20's and early 30's.  

The AAC had a brief foray into carrying the mail from around 1918 to 1926
both as the AAC and as part of the USPO.  From 1926 to 1934 it was in the
hands of commercial air carriers with the first two routes flown (CAR-5 and
CAR-7, both out of Detroit) handled by Ford Motor Company using 3-ATs.  In
1934 the AAC once again carried the mail as a result of what has been termed
the Great Airmail Scandal, initially using aircraft totally unsuited to the
task (P-26s) but with some division commanders upgrading to more appropriate
equipment.  Unfortunately, the pilots were largely untrained in flying at
night and in inclement weather which resulted in some 66 crashes and a dozen
deaths.  (The Western Division under the command of [then] Lt Col H. H.
Arnold was the only one not to suffer any fatalities.)  They flew for six
weeks starting mid-February, 1934, then stood down while the aircraft
equipment was upgraded and the pilots given intense training, ironically by
the same commercial pilots who had been displaced when the AAC took over the
routes.  After that three or four week period they once again flew the mail
for another six weeks before standing down once again when commercial
carriers could again carry airmail.

> I have an Instruction Book for the Radio Set Type SCR-AA-192 and Radio Set
Type 
> SCR-AA-183 published by ARC.  

How much groveling, begging and pleading would I have to do to get copies -
or at least copies of select pages?  I'm also on the hunt for a copy of TM
11-200 which has proven terribly elusive.

> BTW, when did ST bulbs or "shoulder" tubes come on the market?  

I'm going to take a wild stab at some time in the 1932-1934 range.  That
hopefully will bring out someone with far better information. :-)

Best Regards,
 
Michael, K3MXO, CBLA #6, BL01hx15np24 ... or there abouts  
Sometimes I pretend to be normal but it gets boring so I go back to being
me.
http://www.nationalmssociety.org/chapters/NTH/index.aspx
http://wh7hg.blogspot.com/
http://kludges-other-blog.blogspot.com
Hiki Nô!