[ARC5] Video discussing the loss of the Lady Be Good

[Kenneth G. Gordon]

On 30 Dec 2014 at 8:27, Mike Hanz wrote:

> On 12/29/2014 11:53 PM, kgordon2006 at frontier.com wrote:
> > As I remember it, the Lady Be Good had no ADF, which is Automatic Direction
> > Finder. It had a "Football" loop and a receiver (like the BC-453) with a loop
> > connection which could be used to easily determine a bearing to a known
> > transmitter, like an NDB. None of these systems had a way to resolve the 180
> > degree ambiguity on a single bearing to an unknown station: there had to be at
> > least two bearings to known stations in order to triangulate a position.
> 
> I'm a little puzzled, Ken.

Don't be: as I said, "As I remember it...". Obviously my memory is faulty. I 
also will sometimes bring up things like this in order to be "corrected" by 
those, like you, who know far more than I.

>  These were new B-24D aircraft, the year was 
> 1943, and the standard issue for the aircraft at the time was the 
> SCR-269-C automatic direction finder, which definitely has both the 
> "football" loop and vertical whip sense antennas that work together to 
> eliminate ambiguity.  Of course, the navigator needs to remember to 
> place the control box function control in the "compass" position rather 
> than the "loop" position in order to obtain the unambiguous result of 
> both antennas.  After passing the radio station, the radio compass would 
> have automatically swung around and pointed backwards to the station 
> again.  The arrow point of an I-82-A compass is *unmistakable* unless 
> one is blind.  Perhaps that pointing backwards was what caused the 
> "navigator" to report that his ADF was broken?

Well, after reading that short note that Wayne (?) posted concerning the 
navigator who although royally screwing up the mission to Norway, still came 
out smelling like a rose, IMHO, the navigator on the LBG was the main 
problem, although there were other, less important issues, with the ground 
stations.

Again, IMHO, the navigator is at least as important as the pilot on missions 
such as the LBG's first, and, sadly, only, one.

Too bad so many navigators were, obviously, so poorly trained...

I had also wondered about the effects of AGC on weak signals with ADF. I'm 
glad someone (W6MAB?) brought that up.

Lastly, how effective was the SCR-269? Was it easy to use, work well, etc?

I've always wanted a really good, effective, working ADF system....

At one time, many years ago, I was given a brand-new MN-26, but with no 
accessories. What a beautifully-made piece of equipment! I always wished I 
had been able to get it completed. It is long gone now.

Ken W7EKB