[ARC5] R-24

[Mike Morrow]

Jay wrote:

> http://www.ebay.com/itm/121919181257
> This looks very nice but has the wrong dial "under the hood".
> That probably will not matter to the bidders on this one,

As you note, the correct ID-26/ARC-5 .52 to 1.5 MCS control box dial is missing.  It won't be easy to replace.  The A.R.C. 9554 locked-tuned receiver tuning key is also missing...exactly correct.  The R-23* and R-24 were never lock tuned, so the A.R.C. 9554 was not supplied with them from the factory.

There is no other in this series of receivers that was so completely without purpose as the R-24.  It was designed to support operation of the AN/ARR-1 ZB VHF homing adapter, yet by the time it was out the much improved R-4*/ARR-2 was available to put in the AN/ARC-5 rack.  It was also designed to be the localizer receiver to the AN/ARN-9 Air-Track ILS using the MX-19/ARC-5 adapter panel, but that was very fortunately abandoned in favor of the USAAF SCS-51 ILS in 1944.  It restored DF loop connections, yet there is no evidence that an R-24 was ever used with a loop.  Three strike-outs!

Just maybe it might have served as a communications receiver along with the mysterious T-15/16/17 MF transmitters...but there's no evidence that those transmitters themselves were ever used.

So much potential...yet NOTHING to show for it!

Mike / KK5F
PS:  Thanks for posting a clickable URL instead of just an item number!