[ARC5] Follow-up: W5SUM Discovers SCR-274N Mystery

[David Stinson]

Ronnie sent me the mystery FT-243 and the
modified BC-696 in which it was found.

The mods to the 696 are all "ham-burglery;" 
none appears to be "factory" or Signal Corps.

Reminder of the "mystery" FT-243:
https://goo.gl/photos/qBUaRD6FGjYwJfns6
Added to the mystery is this printed on the side
of the holder:  
        PRIME CONTRACTOR
        WESTERN ELECTRIC
        NEW YORK, N.Y.

The plastic handle attached to the top of the
crystal is a re-used loading coil cover window.
Almost certainly this is a ham mod.

In the modified rig, the powdered-iron PA coil
core is removed.  The 1629 socket was stripped
and rewired to allow the FT-243 crystal holder
with the capacitor inside to be plugged into the 
socket and pad the 1626 oscillator.  Why one would
wish to pad the oscillator down and move the PA
coil up by removing the core eludes me.  This set
could not have functioned in any case; the "burgler"
attempted to shoe-horn screen dropping resistors
within the rig and ended-up shorting the signal
and screen grids.  Like most all "improved" 
Command Set transmitters, when it didn't work
as expected first try, it went right in the junk heap.
This one is drilled, so I'm reworking it for my
good friend into a "Novice Station" rig and that
is going well.

Back to the "mystery" FT-243.  Since we have
established that this has been gutted for some 
reason, I think we should put out a general call
to the mil-radio community to dig into their
dusty old boxes of crystals and see if we can find
an intact example of an FT-243 marked 
as is this one.  The information on the front cover
 may give us more insight.

73 OM DE Dave AB5S