[ARC5] ARC-5 Worked All States

[Christopher Bowne]

When son Dave was in high school he took my GN-58 that is part of my GRC-9 equipment and did a science project that calculated the work required to light a set of bulbs off of the 6v filament output.  Can remember the numbers but the result was a real eye opener.  Also had it set up to give the operator an immediate real time experience of how increasing the electrical load requires more mechanical force by making and breaking a portion of the load while someone was grinding away. You really could feel the machine tighten up.

We ran the GRC-9 in full field mode with battery power on the receiver and GN-58 on the trabsmitter one FD at W1NZR's place, loading up the 90 foot vertical ex-radio location tower.  Not a job for old men for sure.  You could really feel the mechanical load on key down while sending.   I think other countries' field sets used stationary bicycle style field gennies...surely a better way than handcranking, although an upright arrangement would put the genny operator in a rather exposed position in a combat situation.

I always marveled when reading Admiral Byrd's book "Alone" where he attempted to winter over solo at an advanced weather base close to the South Pole on one of his first Antarctic expeditions that he often would have to crank a hand genny with one hand and key his transmitter with the other when his gas genset was inoperable. Fumes from the gas genset backing up into his hut eventually nearly killed him.  A relief party had to rescue him in midwinter, traveling during near complete darkness over the ice with, as I recall, gas powered motor sledges.

Sent from my iPhone

On Sep 10, 2017, at 22:27, hwhall at compuserve.com wrote:

>> 
> I've been thinking of pairing up the transmitters with my an HQ-120-X that I restored last  year;  I think that would make a nice vintage DX setup -- although not authentic.
>> 
> 
> Might not be military authentic but it sure sounds like it would be Retro.  
> Representative of a lot of 40s & 50s stations.  The way hams "used to do it."
> 
> Wayne
> WB4OGM
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