[ARC5] SCR-522: Rethinking The Old Gal

[Scott Johnson]

Mike-
I know the ARC-4 was a pre-war WE development.  I have a question about the
ARC-1.  I once, long ago believed it to be a Collins development, but later,
after have diving into dozens, realized it had WE written all over it, they
just used Collins auto-positioners.  Do you have a time line and history of
the development of VHF command sets?  I also wonder why the ARC-1 didn't win
out in the post-war era, the ARC-3/36/49 seemed ridiculous with three boxes
and all the interconnects. Was it a USAF/USN thing?  Likewise, I often
wonder about the Bendix ARC-33.  Although it was bigger than the ARC-27, its
MTBF had to be much higher.   In addition, the MTTR had to be lower.  Not to
say the ARC-27 wasn't pioneering, and with the solid state guard receiver
and PP-2100, it could have been much more reliable. As it was, the ARC-27
soldiered on into the early eighties, the ARC-1 into the early seventies,
and the ARC-49 into the mid-seventies. Being somewhat of a cold war avionics
amateur archeologist, I daydream about such things.

Regards,

Scott V. Johnson W7SVJ
5111 E. Sharon Dr.
Scottsdale, AZ 85254-3636
H (602) 953-5779
C (480) 550-2358
scottjohnson1 at cox.net
scott.johnson at ieee.org

-----Original Message-----
From: arc5-bounces at mailman.qth.net <arc5-bounces at mailman.qth.net> On Behalf
Of Mike Morrow
Sent: Sunday, April 26, 2020 8:32 AM
To: ARC-5 <arc5 at mailman.qth.net>
Subject: Re: [ARC5] SCR-522: Rethinking The Old Gal

Dave wrote:

> Once, I was disdainful of the SCR-522 VHF rig.  Not because of its 
> history, which is quite significant, but for aesthetics, calling it an 
> "ugly black lump of a radio."

IMHO the SCR-522-A was the MOST important aircraft command set on any
frequency used by any armed service of any nation during WWII.  Bendix made
a great contribution to the war effort with its refinement of original UK
designs.  Even the USN used it...I have a picture of a PBY cockpit with two
BC-602-B pushbutton control boxes side-by-side.

I have complete VHF sets AN/ARC-4, SCR-522-A, AN/ARC-5, AN/ARC-3, and
AN/ARC-1.  It's interesting to see the development of US military VHF
command sets over a short four-year period.

I admire the beauty, quality, and engineering of the MF/HF AN/ARC-5 system,
but the SCR-522-A was much better suited for command set service.
Unfortunately, its horrific complex "Rube Goldberg" push-button mechanical
nightmare BC-602-B control box inspired similar control box abominations
like the C-118/ARC-3 and C-30/ARC-5. :-)

Mike / KK5F
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