a "shelf queen" BC-230 transmitter from the rubble, so I can
make notes on reviving it. Found a W.E. BC-AO-230, circa 1941,
which looked like it had been excavated from an Egyptian
Pharaoh's tomb- something the grave robbers would
have left behind.
Took the poor corpse out to the garden hose for a bath. The meter is missing so
no worries about getting it wet. With most of the crud washed-out and most of the
bad paint blasted off the cover, discovered the first of two surprises.
A tag of some kind had been screwed to the top of the transmitter, covered
in a clear plastic like thin Perspex. Only the little fragments under the screw
heads remained, but what it likely denoted was evident inside:
The transmitter has been modified for crystal control using FT-243.
The MO grid-leak has been removed, two pin sockets to accommodate
the crystal installed in the phenolic board and the grid circuit wired
grid-crystal-ground. A 50K resistor shunts the crystal. Working on tracing
this out.
Neat and probably period, but something even more surprising
came next: an aircraft tail number scratched into the cover.
Took a little bit of gentle buffing to get it to come clear.
All tail numbers found on our goodies are cool, but this one was
"unexpected." The number is 42 62203. So I looked it up.
That tail number is from a *CG-4A Waco Glider.*
"DO WHAT??"
Now, I've learned the hard way over the years to
"Never say Never" when it comes to our radios,
but SCR-183 in a Waco? If someone had told me
that, I'd have raised an eye-brow, but reserved
judgement until something definitive came along.
In the mean time- Who'dah thunk it?
I mean- the idea of -183 in a glider isn't impossible.
As improbable as it seems- that tail number is
pretty solid evidence.
