[Boatanchors] Military Transmitter Question (SRR series)

[w8au at sssnet.com]

At 11:23 AM 11/23/2010, Kenneth Grimm wrote:
>On Tue, Nov 23, 2010 at 8:39 AM, Carl <km1h at jeremy.mv.com> wrote:
>
> > The only good place for the SRR series was over the side! As a Navy ET Ive
> > never seen a more unreliable POJ than RCA's replacement for the RB* series.
> > Carl KM1H
> >
>I couldn't agree more!  When I was young as well as stupid, I bid on a lot
>of the SRR-13s in the govt auction over at Norfolk.  Unfortunately, I won.
>I spent countless hours trying to make a few working radios out of a bunch
>of POJ radios.  Fortunately, I found enough buyers to take the working ones
>from me.  While I didn't make a profit on this "business" venture, I at
>least broke even and learned my lesson!
>Ken - K4XL
>______________________________________________________________

Interesting thread.  Going through ET"A" school at Great Lakes
in 1958, I was taught the SRR series and it's same vintage xmtrs
SRT 14/15/16.

Being a young ham, I was really impressed with the projection display
and was also an introduction into modular design and pencil tubes.
These receivers worked fine in the school room..... BUT..

After assignment to my first ship (a DDR) I noticed the SRTs but
NO SRRs!  Still had the RBA/B/C setup.  Was curious but just accepted
it.  In the two years on that first ship I had to repair only ONE RBC!
I did hear of other DD's having some SRR sets.

I didn't find out until a couple decades later that the Navy must
have realized these were bench queens and held off the replacement
of the RBA/B/C's until the R-390 models and others came out.

I have an SRT-14 in the shack. I swore I would not pick one up since
I continuously baby-sat those 76 tube synthesizer exciters with an OS-8
tied to them for lissajous pattern checks, but nostalgia got the best
of me.  SRRs appear now and then on the auction site, but I resist
the temptation while watching someone else get the potential grief.

Perry  w8au