[HBR] BC-453, other than IF transformers

[N2EY at aol.com]

In a message dated 1/12/06 5:27:17 PM Eastern Standard Time, 
shoppa_hbr at trailing-edge.com writes:


> OK, I got a couple of BC-453B's, and I see the real nice IF
> transformers. BUT... I also see some other stuff, like a nice dial and drive
> and probably some other stuff I do not yet appreciate.

Nice audio transformer, small filter choke, sockets, and a few other goodies.

The carbon resistors, in my experience, are really good ones as such 
resistors go. The paper caps in metal cans along the sides vary from 
still-good-after-60+-years to dead shorted. But they're easy to deal with.

> 
> It's obvious I could use the BC-453B as a kind-of tunable IF but the
> band (190-550kHz) may be less than ideal (a different command set
> receiver higher up in the HF band might have been more appropriate there.)

Not really.

The higher-band ARC-5s have higher IFs, and aren't as selective as the 
BC-453. They also cover more kc., so the tuning rate is faster and the dial more 
crowded. 

They're also less common until you get to the 3-6 Mc. version.

You *can* use a 3-6 Mc. rx as the basis for a ham rx - I've done it. The 
problem is the tuning rate is 100 kc per turn of the knob, there's one dial mark 
per 100 kc., and the selectivity is wider than you need for AM due to the 1415 
kc. IF. Such an rx can be improved by making an IF stage regenerative and 
swapping the tuning cap with one from a 6-9 Mc. rx, but that's a bit of work and 
the results aren't like the BC-453.

Most of all, if you want more than one ham band with an ARC-5, you need to 
build a converter anyway. 

> Were there any HBR-themed receivers that recycled, say, the dial drive or
> the dial drive and VFO from a BC-453B or other command receiver?
> 

Not that I know of, but it could be done. Best candidate is the cap from a 
BC-455 (6-9 Mc version). The others have too much C and the wrong plate shape.


> Wow, I haven't messed around with military surplus in this way for
> a couple of decades now.  Lookin' forward to a lot of fun!
> 
> It's not like I need the VFO or dial from the BC-453B, as I've
> accumulated some other nicish drives (big dial-string Millens and
> National Velvet Verniers) over the years, but it'd be a shame
> to waste everything else in the set. Just looking to find a use
> for every part of the buffalo :-).
> 

I prefer the dial drives/capacitors from the ARC-5 transmitters and the 
BC-221 freqmeters. Much better than anything made for the civilian market, and 
easier to use.

73 de Jim, N2EY