[ARC5] Re: [Milsurplus] SCR-183 question

[William Donzelli]

> I paid an arm and a leg last year for a NOS SCR-AS-183 still in the
> unopened (since 1943) wooden crate.

OK, how much?

>  The original packing list stated
> the serial numbers of each component, and each component agreed with the
> packing list.  But guess what?  NONE of the serial numbers on any of the
> components (even coil sets) were the same!  There IS an ink stamp INSIDE
> the coil units that states that the coil was calibrated for use with a
> particular serial-numbered transmitter or receiver. 
> 
> That leads me to think that the SCR-*-183/283 coil sets in any given
> installation were very unlikely to bear external serial numbers that
> matched each other or the unit into which they plugged.  

Maybe by the time the AS series was being produced, the manufacturing had 
become tight enough in the tolerance department, that the serials really 
did not matter anymore. 

> For those who haven't done so, you would likely find it interesting to
> compare the manual and equipment for a RU/GF set versus a SCR-*-183/283
> set.  The USN set is *grossly* different electrically, and in a few
> aspects mechanically, compared to the USAAF set.  The RU/GF is much more
> refined.  The two sets are, IMO, very different radio designs that just
> happen to be in similar looking external packages.  For years I had
> thought that the RU/GF was mainly just an SCR-*-183/283 in USN clothing.

The first GFs (to GF-5, maybe?) were almost identical to the SCR-*-183s. 
Why the Navy changed is a mystery. Why the AAC did not follow is more of 
a mystery.

William Donzelli
aw288@osfn.org