[Milsurplus] ?? " ZA Impedance Adapter "

[Mike]

Hue Miller wrote:

> Type  CDE-30598A
> A Unit of Model ZA Aircraft Radio equipment
> 1940
> What does this do? Is it only a part of ZA and not ARR-1?
> I do have, and am going to keep to clamp on top an ARB receiver,
> the ARR-1 homing adapter w/ control box. If this ZA item was not
> used w/ ARR-1, i won't keep it.

I know nothing about the ZA.  

I have a copy of the manual for the ZB-2, which I believe is essentially
identical to the R-1/ARR-1.  At least, the R-1/ARR-1 that I have appears
identical to the ZB-2 that I have.  I've seen pictures of a ZB-2 that
had a stamp on the outside saying that it had been modified to an
R-1/ARR-1 configuration, whatever that involved, so there must have been
some small distinction between the two systems.  

The only major components in the ZB-2, aside from the CZR-69076 homing
adapter and the connecting cables and test sets, are the CZR-29173
switching relay and the CZR-23214 control box.  I would conclude the the
ZA item that you have was NOT employed with either the ZB-series or the
AN/ARR-1.

I would think that a ZB-2 or -3 would be the best match for an ARB
(compared to an AN/ARR-1) from an aesthetic point of view, since one
wouldn't be mixing a JAN-nomenclature item with a USN-nomenclature
item.  (Yes, I know that happended all the time.)

There are many picures around of WWII USN aircraft with the ZB-series or
AN/ARR-1 adapters installed, often in conjunction with an RU-series
receiver or the ARB.  But many AN/ARR-1 sets with USN stamps on the
outside have US Army Signal Corps nomenclature tags with USAAF order
numbers on them.  The Signal Corps apparently procurred BC-946 BC-band
SCR-274-N sets to use with the AN/ARR-1, yet I've never come across any
documentation or picures of the BC-946 and the AN/ARR-1 being used by
the USAAF.  Has anyone else on this list?  I suspect that any such usage
by the USAAF of this homing system must have been in the Pacific Theater
of Operations, if at all.  Perhaps a USN YB-type system was used as the
homing signal transmitter.  There does not seem to be any JAN- or
USAAF-nomenclatured equivalent tranmitter.

Mike / KK5F