[Milsurplus] AN/ARC-8(?) (ART-13B + ARR-15)

[Mike]

Mike Feher wrote:
 
> I think the German E-52 series is far superior to our BC-348 or 312 series
> of receivers. With the variable IF bandwidth, AC/DC power supply, projection
> type readout, fast & slow tuning, modular construction, all tubes
> replaceable from the front, and, all the tubes identical part numbers, it is
> one of my favorites. Not necessarily for aircraft use but just in general.
> We had nothing close.

Hi Mike and all,

My copy of "Uebersicht ueber die Funkgeraete der Luftwaffe" (Overview of
Air Force Radio Sets), published November 1942, lists the E52a as a
ground-based receiver, weighing 95 lbm, covering 1.5 to 25 MHz, with a
supply voltage of 110 to 240v.  It sounds like a good receiver, yet it
can hardly be fair to compare its features with the lightweight,
harsh-environment, airborne, dc-powered BC-348.  I know of no *airborne*
receiver in WWII that even comes close to the BC-348 in overall
capability and performance.  Only the AN/ARR-15 came in to give it
competition, ant that only well *after* the war, and the AN/ARR-15
didn't cover the aircraft range frequencies like the BC-348 does.

The German set with the broadest range of HF coverage appears to have
been the FuG10 series.  The 60 watt transmitter S10K and receiver E10K
covered 3 to 6 MHz, while the S10K-2 and E10K-2 covered 6 to 12 MHz.  I
believe the Germans employed 10 watt low-band VHF-AM FuG16, 17, and 17z
sets (together covering 38.5 to 47.75 MHz) for most of their airborne
comms.

I wonder how the USN's RBC would have compared with the E52a's
performance, since we're talking about two heavyweights there.

73,
Mike / KK5F