[Milsurplus] Re: What era is a ME-61/GRC Field Strength Meter?

[WA5CAB@cs.com]

Barry,

The order number, which is the full alpha-numeric string, was set by the 
Signal Corps Procurement District (office) that placed the order.  The year part 
of it came from the date on which the order number was set, and is the last two 
digits of the Federal Fiscal Year.

I don't know the exact year that the order number syntax was established as 
I've never come across an instruction on the matter.  The earliest piece of 
Signal Corps hardware that I have (a BC-221) dates from 1934/35.  The last time I 
had anything earlier was long before I started up my database.  But from some 
date before that, the order number syntax was a sequence number (your 4520), 
a hyphen, an abreviation of the name of the Procurement District that placed 
the order, a hyphen, the two digit fiscal year of the order date, and sometimes 
another hyphen and a two-digit supplementary order number.

So far as I know, the sequence numbers started over each FY at "1".  I've 
seen a few two-digit numbers in some years and I think a very few single-digit 
ones, but that's probably just chance.  In any given year, there would only be 
nine single-digit and ninety two-digit ones.

I think, but again haven't come across anything in print actually stating it, 
that "PP" is Philadelphia, which from 1941 when the main Procurement District 
was moved there from New York until about 1959 was usually shown as "Phila" 
on the nameplates and in the TM's.

And the two-digit number following the District ID is the two-digit Fiscal 
Year, so "60" means that the order was dated between 01 July 1959 and 30 June 
1960.  That does not necessarily mean that the item itself was made between 
those two dates, as there would normally be a lag between order placement and item 
receipt.  But it should be close.

In a message dated 8/31/2003 12:41:19 AM Central Daylight Time, 
btuttleman@worldnet.att.net writes: 
> where does the order date come from, the Order #?  no dates that i can
> find on the unit?  this one is a Spec Electronics manufactured unit w/
> Order # 4520-PP-60

Robert & Susan Downs - Houston
<http://www.wa5cab.com>
<wa5cab@cs.com>


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