[Milsurplus] BC-230 questions and observation

[Jack Antonio]

Hi all

Putting an SCR-183 set together, its hearing the local AM net on 3870
fairly decently, and the transmitter is putting out slightly less than
3 watts into a 50 ohm load, with the dynamotor purring gently in the background.

Couple of questions for the group

1. Anyone know the specs of the A-55 antenna?  I want to duplicate it for
bench checks and transmitter setup per the manual. Right now the antenna
terminal is fed through a 100pf cap, then to a 1 to 4 transformer, then to the
50 ohm load, and am getting .5A on the antenna current meter. The math
works out to this being 3 watts to a 12 ohm load, so it looks like things are
in the ball park.  The book says antenna currents run in the .8 to .9A range
and am wondering if the A-55 load is 4 or 8 ohms and a cap.

2. Anyone look at the modulation envelope on MCW.? Mine is definitely
NOT sinusoidal, or even close to it, and am wondering if this is normal.
Voice modulation looks OK, a loud whistle looks clean.

Lastly an observation. The coil set being used came from a different source
than the transmitter, so was never calibrated with it.  Even so, with the dial
set at the 4000 kc setting, the actual measured frequency was 4002 plus change.
Not too bad, all things considered.

73 and thanks in advance

Jack Antonio WA7DIA
scr-287@sbcglobal.net