[Milsurplus] Collins 32RA

[Cletus W Whitaker]

de WB2CPN               2004.09.05

Interesting, but the name 32RA was the name
Collins put on it when it was introduced to
the ham radio market prior to WWII.  There
was other equipment like that, the Wilcox
96C transmitter for one, that went straight
off the shelf.  The manuals for the 32RA and
the 96C were civilian, as well as other
civilian equipment such as the Signal Shifter,
not a TM something or other.  That came later
if ever. (Using numbers followed by one or more
letters appears to have been invented by the
early telegraphers, and AT&T in particular.)

Now, some trivia coming from an old AACS
man.  Following Pearl Harbor and the shut down
of ham radio, the Signal COrps asked for
donations of radio equipment that could be
used by the military, and used almost exclusively
by the people who operated the long-haul CW and
RTTY nets.  There were many Super Pro's and
SX-28's, and other equipment, that went straight
into service.  The Signal Corps Plant Engineering
Agency (PEA) that went into North Africa with
the invasion looked more like a civilian outfit
than it did military.  There's documented stories
of some ex-ham finding his own equipment in Africa.
We were a close knit bunch.  Still are.

73  Clete

Bill, the 32RA is where I learned about the care
and feeding of the common Pi network.