[Milsurplus] WWII-era USN headphone question

Mike Morrow kk5f at earthlink.net
Sat Jul 16 12:12:44 EDT 2005


As I've attempted to complete some of my USN sets (ARC-1, -2, -4, -5, -25;
RU/GF, etc.) I've become interested in the headphones that would be
"authentic" to these radios.  In the case of US Army Signal Corps sets,
audio accessories like the T-17 and HS-23/33 are pretty easy to find.
Except for the common USN RS-38 microphones, the same doesn't seem to be
true for the USN equivalent headphones and headphone extension cords.

I've been unable to find listings of the "official" headphone sets that
would typically be employed with WWII USN sets, other than the late WWII
H-1/AR helmet and the H-4/AR headband units, which I believe are 300 ohm.
There must have been earlier (pre-JAN) USN headphones, possibly of higher
impedance.

So my questions are:

(0)  Did the USN go through a high-z to low-z headphone transition the way
the Signal Corps did?  The ARA and the early SCR-274-N receivers likely must
have both had high-z AF output.
(1)  What was the nomenclature and impedance of the most common WWII USN
headphones?
(2)  How do they compare to the Signal Corps' HS-23 or -33 units (are they
the same, but under a USN nomenclature)?
(3)  Do they (and the H-1/AR and H-4/AR) use a PL-354 that connects to an
extension that is equivalent to the CD-307?

I'd like to someday find an authentic USN headphone to accompany my AN/ARC-5
with AN/ARR-2 set, but I've about given up on finding an H-4/AR.

Thanks.

73,
Mike / KK5F



More information about the Milsurplus mailing list