[Milsurplus] High & Mighty / GI electronics (and Island in the Sky)

[mikea]

On Mon, Jul 18, 2005 at 07:31:19AM -0500, Mike Morrow wrote:
> Marty wrote:

> >AMC ran the movie last night for what may be 1st time on TV.
> >John Wayne, Phil Haris, Robt. Stack
> >
> >Sightings:
> >
> >  o BC-375 (191?) as tx
> >  o APX-6 as DF

> Marty and all,

> You should have caught the movie that ran before that:  "Island in the Sky."
> It is a 1953 John Wayne movie that I'd never heard of before, with him as a
> pilot of a C-47 and crew that has a forced landing in uncharted Canadian
> winter wilderness.

> Gear that was used by the crew with some plausibility were:

> SCR-287:   BC-375 (even had cables connected on left side)
>                      BC-348-J, N, or Q
>                      BC-306 LF load coil
> MN-28 control box for Bendix MN-26 RDF (AN/ARN-11)
> SCR-578:   BC-778 "Gibson Girl" emergency hand crank transmitter.

> The one big howler was a tuning unit for a GP-7 navy transmitter that was
> for some odd reason sitting on the radio operator's table next to the
> BC-348.  Also, the radio operator used a Vibroplex key, and obviously the
> actor was not even remotely familiar with how one is used.  The standard
> J-37 would have been better.  A large I-82 navigator's ADF bearing indicator
> was shown on the pilot's panel of a search aircraft (also a C-47).  I guess
> the search aircraft had an ADF (not RDF)...since the bearing needle was
> shown fluctuating as a 500 kc signal was received.

> All in all, the movie was way way above average "radio quality" for any
> movie I've ever seen where radio played a significant role.  Had they
> ditched the GP-7 tuning unit and Vibroplex, and allowed us to hear real
> Morse, it would have been outstanding.

It showed in our area last night, and I watched a bit before I had to 
sack out. 

Even with the howlers, including the key and the operator who was bashing
it like a cat playing with a mouse, it was nice to see my Vibroplex J-36's
brother in the flick, and I sure do wish I had the right weight for mine.

Hey -- anyone know what other Vibroplex keys have weights that'll fit
a J-36? Right now I'm using the customary replacement weight, a cable 
clamp, but I'd really like to have the right one. It's on-topic, too:
the J-36 was the one my uncle Buz used in WWII, or so he told me.

-- 
Mike Andrews, W5EGO
mikea at mikea.ath.cx
Tired old sysadmin