[Milsurplus] SAC SSB

[D C Macdonald]

If I rember back to 1963-1967 correctly,
our B-52Fs at Carswell AFB, TX had the
ARC-65 which I believe was an ARC-21
modified for SSB.

Mac, K2GKK/5
B-52F EWO, 1963-1967


----Original Message Follows----
From: Mike Morrow <kk5f at earthlink.net>
Reply-To: Mike Morrow <kk5f at earthlink.net>
To: mstangelo at comcast.net, milsurplus at mailman.qth.net
Subject: Re: [Milsurplus] SAC SSB
Date: Tue, 15 Mar 2005 14:00:46 -0600 (GMT-06:00)

Mike wrote:

 >Would anyone know the models of the SSB radios deployed by
 >SAC after their initial test in 1956 until the end of the cold war
 >in the 1980's?

Most SAC aircraft from the late 1950s through the 1970s would have used the 
RCA AN/ARC-65 (RT-400) or the Collins AN/ARC-58 (R-761 and T-605).  The 
AN/ARC-58 was the more modern design.  I know that the B-52s and KC-135s at 
Blytheville AFB in the late 1960s and early 1970s carried the AN/ARC-58.  
The AN/ARC-65 system was good for 400 watts PEP, but weighed considerably 
more and took up more space than the 1000 watt PEP AN/ARC-58.  I don't know 
if there's ever been, to this day, a commonly-used HF SSB aircraft radio 
that matched or exceeded the AN/ARC-58's 1000 PEP output.  It was amazingly 
light and compact for its capabilities and its era.

I suspect some SAC support aircraft may have used a military version 
(AN/ARC-94, -102, -105) of the most popular HF SSB aircraft radio of all 
time, the Collins 618T, and **perhaps** before that, a stock commercial 
crystal-controlled Collins 618S.  The 618T first appeared in 1963, I think.  
Total system weight was about 70 lbs. not including coupler system, but it 
was good for 400 watts PEP output.  Contrast that to about 230 lbs. for the 
AN/ARC-65 system for the same power output.  I have most of a 1971 USAF 
contract AN/ARC-102 set.  Like all 618Ts, it is a beautiful unit.

Mike / KK5F
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