[Milsurplus] battleship gray TCS

[WA5CAB at cs.com]

Ray,

Gray TCS units turn up every now and again.  I have two or three transmitters 
at present.  In the late 40's to early 50's, the Navy overhauled a lot of 
WW-II radios (not just TCS) and for whatever reason had them refinished in haze 
gray.  They also for God knows what reason insisted in repainting things like 
BC-1000's, RT-68/GRC's, etc. in haze gray.

I don't know what the story is on the front panel.  Unless is has one hole in 
each corner in which case it would have been taken from a TCS-5 or earlier.

The Navy did modify a few TCS-? transmitters and receivers for use on 
submarines.  The antenna connection push-posts and stud were replaced with Type "N" 
connectors.  Most ham mods seem to have used the more common and cheaper (in 
both senses of the word) UHF.  And the ones modified by the Navy were done 
properly.  Meaning that the holes are properly spaced and don't look like they were 
done with a butcher knife and rat tail file.  They did not modify any antenna 
loading coils so far as I know, though.  There was a different matching unit 
built for the installation, TN-233/SRC.

In a message dated 3/21/2005 9:39:57 AM Central Standard Time, 
RAFANTINI at salisbury.edu writes: 
> I have been doing this military radio thing for about thirty years now
> and this past weekend have seen something that I have not seen before, a
> battleship gray TCS-12. it is clearly collins built, with collins
> manufacturing tag in back of the radio and in addition to being gray it
> also has non standard handles on the front. before everyone starts
> saying that it has been ham modified just looking at the radio I think
> it is all original, everyone that I have seen that has been "hamed"
> first has the push on connecters changed. have seen government units
> that have been modified for this too where this one has the original
> push connecter. also thought maybe it was a later production run but
> this radio has a 42 acceptance stamp. the location for the standard pull
> handles has not been filed or painted over, their were never holes in
> this panel although their are all the cut slots under the chart for
> alignment so i think noone has built a new face plat for it. also the
> from data plate is a very strange plastic. I think I may have seen at
> least fifty different TCS sets over the years but this is the strangest
> one of all, and will tend to stand by the statement that its all
> original, nothing like the green or blue ones I have seen that people
> painted in their basement. You can see it for yourself on my web page at
> www.ka3ekh.net , go to projects of the week.
> 

73
Robert Downs - Houston
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MVPA 9480
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