[Milsurplus] Castle AFB Museum KC 97L radios
Mike Morrow
kk5f at earthlink.net
Mon Apr 17 20:03:57 EDT 2006
>I have spent a few hours prowling around this well preserved plane. The
>ONLY thing I could find that was missing was the ARC 58 HF SSB and
>coupler. The mounts were still there. ... The plane appears to have a
>100% intact 28VDC system with plug for external power.
The 28 vdc power would have to go to some 400 Hz inverter, if that's how the KC-97 produced the very considerable amount of 400 Hz AC primary power that the 1 KW PEP AN/ARC-58 requires.
Someone would have to assume responsibilty for repair, were the set actually to be used even in ham service. In the late 1960s I spent a fair amount of time in the avionics repair shops at Blytheville AFB, whose SAC B-52 and KC-135 aircraft carried the AN/ARC-58. Then, I was fasinated by it more than anything else in the shops, and I have the major components now. But I was told that the AN/ARC-58 could be a bear to repair when it inevitably failed, if one didn't have a fully equiped service facility with all the parts, special tools, test equipment and technician skills needed to get it back running. Where would a civilian organization get this? Still, The AN/ARC-58 has to be the best example of a major long range airborne HF communications system used by the USAF during the last 30 years of the Cold War.
I collect Nineteenth Century firearms. Although most arms in my collection are in shootable condition, I and most other collectors wouldn't even begin to think of doing that. Stress, wear, and damage can/will ruin the arm. Likewise, I believe that most of our vintage historic military radio equipment is worthy of a similar attitude, especially when a set is found that hasn't had a solder connection made in it in about 60/50/40 years, and has miraculously escaped the gauntlet of some gratuitously stupid ham-hack job. Historic radio gear is far far more fragile and less durable than are firearms, yet we as radio collectors don't come close to the attitude of the historic arms collector.
If I really want to put a signal out on the HF ham bands, I've got an old rice box that will do it better anyway.
73,
Mike / KK5F
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