[Milsurplus] Electric Radio - February 2006

[Mike Morrow]

Meir wrote of the "TBY" shown on page 45:

>The transmitter in question is a WW2 Victory ship Federal Radio and
>Telegraph (later became ITT) model FT-102 MF/HF radio console. The
>transmitter is the McKay 167-BY (at least the BY was correct...).

No wonder I couldn't come up with any USN transmitter that looked like the picture!

>I'm a proud owner of a 1944 FT-102 console, with the McKay 167-BY
>transmitter in original condition, with a perfectly functional AR-8506
>receiver and the original key, with the original Master Oscillator
>calibration charts.

Boy, there's some heavy metal.  You wouldn't happen to have your own RMCA Type 4U console that was WWII Victory Ship standard, would you?  I believe some of these old WWII vintage consoles were still on duty as late as the Vietnam War on US merchantmen reactivated to support the war.

All I've got for WWII merchant marine radio is the manual for a Type 4U and a Seth Thomas radioroom clock, plus a lifeboat 500 kc transmitter, complete with auto-keyer to send either SOS or S S S (the WWII enemy submarine warning signal). 

When I took my commercial second class radiotelegraph license test 25 years ago, the technology represented by the written exam questions was still right at home with WWII maritime radio technology, including regenerative and crystal receivers, with lots of vacuum tubes and not a single solid state component addressed anywhere on the test.

It's a shame that maritime Morse for all practical purposes disappeared, but less than ten years ago.  For years I kept a receiver tuned to 500 kc at my bedside to listen to at night.  That, and the HF maritime Morse bands, were far more entertaining than anything found on the ham bands.  It's sad that there's no one listening to 500 kc anymore as the minute hand of the radio room clock sweeps the 15 to 18 and 45 to 48 silent periods.

73,
Mike / KK5F