[Milsurplus] BC-348-Q questions

[Mike Morrow]

Michael wrote:

>R-23/ARC-5s were still in service in the 70s so I believe it.

There was a R-23(*)/ARC-5 on board the TS-2A aircraft at NAS Corpus Christi in which I flew in 1972, along with that wonderful old AN/ARC-2 HF set.

About the AN/ARC-8,

>Aside from maybe an ARC-38 as an auxiliary receiver, I
>can't think of anything it would go with them.

You may be thinking of the AN/ARR-41, which was the auxiliary receiver for the AN/ARC-38 HF set.  This was Collins-made US Navy equipment that replaced the earlier AN/ARC-25 set.  

The AN/ARC-25 was the USN's combo of the T-47/ART-13 (not USAF T-47A or T-412 units) and the R-105(*)/ARR-15.  The AN/ARC-25 was the closest USN equivalent to the USAAF/USAF AN/ARC-8.

The AN/ARR-41 would not have been used with the AN/ARC-8, or the AN/ARC-25, or the AN/ART-13(*).  The web sites and "Electric Radio" magazine articles which state that the R-648/ARR-41 was a replacement for the BC-348 have absolutely no factual basis.  The AN/ARR-41 could be found on USN aircraft with the AN/ARC-38 (AM/CW/RATT), AN/ARC-38A (AMe/USB/CW/RATT), and some later backfits of the AN/ARC-94 (Collins 618T-2).   Some USAF aircraft that were earlier in their service life USN aircraft might also have this equipment.

About the SO-239 on the BC-348,

>Somewhere there is a document that may indicate the reason
>for this.

There is one other place in an AN/ARC-8 with a SO-239, the CU-32/ART-13A LF tank coil and antenna switch.  The CU-32 can select either a fixed or a trailing wire antenna for use by the T-47A and BC-348.  The SO-239 on the CU-32 connects to the other antenna that is not selected.  It's intended to connect the standby antenna to receivers like the AN/APN-9 LORAN A receiver, but not to the communications receiver BC-348.

73,
Mike / KK5F