[Milsurplus] PRC-74 (now Type K)

[Michael Tauson]

> Well, hams did convert command set receivers to receiver/transmitter combos.

Yep, we did.  And I further must admit to having modified original
equipment for which I'm doing much penitence today, although I
preferred unwhole and unhealthy equipment as starting points.  (The
NIB and NOS equipment got sold to raise funds for my own conversions &
homebrew projects.)  More on this in the related thread.

> Now about that Type K.  That was a complete radio set, including transmitters, a
> modulator, and a large control box for four receivers and two transmitters.

Yep.  The design actually came into being following the Airmail
Disaster of 1934 which saw the immediate upgrade of the SCR-A*-183 and
later -283 (plus the GF/RU) from being based on the Model B to the
Model D.  The idea was a radical approach of having individual
transmitters & receivers for each band rather than using plug in
coils, using superhetereodyne receivers and having the transmitter
modulator & power supply as a separate unit.  I'll have to check on
this but I think Dr. Drake handled the receiver design while Dr.
Farnham was brought in (from GR?) to design the transmitters.  This
was in 1935 with the initial Type K-derived offerings to the services
a few years later.

While the Army was the principle service interested, the Navy was the
first to purchase any, starting with the RAT receivers.  The RAT
receivers differed from the original Type K physically (front panel
changes) and in frequency coverage but retained the same basic
planform that continued after WW II with the Type 12 and Type 15
receivers.

The Navy had a lot more money than the Army due, in large part, to
Teddy Roosevelt's emphasis on the Navy.  This became "business as
usual" for budgetary purposes until FDR ordered up a 50,000 plane air
force by 1940 which made some budgetary adjustments in Congress which,
in turn, gave the USAAC some room to buy what they needed.  In a fit
of absolute desperation (interservice rivalry being what it was - and
is), the Army wound up ordering the SCR-274-N which was nothing more
than elements of the ARA/ATA system with different tags.

> No one knows of any surviving transmitters, which is why I chose it as an extreme example
> for my rant.  Apologies!

No worries.  My answer was lighthearted since I know you know my love
for ... well, about everything A.R.C.-ish.

> Hey, I truely wish there were some under your bench.  Then I'd know that they'd get proper
> care and preservation.

Or would be sent somewhere I know they'd be safe.  I can think of
several museums and collectors who would qualify as such.

Best regards,

Michael, WH7HG