[Milsurplus] Mackay/Federal 128AY vlf rx

[Ken Kinderman]

Marty, I have a schematic and detailed desrciption the 128-AY which I will
send to you when I get back home early in April. Contact me off-list with
your address.

Don't know the difference between the -AY and the -AV, but they sound like
the same radio. The 128-AV was used in the Mackay FT-106 Liberty Ship
ensemble: three bays 6 feet high, 87 inches wide, and 19 inches deep, c/o:

1) The HF unit (2-24 Mcs. pair of 813's CW and MCW, also called ICW). TX:
167AY; RX: the Scott SLR-F (mil: RCH),

2) The LF unit (350 to 500 Kcs, a pair of F-123-A's in parallel for 200
watts CW and MCW/ICW) TX: the 155AY; RX: the 128-AV regenerative.

3) An additional bay c/o standby main (LF) TX, auto alarm RX, emergency
crystal RX tuned to 500 Kcs, and some power and antenna switching circuits.

Running across all three bays was an operating shelf; the center bay was
lower than the two end bays and held a Royal or Underwood typewriter (caps
only, please!)

Below were the motor generators and starters and a DC powered inverter for
the Scott radio which needed 110AC. The main MG provided 200 volts AC at 720
cycles to the primary of a plate transformer, thence to 2 866A's.

Power on the Liberty Ship's was 110 DC from several steam powered generators
in the engine room, hence the AC/DC power supply in the 128-AV.

The "Main" ensemble was the LF, as communications near shore and in harbor
was generally conducted below 500 Kcs.

A competing set, called the 4U, was made by Radiomarine Corp of America
(RMCA) with virtually the same specs and used RMCA receivers.. a superhet
for 2-24 and a regen for 15 to 650 Kcs.

Eight hefty eye hooks on the cabinets for dropping into the radio room.

I have both the Mackay and RMCA HF units, plus some other units, but not all
three bays.

Rob, take note... I have the motor generator and the GE starter. When it
comes time to fire it up I'll let you know. My idea is to use my 2KW Honda
and a very large bridge rectifier (which I have) to get it rotating.

One more interesting note: MCW was accomplished by feeding 720 cycle AC from
one of the windings on the motor-generator directly to a modulation
transformer, and keying the primary.

The above info is from a a great book called The Radio Manual (McGraw Hill,
4th Ed. 1950).

73,

Ken
W2EWL