[Milsurplus] RE WW1 surplus

[Mike Morrow]

Dick wrote:

>The BC-15A even pre-dates Google !! It comes up with ONE hit and that
>is only a picture of a dusty thing that looks like a hot plate on it's side

That's it.  The BC-15-A is part of SCR-65-A and was intended for use in
observation aircraft.  (There's also the BC-15, part of SCR-65.)  I don't
know of much on-line information, only that there aresites that say it 
covered 1000 to 3000 KC using quenched spark.

The ground side of the link is the crystal receiver BC-14-A, part of 
SCR-54-A.  (There was also the BC-14, part of SCR-54.  The major difference
is the A model had a battery-powered test buzzer to generate broad-band
noise that could be used to adjust the crystal detector.)  This receiver's
frequency range is 500 to 1500 KC.

There is also the DT-3-A (part of BC-19-A, part of SCR-54-A) which was a
vacuum tube detector using a VT-1 that could be used with the BC-14-A
in place of the crystal detector.

The SCR-54/65 system was not a two-way system.  The receiver was not paired
a transmitter by its side.

IMHO, these sets were well obsolete by the time they were made.  I don't know
if any actually made it to the field before the Meuse-Argonne Offensive
helped end WWI.  (That campaign resulted in 26,277 American battlefield deaths
in six weeks--more than any other in all of U.S. history to date.  Brave men
in a battle likely completely unknown to 99.99999 percent of today's U.S.
"citizens".)

>I expect they are rather pricey.

While the BC-14 and BC-15 are the most common radio equipment of the that era,
they are far from common.  Judging from the ebay auctions I've seen in the past
ten years, the BC-14 or -14A, if in complete excellent unmodified condition,
seems to command the highest prices...I've seen as high as $2600 for a BC-14-A
that wasn't in nearly as good a condition as mine.  But I've seen much lower too.
The BC-15 seems to fetch significantly less, but it can't be called cheap either.

You'll see several of these components up for auction every year on ebay.

Mike / KK5F