[Milsurplus] ARB

[Mike Morrow]

Bob wrote:

> ...I recall crawling around in the bilges of small fishing boats...
> to clean the rotary inverters used to power the WWII loran sets.
> Remarkable machinery for its day (the APN unit not the inverter).

The AN/APN-9 LORAN A had a long military service life.  There was one
still on board the destroyer I served on in 1973, the Hr.Ms. Amsterdam
(Royal Netherlands Navy).  But in the North Sea and the Baltic, we used
Decca, another hyperbolic radio-navigation system now also discontinued.

> A relative who did a lot of marine radio service in  South America 
> noted that he'd seen an ARC-2 unit still in use by some Banana Republic
> airline as late as the 1980s.

The AN/ARC-2 was still in service in the US Navy on TS-2A Tracker training
aircraft at NAS Corpus Christi in 1972.  Along side each was an R-23/ARC-5.
I remember thinking that was remarkable, when I first took a flight on
one of these air-geezers.  I was familiar with the AN/ARC-2 at that time
from one of Roy Pafenberg's typical radical transmogrification articles
in 1960s "73".  It's hell what unnecessary ham hacking can do.

> I think the ARC-2 is perhaps the best looking rig to grace the surplus
> market bar none.

The RT-91/ARC-2 is better looking than the RT-298/ARC-2A.  Collins did a
lot of cost cutting for the RT-298.  I bought my first RT-91 from Fair Radio
in 1975...I still have it.

> Can  anyone tell me when this unit was first fielded?

It was out well before this March 1946 Collins advertisement in QST:

  http://www.wa3key.com/qst/qst4603.jpg 

For most classy appearance for a military rig...I vote for the TCS-series.

Mike / KK5F