[Milsurplus] BC-348 coaxial input? ... plus shipping to Hawaii

[Kludge]

-----Original Message-----
From: milsurplus-bounces at mailman.qth.net
[mailto:milsurplus-bounces at mailman.qth.net] On Behalf Of Mike Morrow
> Michael wrote of the coax-fed BC-348:
>>This certainly beats one thought that wandered through my head, that being
>>that it was occasionally used with the AN/ARC-38 (just plain, not the -A
>>version) in place of the R-648/ARR-41 when the latter wasn't available for
>>whatever reason.
> I suspect that some of those AN/MRC-?? mobile installations that had an
AN/ARC-8
> as part, along with other dyno-powered sets, sometimes utilized coax cable
> to reduce local noise pick-up.  IIRC, the R-589/MRC-20 receiver (modified
BC-348)
> has coax feed.  It's likely that the USN used a few of these USAF set-ups
> somewhere sometime.

I thought the R-589 was a modified BC-312 but I'm probably wrong on that.  I
do wrong quite well, you know.  :-)

> But IMHO, one of the myths that needs to be discredited is that which
claims use
> of the AN/ARR-41 in place of the AN/ARR-11 (BC-348), or vice versa.

*chuckling* ... As I said, "But that was probably just the voices brought on
by the meds talking.  :-D"  :-D

Anyway, I agree.  While field expedients do happen, I believe the intent was
to go with the later AN/ARC-8 equipment the Navy inherited that had coax
connectors that Mike H pointed out.  This leads me to wonder what the
AAF/USAF did with them.

While it's highly unlikely I'll ever get an ATC or AN/ART-13 Tx of any
sort*, I'd like to mate my BC-348 up to something to put on the air as is.
The BC-312 will probably get a homebrew Tx since I can't see myself
acquiring a BC-223-* or BC-191 so I suspect the BC-348 will get the same.  

* Peeve time: A couple years ago, someone had some T-47s he was parting out
and offered up parts for them.  While an entire unit would have been far
preferable, I wanted the CFI & audio chasses, modulation transformer and
variometer from one for my own projects.  The response was that it was no
problem but now he would rather sell the entire chassis that had all that on
it as a unit.  Okay, this isn't a problem and, yes, I know the shipping
would be steep but it's worth it to me.  Then he decided that he really
didn't want to ship "overseas" and deal with the paperwork and all.  What
paperwork?  Customs forms.  Yep, customs forms.  Let's not worry about the
fact that an intact transmitter can be made to fit postal regulations for
domestic shipping which he also didn't believe (remove the CFI and audio
chasses to drop the weight and ship them separately), he wasn't going to
ship it to "a foreign country."

Let me straighten a few things a out about shipping here to the real
sunshine state. (*evil gryn*)  First off, Hawaii has been a state since 16
August, 1959 - give or take a bit plus the attitudes of a few local groups
who haven't figured out that neither the kingdom nor the republic exists
anymore.  With that, USPS parcel post and UPS & FedEx ground all come here.
The same 70 pound weight limits apply.  

Parcel Post takes longer; figure on about a month average with a week of
that being ocean transit and more time being on Matson's docks either at the
Port of Los Angeles or Port of Honolulu (Pier 51 on Sand Island) where they
have to wait their turn being loaded and then dug out of the stacks 'n
stacks of containers respectively.  

On the other hand, Priority often arrives faster than UPS or FedEx 2nd day
(which is really 3rd day) which tends to upset folks who insist on shipping
UPS 2nd day to Hawaii because it's "faster".  Priority Flat Rate Boxes are
the optimal means of shipping here but, as has been pointed out to me, not
everything fits an FRB.  Some things will if you stomp on them real hard but
that seems not to fit the ideal scenario. :-)  

The bottom line is that, except for Priority FRBs, shipping here can be
frightfully expensive and I'm well aware of that.  It's part of the price of
living here.  If I'm allowed time to insert the shipping cost into my next
month's (or the month after that) budget, I'm not too awfully concerned
about it for items I really do want and *none* of them exceed USPS regs as
to size and weight with the possible exception of a BC-191/-375 carcass or
two, and I think even they can be squeezed in under the size restrictions.
Some exceed the 70 pound limit as is but subchasses or subassemblies can be
removed to bring them to or under the limit.  

It's all really simple.  Really, it is.

[/rant mode]

Best regards,
 
Michael, WH7HG ex-K3MXO, ex-KN3MXO, WPE3ARS, BL01xh ex-Mensa A&P PP BGI 
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