[Milsurplus] A.R.C.'s Last MF/HF Set - AN/ARC-39

[Mike Morrow]

One doesn't read much on the development of A.R.C.'s mid-1950's MF/HF-AM
crystal-controlled set, the RT-427/ARC-39.  That's somewhat surprising,
given the tremendous commitment A.R.C. always had to MF/HF gear...the
last in the line should be worth some examination.

One can doubt that A.R.C., builder of the world's finest *MF/HF* command sets,
would have had much chance of financial survival in the post-WWII VHF-AM
world, if the U.S. government/taxpayers had not purchased all that Type 12,
Type 15, and AN/ARC-60 gear.  No later VHF/UHF set from any manufacturer,
including A.R.C., propagated the design of these post-war models.  It was
a dead end that took a long time dying.  The USN T-34s in which I took some
training in 1972 still had the AN/ARC-60 as their only comm set.  It had
rather poor performance, even for training aircraft use.

The late-1950s Type 21A ADF and Type 210 VHF-AM sets certainly had almost
nothing in their interesting designs that developed from post-war gear. 
These two sets showed some refreshing innovation and up-to-date technique.

Around the same time (late 1950s), A.R.C. made a series of light aircraft
VHF-COM/NAV and ADF sets called, IIRC, the Starflite line.  I've got a stack
of them in storage.  These are predominantly wire-in sub-miniature tube sets.
They seem to have decent electrical design, and the mechanical design was at
least equal to contemporary competitors in the light aircraft avionics market.

73,
Mike / KK5F