[Milsurplus] AN/ARC-1 Manufacturers

[Mike Hanz]

On 7/8/2012 11:18 AM, Mike Morrow wrote:

> I've had time to look in the AN/ARC-1 documents that I have.  All the data
> in the Modifications and Service Notes list ONLY sets made by WECO (CW) and
> Westinghouse (CAY).  The only Collins connection is the auto-tune mechanism.
>
> Presumably the USN RT-18/ARC-1 is a WECO design, not Collins, and it's a pretty
> good set for the era.

Well, not to put too fine a point on the subject, but there is design, 
and there is production.  The book "A History of Science and Engineering 
in the Bell System" by Bell Laboratories, there is this:

"Before the war, Bell Labs had designed a number of types of equipment 
for airline use.  One of these was the 233A radio set for Pan American 
Airways, which could operate on four preset frequencies in a small band 
near 140 MHz."
      .
      .
      .
"Vacuum tube and circuit performance at these "high" frequencies in the 
prewar period left much to be desired, but for the particular military 
and Pan American needs the 233A radio set was quite adequate.  The 
military version of this set was coded AN/ARC-4 radio set.  Some 18,300 
sets were produced for the Navy."

"The success of the 233A/ARC-4 led to the start in 1942 of development 
for the Navy of a completely new set that could operate on any one of 
ten preset frequencies in a 100-156 MHz band plus a fixed monitor or 
guard channel.  This unit was later coded as the AN/ARC-1 radio set (Fig 
5-41a).  Of 71,000 sets ordered, about 40,000 were delivered - a little 
more than half by Western Electric and a little less than half by 
Westinghouse, which was the second source for this equipment in each of 
the major production contracts."


Just to complete the picture, Figure 5-41a contains photos of the 
AN/ARC-1, as well as two AN/ARC-1 transceivers connected as an AN/ARC-18 
relay set to extend the range of VHF with orbiting relay aircraft.  The 
AN/ARC-18 was redesigned as the AN/ARC-28 to simplify operation, but was 
capable of being used with either the AN/ARC-1 or AN-ARC-12 UHF sets.

73,
Mike