[Milsurplus] Improving the BC-348 use more knobs

[Chris Kepus]

Thanks to the list members who offered thoughts and shipping advice.  I
talked with the UPS pack and ship manager who lives about a mile from the
seller.  He promised it would be properly packed.  The seller is a really
nice “70 something” daughter of Ken Strand, deceased.   She believes he
brought this BC-348 back from Peleliu Island where he served in WWII.  He
wouldn’t tell his kids anything about his duties,  She remembers things he
told others
she and her sisters would frequently sneak up on his workshop
and listen to him “talk”  to a friend in Salt Lake City.  He didn’t have a
phone in the workshop so she thinks he may have been a ham.   Anyway, one of
her memories of what he told his friend was that his duty on Peleliu at the
airfield was to remove equipment from damaged aircraft.  Apparently this was
going on very late in the war.  Later, she remembers him telling someone
else he was talking to that government issued electronics were really not
optimized so he would modify them to improve their performance.  Mr. Strand
was apparently quite an engineer as his daughter remembers that he was
constantly moving from one aircraft company to another
sometimes back to one
he had left but always getting more money and responsibility..  “My Father
never came back to UT.  Worked for Litton, Marquart, and one other Co. I was
16 before I even learned what he did for a living...he never discussed his
job or company...I just knew he was gone a lot and often went off to check
specs of private contracts dealing with facilities and aircraft   electric
design. He even designed and built his own plane in the 50's. If there was
new tech...he wanted in...the night before he died he was planning a
business venture with a computer programming idea he had for electrical
engineers. His off time was spent on Photography, sound equipt, customising
foreign sports cars and motor homes.  Loved to keep busy.”

Once in my hands, I will take plenty of pics and put them up on so all can
see.  I wonder if he was, in fact, able to improve its performance?  We’ll
see.  

73,
Chris
W7JPG


"Any day above ground is a good day"