[Milsurplus] BC-348R

[Ray Fantini]

Ok, both series of receivers have the same performance specifications. And both were in production at the same time. The J, N and Q were produced after the early versions of the radio. But for some unknown reason somehow it's assumed that the old version is in some way better than the newer version. Let me state my case in the following questions.

First:
The statement is that the J, N and Q were in some way a cheap or low cost alternative.
What argument do you have to support that the older version is in any way superior?
If the older design of the receiver is superior then how?

Second:
The older version used vacuum tubes that were all but obsolete by nineteen forty.
6K7 and the like were still in production but for how much longer? The more modern tubes used in the J, N and Q were likely to be in production in the future. Indeed all the components were obsolete in the older design by the early to mid-forties. The components used in the J, N and Q were all state of the art for that time.

Third:
Component placement and point to point construction technique had become state of the art by nineteen forty in all radio design.  It cost less and was easier to understand in terms of maintenance. The old style technique of all the resistors and capacitors being mounted on separate boards increases production cost, add to the complexity of the design and provides no benefit in return. Maybe in the nineteen twenties and thirty's when resistors were wire wound and large and bulky you needed this for mechanical support but  by nineteen forty manufactures knew how to build small light weight components that did not need the support of studs and lead wires.

Fourth:
The BC-348 J, N and Q were the shape of things to come in electronics. The early sets are the remnants of what was state of the art in nineteen thirty five. Look at the construction technique used in the J, N and Q and you will see the same technique used in the equipment produced in the fifties like the ARC-38, APR-4Y lots of the radar and radio gear that was used up until the introduction of solid state devices. The nineteen thirties design of the first generation receivers was a technological dead end, lot like the ARC-5 equipment that was built along the same lines.

 The J, N and Q were representative of the future and for that reason alone they have always been one of my favorite radios. The old design is a fine radio but it's more of what we went into the war with like the B-17 but by the wars end everyone knew the B-29 was the future and the B-17 was the past.

Ray F