[Milsurplus] TCS Low-Power Operation

[WA5CAB at cs.com]

I have never seen an Ex-USN TCS transmitter with the jumpers pulled.  I 
still think that it was a hold-over from the pre-war civilian market.  There 
would have been no reason for any USN installation to have run the thing in 
the low power/low voltage mode.  

As far as the most common antenna used, PT boats, the relatively few 
landing craft that had a permanent radio installation and vehicular installations 
used a whip.  From what I've seen or read, the majority of combatants and 
auxiliaries used a typically 40' to 60' end fed wire.

Robert Downs - Houston
wa5cab dot com (Web Store)
MVPA 9480

In a message dated 01/26/2017 08:48:49 AM Central Standard Time, 
RAFANTINI at salisbury.edu writes: 
> As low power as the TCS is in the AM mode to begin with don’t see any 
> reason why they would need an additional low power setting. Remember that the 
> TCS transmitter removes one of the two PA tubes in AM mode and with their 
> possibilities for poor tuning between the antenna and the general use of a 
> short antenna in the first place the radio in a PT or any small craft would 
> have limited range to begin with.
> 
>  I have run TCS transmitters in the past and with a real antenna and 
> eliminating the almost useless antenna loading box I think I was able to get a 
> whopping four to six watts output. That was without adding additional 
> capacitance or otherwise modifying the output tank but can only imagine that when 
> in use with a short vertical antenna being too loud was not an issue. I 
> always assumed that’s why the TCS receiver was somewhat too sensitive being 
> as broad as it was because the idea was it would be paired with a poor 
> preforming antenna. 
> 
> If you think of the original mission criteria for the TCS as a general use 
> short range radio for use ship to ship or in the harbor it’s a great radio 
> but don’t ever think it was intended for any long distance communications. 
> What we do with the radio in Ham operations are far outside the original 
> design intent.
> 
>  Ray F/KA3EKH
>   
> 
>  From: Milsurplus [mailto:milsurplus-bounces at mailman.qth.net] On Behalf Of 
> WA5CAB--- via Milsurplus
> Sent: Thursday, January 26, 2017 1:33 AM
> To: milsurplus at mailman.qth.net
> Subject: Re: [Milsurplus] TCS Low-Power Operation
> 
>   
> 
>  I think that it was a holdover from the Atlas 56Q, which was the 
> transmitter only.  For it, Collins offered two power supplies.  The larger one 
> supplied the (to most of us) normal 400 VDC.  The smaller one (and no doubt the 
> cheaper one) supplied 230 VDC.  I would have to check the manual to 
> confirm it but assume that both supplies furnished 12 VAC for the heaters and 12 
> VDC for the relays.  
> 
> So I always assumed that it was a dollar thingy.
> 
> Robert D.
> 
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