[Milsurplus] P.A.R. 30-A boat radio 1948
Hubert Miller
Kargo_cult at msn.com
Mon May 14 02:12:50 EDT 2018
Rodney Boleyn, a Seattle acquaintance also interested in Northwest - manufactured radios, found this ad in Pacific Fisherman,
February 1948. The radio is by 'Pan American Radio', or P.A.R., which seems to have existed only for a few short years and then
expired around 1952, I believe. Years back at a PSARA meet, I met a gentleman, Don Williams, who said he'd worked there. He told
me the company was lost due to incompetence of the owner, who was alcoholic. I don't know about this, and just repeat it here
without judgment, as I've heard this kind of explanation before, and there may have been other reasons. P.A.R. seems to have used
numerous parts from WW2 war-surplus radio parts. This PAR model seems to be a repaneled and modified from the Army's BC-654
radio. The roller coil antenna loading control is in the lower right, as original. The speaker in the upper right is in the location where
the BC-654 had a vibrator supply for the receiver. I suspect PAR used also the original PE-103 dynamotor supply for the transmitter
power. The '30-A' model name sounds about right for the power output from 2 307-A tubes. ( A quick heating power tube somewhat
similar to the 2E22 but a whole lot rarer. )
In my high school days, back when Lincoln was still president, I'd go down to surplus stores on First Avenue, which in the Dark Ages
was Seattle's skid road, not at all touristy. 'Pacific Surplus' I recall had a bunch, maybe 10 or less, of a small and cheap boat radio by
PAR and these seemed to be unfinished. This simplified set you sent on by pushing a lever switch and speaking into the speaker.
The receiver was tunable and tuned 1000 to 3000 kHz, so you got your marine band plus some entertainment with the partial
AM broadcast band.
The PAR 30-A is a real nice looking beast, and I think I'd like to own one, but as you know, many of these are totally extinct and
now known only by their footprints.
If you have or find any, and I mean any, advertising or manuals for such radios, or Pacific Fisherman magazines up thru end of
2-MHz AM era in 1976, I will be very happy indeed to buy such, or even to just obtain a copy, or even a good lead is appreciated.
-Hue Miller
Newport, Oregon
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