[Milsurplus] RBC: A Magnificent Beast

[Mike Durff]

Here's a little back story for those who don't know about the RBA-RBB-RBC series. The cost for the RBC was $2400.00 in 1940. That's $41,100.00 in 2016 dollars !
"Considered by many military radio collectors to be the ultimate in WWII receiver design, the RBA, RBB and RBC receivers were "cost-no-object" in design and construction. The resulting performance was so good that these incredible receivers were still in-use by the USN two decades after WWII ended. Today, many vintage military radio amateurs use either the RBB or RBC as their station receiver while long wave enthusiasts consider the RBA the best vintage low-frequency receiver available.

In 1939, the Department of the Navy contracted with RCA to build the ultimate military communications receiver. The design was to replace the aging RAB superhet receivers with new receivers of the same rugged construction but with much more modern design and performance capabilities. RCA utilized input from engineers from 17 other companies during the design phase of the new receivers. By 1940, the RBA, RBB and RBC were ready for production. The RBA was a TRF LW receiver that matched the RBB and RBC in size and power requirements (description above.) The RBB and RBC were double preselection superheterodynes using 15 tubes plus a 991 neon bulb voltage limiter in the antenna input, a 6-8B Ballast tube for the Local Oscillator heater and the separate CRV-20130 power supply also used two tubes, a 5U4 rectifier and a VT-105 (0C3) regulator - 19 tubes in all. The RBB receiver covers 500kc up to 4.0mc in four bands and the RBC covers 4.0mc to 27.0mc, also in four bands. The Local Oscillator's filament is operated from a 17vac tap on the power transformer through the 6-8B ballast tube also the LO's plate is operated from the regulated 105vdc supply. This design effort allowed the RBB/RBC receivers to exhibit very little drift. 

My RBB & RBC hear everything my KX3 does, and then some !

Complete story here: https://www.radioblvd.com/WWII_Communications_%20Equipment.htm
Thanks, Durff, K4TQF
PS: I have a RBA & RBC in the Arkansas shack and an RBB & RBC in Maine. See QRZed
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