[Milsurplus] SCR-522: Rethinking The Old Gal

[Jack Antonio]

On 4/25/2020 9:31 AM, David Stinson wrote:
> Once, I was disdainful of the SCR-522 VHF rig.  Not because of its 
> history, which is quite significant, but for aesthetics, calling it an 
> "ugly black lump of a radio."  And it is.


I found my SCR-522 at the ham swap at Pacificon, in the late 90s. It
had CAP stickers on it, but two meter crystals in it, and a notation
somewhere on it that it been modified for RTTY. Never figured out what
the modifications were. It wasn't really badly hacked, and I just
removed any unoriginal wiring, and restored the original circuitry.

Had to change *every* micamold in the receiver, the biggest transmit
problem was gassy 832s. It still has an issue in the output coupling
circuit, power output is a bit flaky, varies from anywhere from 3 to
8 watts output.

Wired it up with the JB-29 junction box, only to read in the manual
that the JB-29 was only used for British installations, the US used
a terminal board for interconnections. Also the intercom functions
of the set were only used in British installations, the US used an
external interphone system. I wonder if that held true when actively
used in service.

Also in the "ugly black lump" of a radio category, are the
AN/ARC-44 and AN/ARC-45. Not only are they a plain black box, but
most that I've seen look like they've been used as doorstops.

Jack Antonio
WA7DIA