[Milsurplus] [MRCG] Navy WRC-1 & URC-35 family history - Stromberg-Carlson SC-900A

Tom B tbryan at nova.org
Mon Sep 26 17:42:01 EDT 2022


Hi Nick,

You mentioned that the URC-35 is called portable. This may be because it 
can be operated from an internal battery.   The AC supply must be 
removed and replaced with a battery.  I don't think it would run very 
long.  I can see why this was not very popular.

Tom
N3AJA


On 9/26/2022 2:14 PM, Nick England wrote:
> Those RF founders are prominent in the SC900A patent case testimony.
>
> So did anything derive from the SC-908A amp? It had a single PL-8295 
> PA, 8117 driver, and ??? pusher. I’d not seen that term used before.
>
> And what was the SC-907 amp/ps?- all I know is that the manual was 
> copyrighted 10/61.
>
> Cheers,
> Nick
>
> On Mon, Sep 26, 2022 at 12:10 PM John Vendely <jvendely at cfl.rr.com> wrote:
>
>     ...and, of course, don't forget the redoubtable AN/GRC-106.  All
>     these
>     historically important radios are descendants of the original SC-900
>     family.  The SC-900 series was indeed well ahead of its time,
>     particularly its frequency synthesizer, and GDE got a lot of
>     evolutionary mileage out of that baseline design.  The GRC-106A was
>     still being produced at Cincinnati Electronics in the early 1980s.
>
>     The core group of engineers that founded RF Communications, Elmer
>     Schwittek, Bill Stolze, and Roger Bettin (plus lawyer Herb
>     VandenBrul)
>     all  worked at Stromberg-Carlson/GDE.  Both companies were in
>     Rochester,
>     NY.  In the ensuing years, a number of other engineers came over from
>     GDE to RF Communications (later acquired by Harris Corp). The result
>     was that some of the same people who worked on the SC designs
>     worked on
>     the design of RF Comm products such as the highly advanced RF-110
>     power
>     amp series, and the evolution is plain to see.  I worked for Harris
>     Corporation (in Florida) for 20 years, but worked closely with and
>     knew
>     many engineers at the RF Comm division in Rochester, and spent a
>     lot of
>     time up there.  There were still a few old S-C/GDE hands there and in
>     Florida at the time...
>
>     73,
>
>     John K9WT
>
>
>
>     On 9/26/2022 10:16 AM, W2HX wrote:
>     >> It would be interesting to know how the transition from the SC
>     product line to the RT-618/R-1051/URT-23 happened.
>     > And don’t forget the T-827
>     >
>     > 73 Eugene W2HX
>     > Subscribe to my Youtube Channel:
>     https://www.youtube.com/c/w2hx-channel/videos
>     <https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://www.youtube.com/c/w2hx-channel/videos__;!!KfGNmQmE!nUOaG__9mIIM10Kn1Lz4tXbKzdxtZEZAXkYBay-mC6ZCpJ7r2-YbD_6IsussgAafS_LJbEg02OlS5aXz$>
>     >
>     >
>     >
>     > -----Original Message-----
>     > From: mrcg-bounces at mailman.qth.net
>     <mrcg-bounces at mailman.qth.net> On Behalf Of Francesco Ledda
>     > Sent: Monday, September 26, 2022 10:13 AM
>     > To: Jim Whartenby <old_radio at aol.com>
>     > Cc: mrcg at mailman.qth.net; milsurplus at mailman.qth.net
>     > Subject: Re: [MRCG] [Milsurplus] Navy WRC-1 & URC-35 family
>     history - Stromberg-Carlson SC-900A
>     >
>     > Jim,
>     >
>     > The SC-900 was surely ahead of its times. Potentially, it was
>     vastly superior to the KWT-6. I am totally in the dark about the
>     possible youth problems that the SC-900 may have suffered from.
>     >
>     > The SC-908 amp was not very successful, and its follow up
>     (URT-23) was totally different and therefore not an evolution of
>     the SC-908. It would be interesting to know how the transition
>     from the SC product line to the RT-618/R-1051/URT-23 happened.
>     >
>     > Regarding the URC-32/KWT-6, as you well know, it is not auto
>     tuned, and it is a simplified version of the ARC-58. There was
>     another version of the URC-32 that kept the auto tuning
>     capabilities of the ARC-58.
>     >
>     > Best, Francesco K5URG
>     >
>     > Sent from my iPad
>     >
>     >> On Sep 25, 2022, at 22:24, Jim Whartenby via Milsurplus
>     <milsurplus at mailman.qth.net> wrote:
>     >> 
>     >> If the SC-900 development started in the Fall of 1958, that
>     answers the question of which of the three systems came first.
>     >>
>     >> Another thing is that the SC-900 is contemporary with the
>     KWT-6.  The original ground station developed during Birdcall used
>     a receiver - exciter similar to the 310F-1 as shown in a photo in
>     the Fall, 1958 Collins Signal, Volume 7 # 2.  This is essentially
>     an ARC-58 receiver - exciter, for automatic tuning, repackaged for
>     rack mounting with a 60 to 400 cycle motor - generator.
>     >>
>     >> Not exactly sure when the KWT-6 made it's debut but it
>     certainly wasn't ready for Birdcall in the mid to late 1950's.
>     >> Regards,
>     >> Jim
>     >>
>     >> Logic: Method used to arrive at the wrong conclusion, with
>     confidence.
>     >> Murphy
>     >>
>     >>
>     >> -----Original Message-----
>     >> From: Nick England <navy.radio at gmail.com>
>     >> To: Jim Whartenby <old_radio at aol.com>
>     >> Cc: mrcg at mailman.qth.net <mrcg at mailman.qth.net>;
>     >> milsurplus at mailman.qth.net <milsurplus at mailman.qth.net>
>     >> Sent: Sun, Sep 25, 2022 4:48 pm
>     >> Subject: Navy WRC-1 & URC-35 family history - Stromberg-Carlson
>     >> SC-900A
>     >>
>     >> OK - The internet tar-baby got me today but I believe I now have a
>     >> solid history - See
>     https://www.navy-radio.com/xmtrs/sc-radio.htm
>     <https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://www.navy-radio.com/xmtrs/sc-radio.htm__;!!KfGNmQmE!nUOaG__9mIIM10Kn1Lz4tXbKzdxtZEZAXkYBay-mC6ZCpJ7r2-YbD_6IsussgAafS_LJbEg02JcmSufZ$>
>     >>
>     >> I have added photos and references to the SC-901X transceiver, 907,
>     >> 908A, and 910A amplifiers, 910R receiver, 910E exciter, and 905C
>     >> antenna coupler. These were sold commercially (beginning in 1961 I
>     >> believe) and to the USAF as a result of a 1959 USN R&D
>     Contract. The
>     >> Navy's R-1051, T-827, RT-618, URC-35, URT-24, and WRC-1
>     resulted from
>     >> this contract
>     >>
>     >> Aha! - I found a patent case showing that in June 1959 the Navy
>     contracted with Stromberg-Carlson (General Dynamics) "to design
>     and furnish experimental, mock-up, and developmental models of a
>     single sideband radio set and a single sideband portable
>     transceiver." (NObsr-77628, dated 16 June 1959 for AN/WRC-1 and
>     AN/URC-35). The Navy had rights to patents developed during the
>     contract, but General Dynamics claimed some of the inventions
>     "were conceived and reduced to practice during plaintiff's own,
>     independent project to develop a single sideband transceiver,
>     called the SC900A, prior to the award of contract NObsr-77628".
>     >> That led me to the SC900A development background.
>     >>
>     https://www.navy-radio.com/xmtrs/sc/SC900A-Board_of_Contract_Appeals_D
>     <https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://www.navy-radio.com/xmtrs/sc/SC900A-Board_of_Contract_Appeals_D__;!!KfGNmQmE!nUOaG__9mIIM10Kn1Lz4tXbKzdxtZEZAXkYBay-mC6ZCpJ7r2-YbD_6IsussgAafS_LJbEg02NPQm958$>
>     >> ecisions.pdf Evidently they had a working radio before the Navy
>     >> contract was signed.
>     >>
>     >> Trivia - the original Navy contract referred to the AN/PRC-45
>     portable transceiver and AN/URC-35 fixed transceiver. The names
>     were later changed to AN/URC-35 portable transceiver and AN/WRC-1
>     fixed transceiver.
>     >> [The URC-35 was called portable - HA!]
>     >>
>     >> And finally I found this -
>     >> April 1959 Stromberg-Carlson Advertisement -
>     >> - A new approach to Single-Sideband radio by
>     Stromberg-Carlson...... greater power output, less power input
>     with a smaller volume.
>     >> - The SC-900A digit-tuned Single-Sideband transceiver marks a
>     significant advance in the state of the art.
>     >> - The SC-900A is designed for both vehicular and fixed
>     point-to-point communications adaptable to rack mounting and
>     back-pack meets full military requirements.
>     >> - Provides 28,000 stabilized channels from 2 to 30 megacycles,
>     with a transmitted peak envelope power output of 100 watts.
>     >> - Receive input power : 50 watts.
>     >> - Average transmit input power for voice: 150 watts.
>     >> - Available soon.
>     >>
>     >> Any additional info, photos, etc. would be greatly appreciated Nick
>     >> England K4NYW www.navy-radio.com
>     <https://urldefense.com/v3/__http://www.navy-radio.com__;!!KfGNmQmE!nUOaG__9mIIM10Kn1Lz4tXbKzdxtZEZAXkYBay-mC6ZCpJ7r2-YbD_6IsussgAafS_LJbEg02PodP2tc$>
>     >>
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> -- 
> Nick England K4NYW
> www.navy-radio.com 
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