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

[Jim Whartenby]

NickThanks for the heads-up. When I was stationed at Zweibruken AB in Germany, I have a dim memory of seeing a SC-901 installed in a AN/MRN-12 mobile control tower.  This would have been in late 1972 while the control tower / receiver site was upgraded along with the transmitter site up on the hill near the water tower.  A few years or so after I rotated out of the Air Force, Zweibrucken was closed and became a regional airport.  I don't think all of that new solid state UHF equipment would be any use to the civilian airport.
 Stromberg-Carlson was obviously well ahead of the times.  The KWT-6 is only a few years older then the SC-901 in 1959.  I wonder if DARPA was involved in getting Stromberg-Carlson into the HF receiver / exciter market?  It seems that part of the DARPA charter is cross-pollination and kick starting new products.  
Jim
Logic: Method used to arrive at the wrong conclusion, with confidence.  Murphy 

    On Sunday, December 22, 2024 at 01:06:57 PM CST, Nick England <navy.radio at gmail.com> wrote:   

 I have acquired a copy of General Dynamics' August 1962 final report on the development of WRC-1 and URC-35It'll be a while before I can get around to scanning the whole report, but the intro pages covering some history is here FWIW
www.navy-radio.com/xmtrs/sc/wrc1-urc35-final-6208-intro.pdf
I'll also be scanning manuals for the SC-910E exciter, SC-910R receiver, SC-910A amplifier, and SC-905C antenna coupler.

"Fascinating, Captain...."
Cheers,
Nick England K4NYW
www.navy-radio.com


On Sun, Sep 25, 2022 at 5:48 PM Nick England <navy.radio at gmail.com> wrote:

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
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_Decisions.pdfEvidently 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


  
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