[Milsurplus] Surprise at Shreveport Hamfest 2025

[Ray Fantini]

The WS-19 Mk2 I picked up is the British built version and not the Mk3 with the English – Russian  labels built by RCA or whoever that’s common as dirt.  Sounds like a small difference but wanted one that was built in the UK and not USA. That being said it was also in poor condition but intend to have it back functioning and on air at Hamvention next year. Going to do everything you hate, already striped out what was left of the VHF side and will be building an internal solid state power supply in that space, will use one of the old 6V6 stages that was the intercom to drive an external speaker and the greatest sacrilege of all will radically change the design of the transmitter to crystal control removing the original mixer system that was driven from the receiver HFO and install a tank circuit in the output of the PA to produce a transmitter that’s relatively clean and efficient.
Will be something like the BC-474 only using a 807 instead of a 6V6 and figure will be good for maybe five watts.
Been doing a lot of work for other people in the last several years. Most want everything to be as original as practicable but confirm to economic reality. Understand that and when doing work for others am glad to do it but when doing something for myself often will build up projects that may be a mix of technologies that like in the case of the Mk2 will give the feel of using vintage hardware with a all original tube receiver and transmitter but forgo the issues of locating and building up the dynamotor power supplies, providing the high current drain in the field for those systems and producing spurious radiation or working with an external variometer and a external tank circuit that the radio was designed to do. Not building a museum display, but a radio I can use in the field.
But Milsurplus is a broad topic and I do respect anyone interested in the subject and espicaley those who are willing to produce historically correct platforms with all the accessories as they would have been used.

But be warned! In the last week or two have dragged a bunch of BC-348Q receivers into the shop and have been putting them together, have a list of people who want working 348 receivers so they are all getting worked over and all getting internal AC power supplies and will be doing a video of that so lets see what the response to that is. Fifteen years ago did a video on BC-348 modifications and was surprised to see some of the hate mail I received for daring to modify or not do it as a all original box. The ones I am doing now will have all original faces and controls and be a relatively original receiver but they will run from 120 volts AC. Looking forward to see how that goes over. The BC-348 receiver has become increasingly popular with collectors these days. Couple of these receivers will be going to Collins collectors who have now decided they want them to pair with their ART -13 transmitters.



Ray F/KA3EKH



From: milsurplus-bounces at mailman.qth.net <milsurplus-bounces at mailman.qth.net> On Behalf Of Hubert Miller
Sent: Monday, August 11, 2025 3:19 PM
To: milsurplus at mailman <milsurplus at mailman.qth.net>
Subject: Re: [Milsurplus] Surprise at Shreveport Hamfest 2025


Depends whether you want to assemble a display worthy example or just a vintage anything to operate. I do not understand your point about the 19 Mk 2. That is not a scarce radio at all.
You can find hacked up radios all day every day. The WS18 COULD be made into something but it would be a long and diligent watch for bits  surfacing in Europe. I just don't like hacked radios.
I have a hacked PRC-5 and it just breaks my heart to think about all the "improvements" done on it. I need to decide whether trying to reverse those is something i want to take on.
-Hue Miller





-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://mailman.qth.net/pipermail/milsurplus/attachments/20250812/ac554029/attachment.html>