[MRCA] Working "Cold War " rellics, AN/ARC-58 and more!

[Tim]

Hi Ray - Nice summary list!

There was an operational 618T at this years West Coast Military Radio
Collectors Group gathering at Camp San Luis Obispo.  Driving a RATT setup
no less.  It used the Test fixture for the control head and interfacing.

We had the ARC-94 on the Navy PTF boats as well.  (Patrol Torpedo Fast)
They were the "PT" boats used in Vietnam and in training commands in later
years.  The ARC-94 used the 618T-1 and was a pretty good set in that boat
although the pounding did cause problems.  They drove a 28 foot whip
antenna through a Collins 490T antenna matching unit.  Powered by 28 VDC
batteries and 400 cps AC from a rotary source onboard.  Some photo's of the
ARC-94 here:  http://www.n6cc.com/trumpy_ptf17

That boat is now in the Buffalo NY Servicemen's Museum but the radio gear
is gone now.  Would be a good project for a local ham to restore that
system on board!

Worked great on the ham bands too.....

The ARC-120 was the same basic radio with a different power source.  We
used them in the AN/TSQ-108 Radar Sonar Surveillance Center vans as a
shore-based system.  Two radios, worked pretty well into a remote 490T and
whip.  But a tough rig to get running in Ham service due to parts, cables
and connector issues etc. as we know....

73, Tim
N6CC
AR

On Fri, Jun 29, 2012 at 10:24 AM, Ray Fantini <RAFANTINI at salisbury.edu>wrote:

> The Survivors list:
> This serves no other function then to see what others are doing and what's
> out there and maybe determine who's working on similar projects but as long
> as we are on the subject of Cold War era radios systems for HF lets do a
> attendance along the lines of who has what and what state it's in:
>
> AN/ARC-8
>
> Classic ART-13 and BC-348 combination, will assume that there has to be at
> least a fifty collectors who have operational ARC-8 systems on the air
> today with at least a ten that would be 100 % original including dynamotors.
>
> AN/ARC-2
>
> Don't know why but feel this belongs after the ARC-8, I have at one time
> owned a RT-91 myself and seen them at Hamfest and online so know they are
> around. I know of at least three operational and because the dynamotors
> were internal it's an easy radio to keep all original. I will say that
> maybe at least a dozen are operational and many more that are on the shelf
> as static displays.
>
> AN/ARC-21 and 65
>
> I know of maybe two or three of the ARC-65 that exist, none of the ARC-21
> set in original condition, with none in operational condition.
>
> AN/ARC-38 (38A, 618S)
>
> Knowing this set well can say a lot. I have a RT-311 and 180L3 set up and
> have been using it for years now and have spoken with at least half a dozen
> who also say they have that or a RT-594 SSB operational. I will say there
> has to be at least ten systems operational, do not know if any are 100%
> original with dynamotor or how many did what I did and built a AC supply.
>
> Also a special note for the 18S4
>
> Do not know what the AN/ARC designate was for that radio or if there was
> one but know of two that are operational.
>
> AN/ARC-39
>
> Weird little set, assuming because of the size and what looks like an easy
> radio to work with there must be some but have never talked with anyone or
> know of one being operational, also myself have never seen one.
>
> AN/ARC-58 (TRC-75)
>
> AT least three examples of the ground version (TRC-75) of this radio are
> known to exist and be operational. Going to assume many of the radios are
> around but due to the complexity of installation do not know how many are
> operational.
>
>
> AN/ARC-94 and ARC-102
>
> The Collins 618T Maybe the longest production run and longest in service
> of all the SSB aircraft radios ever built. Know of at least half a dozen
> operational with the ARC-102 often run in all original configurations. Just
> like the ARC-58 would assume that at least a couple hundred of the 618T
> transceivers are around but because of the difficulty involved with getting
> the rack and powering the radio not more than a dozen or so on the air. The
> ones that I know of that are operational are all using the URM-157 test
> fixtures. I have one but am building it out the old fashion "stupid" way by
> building rack and cables, hope to have it operational someday. Also have to
> wonder if there are not a couple still around in commercial or military
> service somewhere in the third world.
>
>
> This is not a scientific list and the numbers are biased on approximations
> or cases where I know of real examples of these systems in use. I am not
> taking into account what may be in museums or some mythical storage or
> warehouse somewhere, the intent is to get an idea of how many and who may
> be actually using these radios today. Please feel free to comment on
> examples or structure and please remember that I am at this point only
> dealing with HF airborne radios system of the Cold War.
>
> RF
>
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