[MRCA] ZB-2 control box and Antenna control box questions

[Michael Hanz]

Jack's insights are excellent, Mark.  In addition, I just added quite a 
few more pages to the pdf at https://aafradio.org/docs/ARR-1.html (I 
think you'll have everything you need from that document now).  It's not 
up to Robert Downs' high quality, but it should be clear enough to use.

On the antenna, it does seem odd that it isn't covered in the manual, 
but the Services seemed to separate antennas from the radios for odd 
reasons.  The Navy used a "hockey puck" about three inches in diameter, 
made out of phenolic having a steel bottom cover with a SO-239 that 
bolted into a hole in the fuselage with a black rubber gasket under the 
skin.  It had a 1/4-20 thread in the top, into which you could thread a 
rod of the proper length for the service. At the upper end of the ZB-* 
frequency range it was about a foot long.  Photos of the *AT-5/ARR-1 
variant are below.

         73,
  -  Mike  KC4TOS






On 2/13/2022 2:00 PM, Jack Antonio wrote:
> First of all. Mike Hanz's website has excerpts from the ZB-3 and 
> AN/ARR-1 manual, which describes the
>
> differences between the ZB-1,-2, -3 and AN/ARR-1.  This should answer 
> your questions as to the control box
>
> and relay box. Robert downs also has a reprint of the ZB-2 manual.The 
> primary purpose of the relay box
>
> is to switch the input of the LF/MF receiver between the antenna and 
> the output of the homing adapter.
>
> It was always my understanding that the ARB was designed to support 
> the homing function, making
>
> the control box and relay box unneccesary for the ARB.  But, that 
> leaves out the LOCAL/DISTANCE function
>
> as well as basic ON/OFF of the adapter.  The ARB has an internal relay 
> to select beween the homing
>
> (L1 and L2) and communication (AT and AF) selected by the bandswitch 
> on the control box.
>
> I set up and displayed an ARB/ATB/ZB setup at Gilbert back in 2013, 
> using the proper test box as a
>
> signal source(with the output padded down to leakage levels as it was 
> still on about 246 Mc). I did
>
> not include either the control box or relay box thinking they were 
> unnecessary. And everything worked.
>
> I have never seen an official document showing the interconnect 
> diagram of the ARB and ZB, and if
>
> there is one, I'd really like to have a copy.
>
> Hope this helps.
>
> Jack Antonio
>
> WA7DIA
>
> On 2/13/2022 11:32 AM, MARK DORNEY via MRCA wrote:
>>   I’m not sure what a ZB Antenna control box and a ZB Control Box 
>> are. I think the ZB Control box is a Pilot’s Control Box CZR-23214. I 
>> have no idea what a ZB Antenna control box is. All help is appreciated.
>>
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