[MRCA] Record Radio Homing Adapter, Aircraft Carrier Homer, ZB-1 | Collections Search Center, Smithsonian Institution

[Michael Hanz]

Ah ha!  I thought it looked vaguely familiar.  Okay, after a lot of 
going down various rabbit holes, I pulled out a Type N male connector 
that you had asked about earlier, and the thread is a 5/16-24 - very 
possibly the same as on your ZB-1.  You can check it by laying a pocket 
scale alongside the thread and counting the number of threads in 1/4", 
then multiply by 4.  (I did it that way for years, but I just use a 
thread gauge these days.)  The only problem with the Type N is that 
pesky 5/16"OD shield around the 1/16" center pin.  If you could machine 
that 5/16" diameter shield off back to the bottom, I'll bet it the 
modified N connector would fit just fine.  If you or a friend have a 
lathe, this is dirt simple.

Sorry to take so long, but that transition period at the beginning of 
WWII is nasty from a parts detail standpoint.  The original ZB and ZB-1 
RF connectors were the Navy CW-49137 or CSX-49137 (Western Electroc and 
Selector Manufacturing Corporation - good luck finding any of those).  
There was a period when the transition connectors on yours and the one I 
donated to the Smithsonian below were used before that final SO-239 type 
was chosen for the ZB-2 and ZB-3.

    73,
- Mike



On 8/24/2023 10:08 PM, MARK DORNEY wrote:
> The thread on the shell is different. Thread on the ZB-1 is finer. The ID of the shell is correct, but the threads aren’t.
>
> Mark D.
> WW2RDO
>> On Aug 24, 2023, at 7:22 PM, Michael Hanz<aaf-radio-1 at aafradio.org>  wrote:
>>
>> I would try the shell of the 259 first.  Looks to be a finer thread, though the NASM photo is indistinct.  The PL-259 was the replacement for the one in the ZB-1, but I think the pin may be too large.  It may be one of the connectors that were meant for shielded microphone wire.  I don't have time to research it until tomorrow.
>>> On 8/24/2023 7:10 PM, MARK DORNEY via MRCA wrote:
>>> “N” connectors?
>>>
>>> On Aug 24, 2023, at 5:28 PM, MARK DORNEY<mkdorney at aol.com>  wrote:
>>>
>>> This is a ZB-1 Homing device.
>>>
>>> https://collections.si.edu/search/detail/edanmdm:nasm_A20060110000
>>>
>>> It has the same two coax connectors on the back as the ZB-1 that I have, so I’m thinking they are original. What do you even call this type of coax connector, and where can I find two?  I would like to use the ZB-1 with an ARB Receiver.
>>>
>>> Mark D.
>>> WW2RDO
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