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.