Before I started this project always thought the BC-474 (SCR-288) was a bit of a Dog. Not built to MIL standards, odd shape and size compared to the radios that came after and underpowered for what it is. Looking at the design of the receiver with only one stage of IF and the transmitter that appears to be right out of the 1947 ARRL handbook I had low expectations. Once I started working on it with its multiple old style leaky capacitors and mysterious “Cap Pack” stuffed full of the same I did not expect much.

Built up a BA-48 battery pack and got the receiver working first, OK it’s not the most sensitive receiver but in CW works well down to a couple micro volts and has good AVC action in AM. Somehow the set reminds me of the old Navy TBX set but unlike the TBX this receiver has a working AVC system, and the audio quality is not that bad considering the entire receiver only draws around 10 MA @ 90 volts being just about the same as the TBX. Into a fifty Ohm load with only a couple hundred volts for the transmitter developed a good couple watts in AM or CW, spurious down at least forty Db on the second and did not see any other artifacts. Ok, so the transmitter dose have the issue with C13 being in the wrong place, the decaying CW chirp when changing between transmit and receive in CW sucks and will have to change that but all in all have to say despite a lot of the ideas I had going into this I now see that I was wrong. Have to say that in comparison to things like the BC-654 or later GRC-9 this strange little radio more then holds its own and, makes a fun little field QRP or Show set up.