At the time that radio was designed Collins was in love with four band multipliers and the PTO with the idea that nothing beats the stability or quality of there sealed PTO.

The PTO operates in a fixed band; think on the T-195 it's 1.5 to 3.0 MHz, and they have a system of four buffer multipliers to get the other frequencies. Start by checking the accuracy of the PTO on 2.00 MHz and that’s where you want to make any mechanical correction. Any error in band one will be multiplied in the higher bands! Don’t try changing to make something look correct on eighty or forty, do all alignment on band 1. More modern transceivers used converters and the like, but you were unable to get the wide coverage without using that approach back in the fifties. Collins used the same approach on the T-368 and ARC-38

Another thing to look at is if you have the solid-state inverters or the mechanical dynamotors. There is a huge advantage in having the solid-state inverters over the mechanical dynamotors when it comes to starting current. Talked with old timers who used the GRC-19 back in the sixties and they tell me it can easily slow down if not outright stall a M-38 unless you were driving over thirty miles an hour or had the throttle set way high when keyed.

With the solid state inverters, you can run all day long with a PP-8474 power supply and with the dynamotors if you can find a PP-1104 battery charger – Power supply that will do the job. The PP-1104 can also do fun stuff like start an M-151 or M-38 or your daily driver. They can usually be had for cheap but at 110 Lbs. you don’t want to ship it.

 

Ray F/KA3EKH