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Vintage Amateur and Military Radio Amateur/military receivers and transmitters, morse, and any other related vintage comms equipment.

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Old 31st May 2017, 2:38 pm   #1
NANETTE
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Default AR77 Advice

Hello. Have I just bought an AR88? Very grateful for all advice. David
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Old 31st May 2017, 2:44 pm   #2
ms660
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Default Re: Ar88?

Looks like an AR77 ?

Lawrence.
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Old 31st May 2017, 3:06 pm   #3
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Default Re: Ar88?

Seconded, its an AR77.
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Old 31st May 2017, 3:30 pm   #4
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Default Re: Ar88?

AH - So it is - many thanks. I wonder if Bletchley Park have enough...
David
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Old 31st May 2017, 3:38 pm   #5
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Default Re: Ar88?

AR77s are much rarer

David
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Old 31st May 2017, 3:39 pm   #6
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Default Re: AR77 Advice

Thread title updated.
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Old 31st May 2017, 4:26 pm   #7
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Default Re: AR77 Advice

Manual at
http://www.qsl.net/w/w2vtm//88/RCA%2...l%20(WQ3X).pdf
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Old 31st May 2017, 4:56 pm   #8
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Default Re: AR77 Advice

Lots of previous AR77 threads, eg around 2014. Much discussion about the origin of both sets and whether [in fact] it WAS actually inferior to the AR88- which is usually mentioned a lot in the AR77 dialogue. It always seemed an interesting radio but not in the same league as the 88 to me! What do I know though . One suggestion is that the designation means Amateur Radio 77! There is a comment that the psu stage is a bit rickety but I suppose you could argue that about the 88 with it's short lived output transformers. There's one comment that the 77 is the 88 with Bandspread but I'm not sure if that's intended to be positive or negative really. They don't look at all the same and certainly won't be a match in weight either!

Dave W

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Old 31st May 2017, 5:03 pm   #9
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Default Re: AR77 Advice

Many thanks everybody. Just a bit of panel beating now - where it hit the skip! - and then to find it a home.
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Old 31st May 2017, 5:50 pm   #10
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Default Re: AR77 Advice

The AR88 was a big improvement on its predecessor, but AR88s appeared in massive numbers and the AR77 is pretty rare. I suppose that makes it less interesting as a receiver for use, and more interestiing as a museum piece.

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Old 31st May 2017, 6:12 pm   #11
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Default Re: AR77 Advice

It may be a lesser receiver than the AR88- but it's something of a historical accident that a "governmental" grade receiver like the AR88 was available to radio amateurs/SWLs in very large numbers at a fraction of their original cost and this has put the realistically more "mainstream" AR77 somewhat in the shade. Compared to what else was available/affordable to the proverbial man-in-the-street at the time, the AR77 was and is a fine radio.
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Old 31st May 2017, 11:25 pm   #12
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Default Re: AR77 Advice

I gather that, early on in the war, there was a realisation that good HF radios were needed, pronto, and there was a lot of purchasing by British emissaries of whatever the US makers could come up with before Lend-Lease etc. and the massive production of AR88s was fully under way, also the similarly huge runs of the likes of the CR100 nearer home. So, quite a few AR77s may have found their way over here for monitoring purposes early in the war- it's less sturdily made than the AR88 and less sophisticated in front-end terms, but as a fixed base receiver it would still have been a good performer. Even in the US, it would have been a very expensive set, near the upper range of what even enthusiast listeners would or could aspire to and certainly out of the reach of many this side of the Atlantic.

Definitely worth saving/restoring- no strange or rare valves involved, hopefully no other show-stoppers.
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Old 1st Jun 2017, 8:30 am   #13
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Default Re: AR77 Advice

The AR77 does have a history of use in the UK. U.S. lend-lease records show 1070 AR77s were shipped here. This compares to 8261 AR88s.
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Old 2nd Jun 2017, 3:57 pm   #14
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Default Re: AR77 Advice

Serial 1045....!

Many thanks everyone for background info
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Old 2nd Jun 2017, 6:55 pm   #15
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Default Re: AR77 Advice

Yesterday TV channel- Battleplan- Deception episode on in the background just now (1800-1900) had several shots of "stock" archive film with operators using AR77s. A glance over the general spec. and circuit suggests that it ought to have had ability as a monitoring comms. receiver at least as good as many contemporaries.
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Old 2nd Jun 2017, 9:06 pm   #16
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Default Re: AR77 Advice

seems familiar somehow...
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Old 4th Jun 2017, 2:22 pm   #17
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Default Re: AR77 Advice

I'd second everything above. The 77 is much rarer and in fact I've only seen one for sale in recent years, should of bought it but my pennies were spoken for. I'd love one to restore and use.

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