[Radio Wrangler]

The H2900 I had was a prototype and the main case was milled out of a single block of aluminium.

Bizarrely, the input output connectors were all accessible from the front panel. Two knurled screws released the panel section with the meter on it, so it could come away on a double hinged strut ro support it. Behind this panel were the input, output and interface connectors. There was a cable duct machined into the right hand side of the big alloy lump, with a sheet metal cover over it.

There was no anti shock or anti vibration measures taken, and with those connections, it was obviously destined for a rack. So maybe they assumed the whole rack would be on shock mounts?

Shipborne radios, particularly warships endure RF hell with multiple radios and multiple systems having to share antennae based on a single mast. The need for excellent blocking and intermod performance is legendary. Apart from the motor tuned preselector, the circuitry in the H2900 isn't going to be wonderful in these respects. It suffers from a lot of the optimism common in early transistor designs. Racal made a similar assumption with their RA217/RA1217 design. The RA17 wasn't great at dynamic range, but the transistor versions were a significant step backwards.

I decided I'd never use the H2900. Slow thumbwheel tuning isn't fun.

Sometime around 1970, I got a tour of a Canadian warship on a goodwill tour, anchored just off Whitby harbour, and I'll be passing through on Saturday, heading for Scarborough.