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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 14th Jan 2020, 9:36 am   #1
John G8MWF
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Default Burndept sarbe BE301

I have just got hold of, more by accident than design, a SARBE BE301.

Obviously this model is one of the older SARBE models, RAF only?, and there appears to be very little information about it other than a quick mention in https://www.radiomuseum.org/r/burnel...on_be_301.html and a Pathe newsreel dating from 1967 https://www.britishpathe.com/video/sarbe-beacon

Do you have or know anyone who can supply more information on this model?
In the 1967 newsreel they seem to mention that the product had saved lives for 8 years and that would suggest that it had been in production since 1959?
Looking at ink marks on other units for sale it certainly appears to have been in use up until the 80s?


Any help would be most appreciated.
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Old 14th Jan 2020, 12:48 pm   #2
M0AFJ, Tim
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Default Re: Burndept sarbe be301

https://www.americanradiohistory.com...RC-1962-06.pdf

Look at page 819

I used to be asst QA manager at Burndept in the late 70’s, early 80’s when they were at St Fidelis Rd, Erith, by that time we didn’t make many BE301’s, just replacements. They operated on 121. 5?, international distress frequency, they were a pulsed beacon. Not to be operated outside of a faraday cage!

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Old 14th Jan 2020, 1:51 pm   #3
John G8MWF
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Default Re: Burndept sarbe be301

Hello Tim, thanks for the information.

I also worked at Burndepts Erith on the 439 series during the early 70's - we sometimes saw the SARBES heading for the water tank and being hosed off by the air line but we had no technical involvement as that was handled 'up the ramp'!

I am just trying to find out the life cycle of the 301 - was it from the late 50's until the 80's?

A diagram would be really nice - did the destroy them at the end of the product life as the MOD seem to have a habit of doing?

The battery connector has a 5 pin plug on it and the Pathe video shows around 30 cells being used. My thoughts are that this was a dual supply, for back up purposes?, and that there was a common earth plus 2 pins for each of the supplies?
If so, does that mean that they have a nominal working voltage og 16.5 volts?

Is the case hermetically sealed? - I would love to look inside but I do not want to damage the appearance!

Sorry to babble!!
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Old 14th Jan 2020, 10:25 pm   #4
M0AFJ, Tim
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Default Re: Burndept sarbe BE301

Hi John, small world. I left Burndept in around 1984 so we may well have been there at the same time, shipping shed loads of BE470’s to the police and fire brigades. Apart from the QA function I was the Base Station product manager.
Yes the BE301 was hermetically sealed, I remember the tank they used to use to test for leaks in front of the temperature cycling machine and as far as I remember they did have a dual supply and a 16V working voltage, but it has been a long time.
I’ve not seen circuit diagrams for the 301 or the SARBE sets since leaving, there was another chap on here a few weeks ago asking about SARBE circuits without any luck.
Of course they have gone now, killed by lack of investment and competition from initially PYE and eventually cheap imports.
Cheers
Tim M0AFJ/ G8GGP
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Old 14th Jan 2020, 10:28 pm   #5
M0AFJ, Tim
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Default Re: Burndept sarbe BE301

Oops forgot, production life, well I don’t remember seeing them being made when I left so I’d estimate 1979/80 and they were designed to replace some valved products which I definitely do not remember, so maybe 1965 to 1979 ish?
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