Any information on this US Navy receiver please?

[Gridiron]

I bought this at Golborne from the BVWS stall. Externally in good condition but parts have been removed inside, including the dynamotor. Marked RAY-5 PR7NA made by Doolittle Radio Inc for the US Navy for airborne use. Has anyone any information on it and what its use was?
Thanks Mike (Gridiron).

[G4XWDJim]

I think it was probably a 10 metre transmitter using 6L6s.

I had one but never did anything with it and its purpose now eludes me.

Roger G3VKM, who's a member of this forum knows a lot more about it and will probably chime in when he see this thread.

Jim

[M0FYA Andy]

It looks familiar to me too, I think I may have one somewhere, but I can't remember any details! I'll see what I can dig out, if anything.
Andy

[Stockden]

Hello Mike,

According to page 16 of this document it's a single channel, crystal controlled HF receiver (23 to 28MHz). It appears to date from the mid to late 50's.

Judging from it's spec (AVC provided and audio bandwidth of 200Hz to 3Khz) it's intended for the reception of voice broadcasts (Command & Control rather than entertainment!).

Hugh

10 metre transmitter

Not with antenna and output connectors, confirmed by earlier posts. Lovely condition, I wonder what the transmitter was like.

[G4XWDJim]

I'm sure you're right and I'm confusing it with its associated transmitter that shares a similar case and has meters across the top. Those cans suggest receiver I would agree.

Still convinced its associated with 10 metre telemetry or something similar.

Jim

[Gridiron]

Thanks for all the replies, the link to the document provided by Stockden gives information on the receiver type RAY which appears to be an earlier version of the RAY-5, the valves (tubes) used in the RAY-5 are different, the line up is 12SR7,12J5, 12SN7 (2),12H6, 6AC7, 6AB7 (3), 12A8G, the RAY-5 taking advantage of the availability of higher gm valves.
The unit appears to be of wartime construction (the contract date is 44) as cloth covered wiring is used throughout, no pvc.
I would be grateful for any leads for obtaining circuit information on this set.
Mike.

[AC/HL]

This manufacturer seems to use this style of case, normally associated with avionics, for other equipment. See page 11 of this PDF: http://www.apcohistory.org/pdf/1940-...i-10_of_22.pdf

[G3VKM_Roger]

Originally Posted by G4XWDJim

Roger G3VKM, who's a member of this forum knows a lot more about it and will probably chime in when he see this thread.

Hi Jim,

I believe we are both thinking of the Doolittle GWY-2A transmitter but that is not the radio pictured in the first posting.

I drew a blank on the GWY-2A, other than it was high HF, on a single channel around 24 MHz IIRC and used high-frequency AM plate and screen modulation.

Now, the front panel of the GWY-2A does have similarity with the radio shown, the same latches and of course the maker. I did get the idea that the radios were re-issued late in WW2 under an AN/ reference and that they were used as some sort of "smart bomb" or something like the AZON remote control system.

It is a remote control transmitter, operating
on 23-28 MC and intended to control an early "smart bomb." One of the AN numbers quoted turned up a Google hit regarding the use of the equipment in controlling captured V-2 rockets during post-war tests at White Sands in New Mexico. I'm basing that on the following e-mail, sent to me via the one of the QTH.Net boatanchor forums, several years ago:-

From Ships 242A, January 1945:
Navy transmitter type GS.
Built by Doolittle Radio.
First procured by the Navy in 1939.
20-30 MC, 25 watts AM. Obsolete.
Intended to work with receiver type RAY
(this cite is about the first GS acquired).

From CO-NAVAER 08-5Q-227, September 1945:
GS-2, -3, -4, -5.
Supersonic radio control transmitting equipment,
similar to each other except for frequency range
and operating voltage.
Used with RAY-2, -3, -4, -5 receivers.
See AN/ARW-19, -20, -21.

AN/ARW-19 (Formerly GS-5)
Supersonic Radio Control AM Transmitting Equipment.
Used with AN/ARW-20.

AN/ARW-20 (Formerly RAY-5)
Supersonic AM Radio Control Receiving Equipment.

From SHIPS 242:
AN/ARW-19.
Procured by the Navy in 1944.
Airborne transmitting set for remote control
of AN/ARW-20. 23-28 MC, 20 watts.



73

Roger/G3VKM

[Radio Wrangler]

Interesting,

Airborne comms went up to 20MHz as evidenced by the upper frequency limit of a lot of receivers, so anything above that frequency will be something different.

The thing in the photo has mountings/catches at the bottom of its front panel of a sort seen on plenty of aircraft mounted equipment, and the dynamotor power supply fits in with period practice for aircraft mounted equipment. This definitely isn't the receiver for the weapon control link, because that would be made much smaller and more robust, and powered by batteries. If this is associated with that system, then it must be the receiver for a back channel returning telemetry information to the plane.

Telemetry receivers in a plane are likely to be for operational use. Telemetry receivers for development use are more likely to be ground-based.

"Bomb, please return to the bomb-bay."

David

[G3VKM_Roger]

David,

There's a possibility that this type of gear was used for remote-control drone aircraft, in particular "Operation Aphrodite" type missions where explosive-laden B-24 and B-17 size a/c were manually got airborne but then the control was taken over by a mother-ship, the drone crew bailing-out over land. The eldest brother of JFK was lost on such a mission when his B-24 blew-up over the Suffolk coast.

As you point out, 20MHz was the upper limit for most WW2 HF gear, so the frequency range of the gear in question might have been considered to have semi-VHF properties and also be relatively unused by other systems or comms.

I sold my GWY-2A TXs a copy of years ago but did retain some pix, if anyone has any interest.

73

Roger