|
Vintage Amateur and Military Radio Amateur/military receivers and transmitters, morse, and any other related vintage comms equipment. |
|
Thread Tools |
20th Aug 2017, 5:07 pm | #1 |
Hexode
Join Date: Mar 2009
Location: Cirencester, Gloucestershire, UK.
Posts: 391
|
Identify this Radio?
Hello All
I picked up this interesting (to me anyway) radio at the Rugby rally today. It looks like something from the US that's found its way over here. There's a three gang tuning capacitor so it has an RF amplifier. It looks military, but not rugged enough to used anywhere near combat. The valves are: 7A7, 7Q7, 7A7, 7B6, 7C5. It's rigged to work off external power, but it looks like it could have originally been fitted with a mains transformer and rectifier. It has SC 6732A printed on the rear panel. Can anyone put a date and make/model number to it. best regards ... Stef |
20th Aug 2017, 5:30 pm | #2 |
Moderator
Join Date: Dec 2010
Location: Exeter, Devon and Poole, Dorset UK.
Posts: 6,866
|
Re: Identify this Radio?
I can't help you with this particular set but it looks like what is often referred to as a NAAFI Set.
Cheers Mike T
__________________
Invisible airwaves crackle with life or at least they used to Mike T BVWS member. www.cossor.co.uk |
20th Aug 2017, 5:32 pm | #3 |
Dekatron
Join Date: Apr 2012
Location: Wiltshire, UK.
Posts: 13,998
|
Re: Identify this Radio?
Looks intriguing: the use of "Loktal" valves [rather than mid-WWII-era B7G types] would put it early in WWII timescales.
Definitely not a 'portable' - by the early-1940s Hallicrafters etc. had the likes of the "SKy Traveler" S29 on the market to address the niche: http://www.radiomuseum.org/r/hallicr..._s_29_s29.html Lack of a BFO, however, marks it out as an 'entertainment' radio rather than a communications-set. What are its power-supply needs? The big transformer-shaped hole in the chassis and empty valve-socket make me think it was originally intended to run on AC supplies. |
20th Aug 2017, 7:47 pm | #4 |
Dekatron
Join Date: Nov 2011
Location: Surrey, UK.
Posts: 4,396
|
Re: Identify this Radio?
It's a near-certainty that "SC" is a Signal Corps (i.e. US) designation- a query on one of the American vintage websites might be fruitful, I wouldn't be surprised of lots of these were made for field "morale" purposes and then dumped NOS on the market post-war.
In a sympathy-for-the-underdog sort of way, I quite like the loktal valve series- like the rimlock series, the presentation may have been misconceived, but the valves per se do a perfecrly good job for the most part. The main short-coming is short pins, leading to contact dependability problems. Quite a bit of the more "peripheral" US military kit seemed to use them- could it be that the earlier but tough and proven metal octal types were favoured for front-line kit and loktals, appearing in quantity for civilian use just pre-war, were used for less critical kit to ease possible production bottle-necks? Maybe the original mains transformer was a 110V-only type, or just a commercial quality item that expired at some point.? I'd say this set ought to be a good performer, but the elephant in the room is the declining AM transmitter scene! Shame about the lack of LW, but hardly surprising in a US-originated set. The B9a valve-socket on the LHS suggests something like a 7Y4-to-EZ80 adaptation? Last edited by turretslug; 20th Aug 2017 at 7:55 pm. Reason: Supplement. |
20th Aug 2017, 8:32 pm | #5 |
Heptode
Join Date: Jun 2012
Location: Southeast Norfolk, UK.
Posts: 773
|
Re: Identify this Radio?
I did a search on US WW2 morale radios and a lot of images came up. This link shows something like yours:
http://www.ohio.edu/people/postr/bapix/6000-bac.htm Google images was my search engine. 73 Roger |
20th Aug 2017, 8:32 pm | #6 |
Hexode
Join Date: May 2005
Location: Wigan, Greater Manchester, UK.
Posts: 479
|
Re: Identify this Radio?
Another clue as to its American origin is the use of BC for Broadcast instead of medium wave.
|
20th Aug 2017, 8:41 pm | #7 |
Hexode
Join Date: Mar 2009
Location: Cirencester, Gloucestershire, UK.
Posts: 391
|
Re: Identify this Radio?
Thanks Roger, that looks very like my radio, but a different version. Well spotted!
My radio is powered by flying leads for the HT and LT, obviously after the original power supply was stripped out. best regards ... Stef |
20th Aug 2017, 9:03 pm | #8 |
Dekatron
Join Date: Apr 2011
Location: Cornwall, UK.
Posts: 13,454
|
Re: Identify this Radio?
|
20th Aug 2017, 9:10 pm | #9 |
Heptode
Join Date: Jun 2012
Location: Southeast Norfolk, UK.
Posts: 773
|
Re: Identify this Radio?
Ummm, no doubt these radios were occasionally carried or used in jeeps, but to describe it as a "Jeep Radio" is pushing it a little! Having said that, I do have a photo of a BC-610 transmitter in a jeep but I'd hardly describe the '610 as a jeep radio!
Roger Last edited by G3VKM_Roger; 20th Aug 2017 at 9:14 pm. Reason: add |
20th Aug 2017, 9:19 pm | #10 |
Moderator
Join Date: Jan 2003
Location: Ipswich, Suffolk, IP4, UK.
Posts: 21,288
|
Re: Identify this Radio?
Looks like it may have originally been fitted with a vibrator and associated transformer.
__________________
Graham. Forum Moderator Reach for your meter before you reach for your soldering iron. |
20th Aug 2017, 9:32 pm | #11 |
Hexode
Join Date: Mar 2009
Location: Cirencester, Gloucestershire, UK.
Posts: 391
|
Re: Identify this Radio?
I've just been looking at some pictures of radio installations in Jeeps and as expected, they are all of rugged transmitter/receiver/control unit combinations. Judging by the sort of bumps and shaking about that jeeps typically endured, I don't think my radio would have lasted very long.
|
20th Aug 2017, 9:44 pm | #12 |
Dekatron
Join Date: Apr 2011
Location: Cornwall, UK.
Posts: 13,454
|
Re: Identify this Radio?
It's hardly an "installation" type radio, neither is it a comms set, quite likely they were carried around in some Jeeps just as much as in any other vehicle for general entertainment.
Lawrence. |
26th Aug 2017, 10:45 pm | #13 |
Heptode
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: Ashhurst, Manawatu, New Zealand
Posts: 571
|
Re: Identify this Radio?
The transformer and other power supply components were perhaps stripped out as it may have been for 117v 60Hz - not that the frequency matters much.
__________________
Cheers - Martin ZL2MC |
26th Aug 2017, 11:50 pm | #14 |
Dekatron
Join Date: Feb 2007
Location: Leominster, Herefordshire, UK.
Posts: 16,535
|
Re: Identify this Radio?
It can, if the 60Hz transformer design is cheesepared to the limit it will overheat on 117V 50Hz supplies.
__________________
....__________ ....|____||__|__\_____ .=.| _---\__|__|_---_|. .........O..Chris....O |
15th Sep 2017, 8:35 am | #15 |
Pentode
Join Date: Aug 2014
Location: Mumbai, India
Posts: 148
|
Re: Identify this Radio?
Does the 3-section tuning gang indicate that the radio had a "tuned RF stage"?
|
15th Sep 2017, 3:16 pm | #16 |
Dekatron
Join Date: Nov 2003
Location: Heckmondwike, West Yorkshire, UK.
Posts: 9,642
|
Re: Identify this Radio?
The circuit diagram linked to in post 8, although it's only a thumbnail, shows an RF stage.
|
15th Sep 2017, 4:53 pm | #17 |
Dekatron
Join Date: Nov 2011
Location: Surrey, UK.
Posts: 4,396
|
Re: Identify this Radio?
Whilst it's a straightforward-to-use broadcast receiver, it's intended role could have involved it being sat on the ground on a remote Pacific island with whatever handy bit of wire could be found as an aerial, and with a fair amount of military comms rattling around in the vicinity at various frequencies- so both the extra sensitivity and front-end selectivity resulting from an RF stage would have been considered worthwhile.
|
23rd Oct 2017, 11:43 am | #18 |
Rest in Peace
Join Date: Sep 2010
Location: Ripley, Derbyshire, UK.
Posts: 785
|
Re: Identify this Radio?
As I understand it, the term "Jeep" was originally a U.S. military slang abbreviation for General Purpose, and subsequently became mostly associated with the ubiquitous Pick-up truck usually referred to as a "Jeep", as it was a general purpose vehicle. So Jeep in the original context could well apply to your radio. Tony
|