There has been a lot of discussion on eHam lately about older radio equipment. I decided that a recent project of mine would hopefully make for a good article.

Collecting and restoring boat anchors is a very enjoyable aspect of Amateur Radio for me. The BC 348 Q is one of those radios that you always remember because it is very simple to operate, is a rugged design, and only takes a 100 turns of the VFO dial to cruise several MHz. in a single big swath of the dial.

A fine band cruiser that anyone can enjoy using.

Restored BC 348 “Q” The radio you are looking at is over 60 years old!

It was restored both electrically and cosmetically. It was completely retubed using original NOS replacement tubes from the year 1943. (See original “RCA” tube carton on top of the radio)

Parked at one of my favorite hangouts. (That's Megacycles not Megahertz silly) The glass dial display is scratch free and does not show much use or abuse from the Canadian military. (Like they actually used this radio in front line battles right?) Listening to 80 meters AM (3885) is both fun and educational. Many share in common interests using similar era equipment. While this can be accomplished using modern day equipment, there is a certain enjoyment using equipment of yesteryear.

Canadian radio Eh? …You mean they actually have an Air Force up there? This radio was used in a Lancaster bomber plane. It appears there is a slight scratch on the plate under the “Y” in Royal. Otherwise the identification plate is in perfect condition. So now I will present a favorite boatanchor restoration tip for you fans out there.

AFTER

It appears that Kiwi brand shoe polish and a “Q” tip was very helpful to fill in and polish that scratch.

The scratch under the letter “Y” is now virtually invisible even when you look at it up close as this picture demonstrates.

The handles cleaned up rather nicely. Everything was repainted using a textured paint much like the original finish and appearance. I decided on a “black velvet” paint texture. I had no idea that there was brass located under the original paint finish on the dial screws and radio handles. I eventually decided that “black velvet & brass” was a nice contrast for this era of radio. (Goes nicely with my CW key shown on the left too) The original brass under the original paint surface had a forged metal appearance and was rough and unpolished. I used a dremel tool to smooth off the raised bumps and “jewelers polish” to bring out the original brass finish to a medium luster shine. The handles are slightly scuffed and not perfectly shiny. - I didn't want the handles to appear “too” new. I felt this would look out of place for a radio this old.

This photo demonstrates the shiny aluminum “rack like” frame of the BC 348. This is really high tech for a radio built 60 years ago! It has been polished to a like new finish using “mothers aluminum mag wheel polish” You can see your reflection in it! This is also a good close up shot of the refinished brass handles I mentioned previously.

I didn't polish the brass handles “too” brightly as it would have made the radio appear too new!

This photo demonstrates the “modular” design of the BC 348. Engineers wanted to protect the various stages and protect the delicate oscillator coils from damage using these high tech modular aluminum cases. Pretty high tech design when you think about it.

Original NOS mil spec tubes were used to replace all the tubes in the BC 348. The tube cartons are in such nice shape that I decided they too would make for a nice display in the

Shack.

…There, That's a better view.

The BC 348 Q dwarfs the Yaesu FT 847 in comparison. You will notice an original longwire antenna from 1943 attached to it (just kidding). This is a 135 foot longwire that is located outside above the roof at a height of about 35 feet off the ground. This antenna receives extremely well on all bands and the BC 348 provides many hours of listening enjoyment.

BC 348 Q ready for action.

Well, that's the tour folks. Thanks for stopping by the shack

Do you have any shack photos or boat anchor stories you want to share?

My Best,

Charles - KC8VWM