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Reviews For: Command Receivers - WWII SCR-274-N, AN/ARC-5

Category: Receivers: non-amateur adaptable for ham use

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Review Summary For : Command Receivers - WWII SCR-274-N, AN/ARC-5
Reviews: 1MSRP: N/A
Description:
These are single-band military receivers circa WWII which were used in various aircraft of the time for certain communications tasks along with their companion transmitters. Easily adaptable to SWL and Amateur Radio use. After WWII, many thousands were released to the surplus market where they were bought by hams & SWLs alike and converted to various civilian uses. Many decades later, and many are still in use. Each receiver covered a single frequency range, and several ranges were available. More information can be found at the link below.
Product is not in production
More Info: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AN/ARC-5
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
0014
K7LZR Rating: 2022-03-04
Pretty fun & useful, even now. Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Most of my experience is with the BC-454(3-6mc) and BC-946(.52-1.5mc) versions of these rigs.

The BC-946 version covers most of the North American MWBC band and is somewhat rare to find nowadays.

For conversion to Ham & SWL use, many resources are available online. The biggest part of it is construction of a simple power supply.

Regarding performance, these little receivers are not too shabby even today. On an uncrowded ham band, they perform very well on AM, and respectably on CW & SSB with the BFO engaged. BFO injection is sufficiently high so as to provide pleasant SSB reception.

Tuning on models which cover the ham bands is coarse and requires a gentle touch. These receivers were meant to be remotely tuned from the airplane cockpit via a mechanical cable, similar to a car speedometer cable. Local tuning is accomplished by adding a tuning knob on the front panel in place of the remote cable.

In my experience, these receivers are very quiet and noise floor is low. Output audio is of good fidelity and and loud enough if connected through an appropriate matching transformer to a speaker, or no matching transformer and straight to an amplified speaker.

To sum, these rigs are loads of fun and decent performers even now for casual listening. As a bonus, they are EMP proof. And they are true pieces of history. Find one for your shack and save it from the landfill!