Radio transceiver BC-1335, part of set SCR-619.
Last weekend, the 18th annual meeting of the Military Radio Collectors Group was held in San Luis Obispo, California, at Camp San Luis Obispo’s NCO club. The event included equipment displays, presentations, field operations and a swap meet. I had a great time, and nearly every other comment I heard about this year’s meet was positive. I’m already looking forward to next year’s annual meeting, as well as the occasional field events we’ll probably have throughout the year.
I’ve just obtained a WW2-style packboard with an MT-702/U radio mount fastened to it. It’s similar to the FT-505 pack mount that I wrote about previously, and a BC-1335 transceiver will fit on it. However, unlike the FT-505 which has a wide spot for the BC-1335 and a narrow spot for a CH-191 battery box, this MT-702/U has two wide spots, each of which is the right size for a BC-1335.
The SCR-619 radio set could be deployed in several different configurations, including vehicular and man-portable. In a man-portable configuration, the BC-1335 transceiver and CH-191 battery box would be installed on a common pack frame with an FT-505 mount. These mounts seem to be quite rare, as I’ve only found about two or three collectors who have them or have ever seen one for sale. A few months before the 2010 West Coast Military Radio Collector’s Group annual meeting, Paul Thekan kindly loaned me his FT-505 so that I could photograph it, measure it, and display it with my SCR-619 set at the meeting. I didn’t just photograph it, though… I also created a 3D CAD model of it, with thoughts of someday fabricating a reproduction.
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