War Surplus Ham Radio

After WW2 Hams Took Advantage of War Surplus Radio Equipment. It was comparatively cheap and of very high quality construction. Some of the more popular sets are reviewed.

[@williamhughes6282]

Great memories! Started as a Novice in 1954 using a BC 348R and home brew 6146 xmtr on 7175 ca. Still active at 79 years old. Thx & 73’s K6MQF CW for ever!

[@MIKROWAVE1]

It is nice to see that slow CW is alive again on 40M in the old Novice section between 7100 and 7175. It is starting to sound like the old days again with most of the the broadcasters moved up band or off the air!

[@user-cn5kv5ey4c]

... А жалко, что запах шеллака уменьшился...

[@maryrafuse3851]

My husband does not have a lot of WW2 era equipment. He does have a Wireless #19 set built in Montreal, Canada. The Wireless # 19 was used in trucks & tanks. It featured both AM & FM transmit & receive plus an intercom. It was replacement technology for the massive British Army equipment losses resulting from the Dunkirk evacuation.

[@chappyhappy3675]

Thanks for sharing this video. I've been working on my Paraset and ARC-5 projects for years. Especially, for the mechanical-dial tuning assemblies. Your other ARC-5 videos helped me a lot. Thank you!

[@JPS316]

I drooled over modern receivers in the catalogs, but these surplus receivers such as the BC-348 were superior and tons of fun. My favorite receiver was the R390. Later in life, found a nice R648 and even aligned the pto, but it wasn't the same as the R390 back in the novice days. Back then, these receivers weren't collectibles. We just used them as our go-to rigs.

[@johncartwright8066]

WA8LGM reminds me of the old SCR-274N receiver I had when I got my first license as a novice in 1964. TX was a Knight Kit T-60 xtal controlled on 7186 KHz. Thanks for the nostalgia. That CW was music to my ears. Still a CW hound after all these years. 73 !

[@Aduhwan]

This was an excellent and informative video. Very cool gear! Thank you for sharing what appears to be your fine collection of vintage radio equipment.

[@frycz66]

you're doing your show are warm, wise and substantive I'm a SP5RF /Poland, and I'm listening you With real pleasure. Keep it that way you're the epitome of calmness and professionalism. Robert Poland.

[@OdySlim]

At 1 period in time, I had 19 R390-A's, 6 R390's & 1 R389. I had fully restored and aligned them. With the radios, I had several military rackmounted multi-couplers, rackmounted speakers as well. I would run them all at one time in the winter to keep the shack warm. True story. Best Regards

[@johnwest7993]

I don't know how many of us there are, but I'm in love with every kind of rig from those with coherers to the latest SDR's, and I'm happy to operate all of them.

[@jeromewhelan6723]

Just found your video here: What a joy to hear each piece of equipment still running its own dynamotor! That is a great historical accumulation. Thanks for showing it off. AB3SX

[@MIKROWAVE1]

Surplus is just one interesting aspect of ham radio history ! Ha. Just when you think that you will never see another of those radios or boxes - two of them immediately show up on your doorstep from somebody's downsizing, that they had stored away for 40 years.

[@chrishu7062]

Excellent Video.Please keep doing them. They remember the old times and it is great. 73s from Spain-EA2

[@jimgiordano8218]

You have a very nice collection of vintage equipment. Thanks for sharing.

[@johncliff5417]

Watching your great video makes me wish I could go back 60 odd years. With my "Paper Round" money I should have bought so many war surplus radios at the time and saved them to sell now for a considerable profit. It's hard to believ the asking price for gear that was nearly been given away. I do remember a guy telling me that he bought an ex army truck at a sale. When he got home and unfastened the back it had motor cycles and loads of radio gear crammed in the back, a lot of it went for scrap. 73 de John-G0WXU.

[@ukfmcbradioservicingTango21]

My late friend G3JDK bought a skip load of ex-WD radio gear, which was duly delivered (early 50's). As he started pulling stuff out & going through it there was a brand new motorcycle in the middle. Richard, G0OJF (UK)

[@glenngoodale1709]

This was an excellent and informative video. Very cool gear!

[@whstark]

I was ground radio repair in the seventies and worked on Collins URG 10kw at aeronautical transmitter site, plate voltage was scary. We had a R390 to play with. Once we had a phone patch for air force one and our transmitters were garbled and I scrambled to fix , It was the 10mhz station frequency standard distribution amp that got hit by a serge from a lighting storm the night before, so all the transmitters were garbled. They were something else with upper upper and lower lower sidebands, 4 channel SSB. Large Dis cone and log parodic antennas all around the building, Tampa was scary with all the lightning storms. To many stories about those times.

[@MIKROWAVE1]

Wow! That is quite a story. HF Aero is still out there!

[@ronmcc100]

Wow! I'm new to your channel, and MAN! Does this bring back memories! My 1st piece of retired military gear was close to your BC-454B, I got mine for 5$ at a ham fest in the early 70's. Nice black crinkle finish paint job. Replaced the Dynamotor with an AC sourced supply and put in a BFO. My fav was a version of the BC-348... The range on mine went below the AM broadcast band to 18 Mhz and you could pick up navigational beacons on the Great Lakes. My Christmas "Wish Book" was the Fair Radio sales catalogue... Thanks For sharing these treasures!

[@MIKROWAVE1]

I have a nice collection of Fair Radio Sales flyers and Catalogs that would make quite a video expose! I have visited them 3 times in Lima Ohio, but my friend KW1I has been there 30 times probably! One time I bought an ARC-5 new in an unopened box and it had a rattle. So nobody bought it for years. Turned out to be one of those little plastic balls that insulated the variables.

[@cannong1728]

Had an ART-13 which was given to me shortly after I got my ticket back in the '70's. I held on to it thinking I would get it up and running but stupidly gave it away. I kick myself every time I see an ART-13. Nice video...

[@357Shakey]

My dad modified ARC-5 units after WW II. He made a set up for using them for RTTY (teletype). He wrote an article for the RTTY magazine in the late 50’s. Good stuff!

[@-CT-SODBUSTER]

My friend you would make the perfect curator of a ham radio Museum! Wow these old radios just get your blood pumping! The new radios are really cool but I love the good old days where the ham radio operator was also the brains behind everything.

[@K1ZEK]

Brings back memories from when I was a kid. My first build was a power supply for a ARC5 over 50 years ago. Ma y thanks for the video and the trip back in time. 73 Leo k1zek

[@jimmyharris1481]

In 1963 I still operated the SCR-506 in the military ! Nice but heavy !

[@RadioHamGuy]

Very nice collection, thanks for describing each one!

[@wj2l]

Like ur demo with the old military gear. Very well done.

[@andrewfisher1051]

Awesome collection 👍, the auto tune on that last one is awesome.

[@SA2CLC]

nice collection Mike. I'm using my ART-13 mostly on cw, and I agree that the keying relay is loud :)

[@mnpd3]

Back in the mid-70's a local Army/Navy surplus store had bunch of TCS-13 Navy HF receivers for sale. After buying one and checking it out, we bought all of them for $5 each. The receivers ran off 220vac, so we built quicko 110vac power supplies on upside bread pans. We then sold these for $30-35. As I recall, all the radios worked perfectly upon power up despite decades in storage, except for one which had an inoperative BFO. I've never seen one of these radios again, anywhere, and thought it a bit odd that the surplus store only had the receivers; not the matching transformers.

[@acestudioscouk-Ace-G0ACE]

Some beautiful kit here! Great from a radio, mechanical engineering and aesthetic view point.

[@wisteela]

Fantastic old stuff

[@MIKROWAVE1]

There is still plenty out there, a lot being recycled into new hands.

[@TheGearhead222]

Dear Sir-Here's the link to my 200 + tube radios going back to 1935. The music is being played from my 1947 Motorola WR-8 wireless phonograph, which took me about 6 months to rebuild. Enjoy and 73's!-John in Texas

[@MIKROWAVE1]

John, The only thing that I can come up with to cure your condition - IS MORE RADIOS!

[@ramonvargas3188]

This is a very cool piece of radio! Congrats!

[@peterworrall1644]

Usual high quality, great presentation and interesting content from Mikrowave. Thanks for making these and putting them up.

[@marktiger4613]

Great video I have been thinking about getting my ham ticket I am 52 and raising teenagers and working a very full time job but always wanted to try I like the vintage radios I think

[@LarryDeSilva64]

Love to see the old equipment reminds me when i was just a boy

[@AragonDubs]

OMG! Excellent video, equipment, and explanations. Many THANKS. 73

[@GloriousAssam]

Truly fascinating, a lot of history here!

[@samjones56]

just great wow really love the video !! !!i got such a smile watching this thank you deeply !!

[@melvynroyrunham5988]

I used to work at PYE Cambridge. The company was Labgear,abbey walk. Thankyou for posting,regards

[@MIKROWAVE1]

PYE basically invented the COTS idea with the WS19. By using many existing radio and TV parts and low cost stampings, rather than few extremely high quality and expensive parts, they produced an integrated multi-function set that easily represents the approach now preferred by commercial and the military - but 70 years early!

[@stephenwilliams5201]

Cool I used to ghost the. Fair radio store at east eureka, LIma ohio. A lot of what you have to show here. was what I trained on. That is to say the larger sets. not the arc series. Never realized there value till later. After break ins and a near by a death. Prompted the store to move away from that location. To a better spot near 4th street LIma. Still they are chock full of value. And surplus. Tks Fer good show de kv4li

[@anandarochisha]

Very nice..of course the 51J3 just went to 30.5MC. Not many around, usually the R-388 is what we see..like yours..can see the tag peeking out and the military finish. Correct me if wrong. Enjoyed Your video..love this old gear..

[@vtradio]

Very nice presentation and explanations. I have some of the same receivers here, including Collins R-390A, Collins R-388 (51J-3), Hammarlund Super-Pro SPR-210SX (BC-779), Signal Corps BC-348-Q, Hallicrafters SX-42, Hallicrafters S-40B, and one of your favorites - the Hallicrafters S-120 :-). No military transmitters here - all Johnson Vikings. When I was a kid, my dad let me listen to his Signal Corps BC-312-M. 73 Paul AA1SU

[@MIKROWAVE1]

Wow Paul, nice collection! Yes the transmitters can be a lot of work for very little in return. My BC652/653 Tank Radio Setup is the famous "400 lbs of nothing". But the ART-13 earns its keep!

[@mythicalireland]

I used a J-38 key to learn sending CW! Thanks for the video de EI2KC

[@Tocsin-Bang]

My late father, G4ZPV used an ex navy B28 as his main receiver for many years, it took two of us top lift it onto his operating bench.

[@MIKROWAVE1]

Marconi? Do you think the Murphy B40 would have been easier to lift?

[@Dutychief]

Found this to be interesting. Thank you for posting.

[@MIKROWAVE1]

In the middle of the pandemic I took a 2 hour drive up to Maine to buy a pair of new in the box tuner drawers for one of my WW2 transmitters. They were marked 1942. They just made so much extra...

[@squarewave2]

Excellent video! Thanks!

[@pepe01310]

I will love to see a instructional video on the ART-13 and bc-348 and how to put them on the air as a unit. I have both and I wish to put them to work. I need to build a power supply and connections so any help will be appreciated. Just an idea for a future video.. 73 Pedro NP3QT

[@ianmcgarrigle8492]

I started out with a RCA AR88D Rx that started life in a WWII Sherman tank. Weighed almost as much. Ian G4JIU

[@MIKROWAVE1]

Now that AR88 is a beast that could take a HEAT round and remain on channel.

[@rohnkd4hct260]

Got to love those WW II rigs.

[@MIKROWAVE1]

They are fun to restore and use on the air. Constant fun keeping them happy as they age!

[@1479andy]

Thanks great video would ike to see more like this

[@ianslee8968]

Awesome vid mate, dad was in the Royal Navy over the ww2 and was a radio and coms room on a mine deeper. He went in front of the 6 June 1944 fleet mine sweeping. Using all this type of kit. So proud of him. This is excellent. I have a huge collection of this stuff from dad when he passed a couple of yrs ago. I was going to donate it all but now I’m going through my ticket, I may keep them.

[@ramonvargas3188]

The TX/RX collection is awesome! Really good!

[@MIKROWAVE1]

But I am not really a collector or really even a restorer. If I use it and like it, I keep it in the shack. But if it sits around unused - I sell it off for someone else to play with.

[@MIKROWAVE1]

This was a Video done for a Ham Radio group meeting a couple of years ago. Grainy because it is trans-coded off the DVD.

[@wa4aos]

Excellent review. Thanks !!!

[@MIKROWAVE1]

Thanks for watching. This is an old Video!

[@sreekumarUSA]

Thank you, Sir.

[@Texan747]

WOW! Excellent video which is very informative. Lots of equipment shown and demonstrated. Thank you! Is the Old Military Radio Net on Sunday night at 9 p.m. Eastern or Central time? Thanks for fine video.

[@MIKROWAVE1]

9 PM Eastern Time Zone for the OMRN.

[@kb0to1mb]

VERY NEAT video! I had an opportunity to buy a NEW in the box R390A back in the 70s - NO had the $$ to do so. Shud of taken a Loan to buy it. Just too bad all the OLD super neat rigs are only good for HAM radio. Not SWL like the Good Ol Days of radio. See a lot of Boat Anchors coming up for sale here in AZ. Used the R390's in the service. Crypto etc. Miss the Glow in the Dark radios. Thanks for the great video.

[@robertl.fallin7062]

A R390A was for sale at the Feb Ham frost in Richmond for $500.00 I was tempted! Now have remorse for not buying it.

[@skylongskylong1982]

I used to own a AR88, and HRO radio receivers. Sadly I sold them both when I moved G1UYP.

[@billmoran3812]

A lot of familiar gear, from back when I was a young ham. There was so much available really cheap.

[@cannong1728]

true...as a young ham in the '70's, I remember going to hamfests and guys were basically giving stuff like this away at the end of the day. Now...no giveaways and not so cheap!

[@ronalddaub7965]

I need somebody to help me with this World War II ship and navy Marine Crystal calibrator for radios on ships it goes from lo26 megahertz High 28 megahertz about 11 settings with a antenna and a phone jack it says it's a calibrator and monitor

[@colinc.8742]

When ham radio was ham radio. G4 YCW

[@MIKROWAVE1]

Thanks for watching!

[@PapasDino]

Very interesting...thanks for sharing! 73 - Dino KL0S

[@1fanger]

Impressive, thanks

[@ksnstechtopics8650]

I wish I had your noise floor! Nice video, very interesting. 73's De G6KSN

[@marcialjimenez309]

Excellent

[@n9iz]

Wish I was around to pick up some of that surplus when it was cheap! Some of those items demand a fairly hefty price now.

[@MIKROWAVE1]

The ART-13 is still a bargain. That one had a short in the harness and was missing several tubes and I think I paid 35 dollars for it. Now they go for 150 - not bad. The R390's and R390A's I got in the early 1990's were all fixer uppers and the least I paid was 60 dollars and the most 100 dollars for each. Those days are gone. I thought I was doing great selling all of them off for $150 each! Those days are gone!

[@DAVIDGREGORYKERR]

Have you tried in implement a SO42P double balanced mixer using 3xECC88 tubes i.e 2 for the mixer one for the oscillator that drives the heated cathodes of the two mixer tubes.

[@klingonbaronessprincesskar5519]

Love them I buy from fair radio George sellati and phile George passed away I just got anothe pallet in on Monday thanks

[@MIKROWAVE1]

Fair was Mecca for me as a kid and I did mail order regularly. Finally got out to Lima a couple of times after college.

[@jplacido9999]

I've used to have a TCS-12 transmitter😄 It would pair with a MARCONI all valve receiver. It was my anti-EMP unit😁🙏

[@MIKROWAVE1]

My first AM Transmitter was a modified TCS-12. I later collected both the transmitter and Receiver and still have that station operational. My vote for the most reliable, maintainable and easy to use WW2 radio setup of them all! I knew an old Italian-American Engineer, Anthony Tortorella, who was in a tin can (destroyer) in the protective ring around Okinawa. Their ship was hit by a kamikaze up top midships, taking out the radio setup. They limped back to safety with only the TCS (backup) set operable.

[@jplacido9999]

@@MIKROWAVE1 thank you very much for that very interesting piece of information. Really nice you shared. Very strong TX/RX unit👍

[@ve3enx95]

12:34 I've always wanted one of those TCS transmitters. For a while they were pretty easy to find, but not so much any more, it seems?

[@MIKROWAVE1]

Pre-COVID I still saw them at hamfests like Nearfest. Still out there. I just got new in the Box tuning units for two bands I was looking for, for my BC-191. You never know.

[@DisabilityFraudKJW]

I have an R-26. I would really like to get it to run.

[@user-lx7kn8bd6n]

2.9 - 3.2 MHz The Soviet pirate band is still working .... I wonder if there is anything in your country? In the evening and at night there are many stations ...

[@kemonoyama2084]

very cool

[@shamrock1961]

Are there still War Surplus radios out there to purchase? What about military surplus from the last 20 or 30 years?

[@glynnhm0lsg308]

Excellent loved that auto tuner set

[@nickmad887]

good video

[@nr3rful]

neat equipment, im jelious

[@MauriatOttolink]

Wow ..That Command set is still some RX after all these year. On a trip from UK in 2000 we saw The Memphis Belle in the museum on Mud Island. (She's moved now.) Through a window ..(port hole?) could be seen the full installation of Command sets. There wa nobody around or I would have made a cash offer! 73 de Manchester UK...The original Manchester V. 1.00

[@MIKROWAVE1]

I saw it kind of rotting away in Memphis in the late 90's. Nice to see she is being restored.

[@francoispf3418]

Belle collection bien conservé félicitations 👍👍👍👍

[@MIKROWAVE1]

Les belles radios sont comme de belles femmes, mais avec encore plus de choses à toucher.

[@CasonovaCorkClub]

If u listen real close, you can hear Tokyo Rose.

[@RC-Heli835]

Do you have any idea how they made 100 meter radios work with such short antenna/s on planes? Thanks!

[@yavor40]

Good old radios ! 73 DE SP5MNF

[@engine212ff9]

I'd like to know where the military radio net is and it's call sign? I'm located in Northeastern Ohio and would like to listen in if possible. Tnx

[@MIKROWAVE1]

Marvin Wiser the Old Military Radio Net meets on 3885 kHz on AM Saturday mornings between 0500 and 0700. The CW edition is at 9 pm Sunday evenings on 3570 kHz.

[@alancaron984]

“This is Zarcoff, calling from the planet Mongol. Come in Flash!”

[@MIKROWAVE1]

Ming the Merciless casts doubt on your feeble radio. Every thousand years, I contact each life system in the Universe.

[@michaelhudock8426]

Still use my TCS setup today!

[@MIKROWAVE1]

My vote for the best in terms of simplicity and reliability for the Navy, and they made darned nice ham stations!

[@warplanner8852]

80m CW from Field Day?

[@hornet6969]

ART-13 BADASS !

[@roadrunner6372]

Hi... marvelous devices :)...

[@MM0IMC]

Power supply problem, hence the chirpy CW?

[@ronalddaub7965]

I got a crystal calibrator for ships it looks like 28 megahertz to 29mhz. 11 different settings a place for phones and the a antenna laid by garode radio company for garode. radio. I wonder if this thing can be used because it looks like it's on a medium wave short wave band

[@MIKROWAVE1]

The Garod company of Brooklyn NY is a classic radio company, and like most, they received government contracts during the war, notably the calibrator and frequency net monitor for the NAVY TBX 2-8 MHz Transmitter-Receiver. The calibrator itself is not a radio. It is an oscillator and heterodyne receiver to obtain correct frequency netting on specific crystal frequencies. It is a WW2 frequency counter in effect. It tells you if you have the radio on frequency.

[@MauriatOttolink]

Paraset. Is the control right in the left hand bottom corner, a fine tuner or is adjuster for a vernier? The big control looks like a slo-mo drive.

[@MIKROWAVE1]

Old fashioned pinch drive Vernier. Crude but cheaper.

[@MauriatOttolink]

@@MIKROWAVE1 Tnx...Re Vernier,

[@WA8QFE]

I need to fire my ARC5 up and see if it still works ! Lee, WA8QFE

[@dragon-des-flamme223]

je voudrais savoir quelle radio peut atteindre de grande fréquence en MHz

[@sonus289]

Other than hamfests or ebay where can one buy military surplus radio gear nowadays?

[@MrMe4444444]

Fleamarkets, Fairradio in ohio.

[@arildoaparecidocosta5729]

Bravo ótimo vídeo trabalho gualidade total bazuka Foz do Iguaçu pr Brasil

[@MIKROWAVE1]

Arildo muito obrigado por assistir meus vídeos!

[@fourfortyroadrunner6701]

Not familiar with the "spy" radio, the WS-19, or the BC652 tank radio, but have had my hands on everything else in some way.

[@MIKROWAVE1]

There are all kind of crazy radios to talk about and everyone has a different story.

[@Martin-io4wc]

At time 7:58, NY air traffic control, do you know that exact frequency?

[@srihlman2006]

OK I need some help I’m looking at a G&M transmitter and receiver model number is 1006 -a I need a power cord and what votes does it run on please help

[@MIKROWAVE1]

That is a rare piece. www.antiqueradios.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=369144

[@raulgonzales1374]

Does anyone know if the Vietnam era radios, such as the PRC-25 can be found in today's market? It is the radio that every infantry squad carried in Vietnam.

[@raulgonzales1374]

I would like a response and if they are available for purchase? Thanks

[@MIKROWAVE1]

@@raulgonzales1374 Not only are they available at hamfests and on Ebay, you can even buy the last version the PRC-77 New, and to government standards since they are still used in many armies and militias.

[@raulgonzales1374]

MIKROWAVE1 any idea how much they go for nowadays!

[@MIKROWAVE1]

@@raulgonzales1374 hamfests or personal sale $200 would be fair. You would need to collect some items to make it complete. $400-500 complete checked (Fair Raio Sales, Murphy Surplus etc..) but may need work. $800-1000 a typical cost for a complete working unit for a militaria guy willing to pay.

[@raulgonzales1374]

MIKROWAVE1 I had not thought about the PRC-25 in years. I have a very personal reason for getting one, I was in Vietnam in 1968 and while out on a squad size overnight patrol (listening post/operations post) nine out of a ten man squad when out starting right before sunset and setup for the night and about 400-500 yards away from the rest of ‘C’ Company. (1st Cavalry Division, 1st Bn/7th Cavalry) at dawn all hell broke loose and the firefight was on. We were surrounded on three sides by a larger superior force of NVA. S/Sgt James was manning the machine gun and the PRC-25 (We called it the Prick-25 because of the guy who had to hump the radio as well as his own rucksack of equipment, not fun humping 100 lbs of gear in 100 degree heat) at any rate S/Sgt James called in artillery, our own Company 81mm mortar tube and later called for Cobra gunships and F-4 jets to save our butts. The firefight finally ended about 12:00 or 12:30 noon. So the Prick-25 saved my life as well as the rest of the squad and thanks also to the skill of S/Sgt Kenneth James, great squad leader!

[@robertbruce7686]

You know it is work8ng (final tcvr of video)!

[@MIKROWAVE1]

I bought that ART13 Transmitter from an older gentleman in 1992, who had it in the rear of his station wagon at a hamfest. It was very dirty, missing many tubes, and had a harness short in the 28V. I think I paid 35 bucks. I learned a lot from that radio, and the power supply project for it was a once in the lifetime build - and it has performed without a fault. The key - timed plate voltage relay after fil warm up and a variac on the HV for tune up. And ventilation - a good muffin fan on the rear.

[@Pootycat8359]

The BC-348 covers 1.5-18 MHz, not 2-18 MHz. Also, it has 200-500 KHz longwave.

[@MIKROWAVE1]

Yes Sir. I re-aligned mine around the crystal filter after cleaning it up, and that feature is now very sweet indeed. But a bit off the proscribed IF frequency now!

[@vu3mes]

Hi do you have a bc348 or racal ra17 in good condition for sale, thanks

[@MIKROWAVE1]

No Mate! But the BC348 is common and they show up at ham radio meets and on Ebay, regularly.

[@ianslee8968]

All hail the morse guy, I just can’t use it. Some mental block. I try so hard but just can’t make the grade.