The SCR-536 was a hand-held radio transceiver used by the US Army Signal Corps in World War II. It is popularly referred to as a walkie talkie, although it was originally designated a "handie talkie". [1]
The SCR-536 was a hand-held radio transceiver used by the US Army Signal Corps in World War II. It is popularly referred to as a walkie talkie, although it was originally designated a "handie talkie". [1]
The SCR-536 is often considered the first of modern hand-held, self-contained, "handie talkie" transceivers (two-way radios). It was developed in 1940 by a team led by Don Mitchell, chief engineer for Galvin Manufacturing (now Motorola Solutions) and was the first true hand-held unit to see widespread use. [1] By July 1941, it was in mass production. In November 1942, the SCR-536 received coverage in the amateur radio magazine QST. It appeared on the cover as well as in Signal Corps advertising, and was featured as part of an article on the Signal Corps, “Smallest field unit of the Signal Corps”, in which a photo caption read: “it is not much larger or heavier than a conventional handset”. It was carried among the first waves to hit Omaha Beach at Normandy in June 1944 (and in Italy, Sicily and North Africa before that). [2] Every rifle company of the U.S. 29th Infantry division had six; one for each of the three rifle platoons, two for the weapons platoon, and one for the company CO. The Germans were deeply impressed by the SCR-536 and the SCR-300 after capturing several units in Sicily. [3] By war’s end, 130,000 of the units had been manufactured by Motorola. They were also produced by other firms.
Today, the SCR-536 is often restored and operated by vintage amateur radio enthusiasts and military radio collectors. [1]
The SCR-536 incorporated five vacuum tubes in a waterproof case. There was no external power switch on the SCR-536. The operator pulled out or pushed in the antenna on the top which operated an internal switch to turn the radio on or off. The power was supplied by a BA-37 1.5 volt dry battery for the filament supply and a 103.5 V BA-38 battery for plate supply. [4] Battery life was about one day of normal use. The SCR-536 weighed 5 pounds (2.3 kg) with batteries and 3.85 lb (1.75 kg) without batteries. The unit operated in AM voice mode between 3.5 and 6.0 MHz frequency range on any one of 50 channels. Plug in crystals and coils were used to control the frequency of the receiver and transmitter. The antenna was a 40 inch telescoping rod that slid into the case. The SCR-536 had an RF output power of 360 milliwatts. The range of the unit varied with terrain; from a few hundred feet (about a hundred metres), to approximately one mile (1.5 km) over land, and 3 miles (5 km) over water. [5]
Under the Army Nomenclature System, the BC-611 transceiver was the core component of the SCR-536 Signal Corps Radio set. The Signal Corps technical manual number was TM 11-235. [6]
HT, Ht, hT, or ht may refer to:
A walkie-talkie, more formally known as a handheld transceiver (HT), is a hand-held, portable, two-way radio transceiver. Its development during the Second World War has been variously credited to Donald Hings, radio engineer Alfred J. Gross, Henryk Magnuski and engineering teams at Motorola. First used for infantry, similar designs were created for field artillery and tank units, and after the war, walkie-talkies spread to public safety and eventually commercial and jobsite work.
A signaller, signalman, colloquially referred to as a radioman or signaleer in the armed forces is a specialist soldier, sailor or airman responsible for military communications. Signallers, a.k.a. Combat Signallers or signalmen or women, are commonly employed as radio or telephone operators, relaying messages for field commanders at the front line, through a chain of command which includes field headquarters. Messages are transmitted and received via a communications infrastructure comprising fixed and mobile installations.
Mobile radio or mobiles refer to wireless communications systems and devices which are based on radio frequencies, and where the path of communications is movable on either end. There are a variety of views about what constitutes mobile equipment. For US licensing purposes, mobiles may include hand-carried,, equipment. An obsolete term is radiophone.
Vintage amateur radio is a subset of amateur radio hobby where enthusiasts collect, restore, preserve, build, and operate amateur radio equipment from bygone years, such as those using vacuum tube technology. Popular modes of operation include speaking over amplitude modulation (AM), and communicating using Morse code through continuous wave (CW) radiotelegraphy. Some enthusiasts have interest in owning, restoring and operating vintage military and commercial radio equipment such as those from 1940s to 1960s. Some undertake to construct their own gear, known in ham slang as homebrewing, using vintage parts and designs. A number of amateur radio clubs and organizations sponsor contests, events, and swap meets that cater to this specialized aspect of the hobby.
Signal Corps Radios were U.S. Army military communications components that comprised "sets". Under the Army Nomenclature System, the abbreviation SCR initially designated "Set, Complete Radio", but was later misinterpreted as "Signal Corps Radio."
The SCR-299 was a U.S. Signal Corps mobile military communications unit used during World War II.
Survival radios are carried by pilots and search and rescue teams to facilitate rescue in an emergency. They are generally designed to transmit on international distress frequencies. Maritime systems have been standardized under the Global Maritime Distress Safety System. Civil and military organisation's utilized different frequencies to communicate and no infringement on either sector would take place. For emergencies involving civilian aircraft, the radio frequency used is VHF 121.5 MHz and for military aircraft incidents, the frequency used is UHF 243 MHz.
The AN/PRC-6 is a walkie-talkie used by the U.S. military in the late Korean War era through the Vietnam War. Raytheon developed the RT-196/PRC-6 following World War II as a replacement for the SCR-536 "handy-talkie". The AN/PRC-6 operates using wide-band FM on a single crystal controlled frequency in the 47 to 55.4 MHz low band VHF band.
The BC-610 was a radio transmitter based on the Hallicrafters HT-4 and was used by the U.S. Army Signal Corps during World War II.
The SCR-300 was a portable radio transceiver used by US Signal Corps in World War II. This backpack-mounted unit was the first radio to be nicknamed a "walkie talkie".
The SCR-694 was a portable two way radio set used by the U.S. military during World War II.
The BC-342 was a World War II U.S. Army Signal Corps high frequency radio receiver. It was used primarily as part of field installations such as the SCR-188A, but could be used with mobile sets such as the 2 1/2 ton mounted SCR-399. First designed at Fort Monmouth, New Jersey by the U.S. Army Signal Corps, it was built by various manufacturers including RCA. Many of the later units that are encountered today were manufactured by the Farnsworth Television and Radio Corporation of Fort Wayne, Indiana. Variants include the low frequency coverage BC-344 receiver, and the battery or dynamotor powered BC-312 receiver.
The Gonset Communicator was a series of vacuum tube VHF AM radio transceivers that were widely sold in the 1950s and early 60s. They were designed by Faust Gonsett and manufactured by the Gonset Division of L. A. Young Spring and Wire Corp. Models were built for amateur radio, aircraft radio and U.S. Civil Defense use. The Gonsets were among the first commercial radios available for the post-World War II amateur bands and helped popularize VHF for amateurs.
The SCR-108 Radio Truck was a Signal Corps Radio vehicle used by the United States Army during and after World War I for short range air-to-ground communications,
The SCR-189 was a mobile Signal Corps Radio tested by the United States Army before World War II. It was designed for armored forces, and mounted in the Six Ton Tank M1917. The original production run of these tanks included 50 "radio tanks" but the original radio components are unknown, so what or how many tanks were fitted with the SCR-189 also appears to be unknown.
The SCR-508 radio was a mobile Signal Corps Radio used by the U.S. Army during World War II, for short range ground communications. The SCR-508 series radio represented the Army's commitment to both FM and crystal tuning, and was used extensively by armor and mechanized units. The turret bustle of late series light and medium tanks was designed around this radio.
The SCR-54 was a tunable, portable crystal radio receiver used by the U. S. Army during World War I for fire control in conjunction with airplanes.
The AN/PRC-10 is an American VHF portable radio transceiver, introduced in 1951 as a replacement for the wartime SCR-300 set. The AN/PRC-8 and AN/PRC-9 sets are basically the same but cover lower frequency bands. It remained in service with the American military until the mid 1960s when it was replaced by the transistorized AN/PRC-25 set.
