A life's (fatal) lesson on how NOT to maintain magnetos
I went for a flight in the radio room of one a few years ago. As an old guy that when a teen, there was still WWII surplus radio/ electronics gear available surplus, I'm quite familiar with the radio gear on those birds
Below, "tuning units" for the BC-375 series transmitter. Each unit covers a "band" of frequencies, and plugs into the front of the transmitter
Below, BC-375 transmitter. The high power high voltage for the tubes as well as smaller units for the receiver(s) were generated by "dynamotors." These were a coined name for a unit that was a DC motor with a generator wound on the same shaft. They had a set of brushes on each end. One end ran the motor, and the other took the generated voltage output. These came in many sizes AND WEIGHTS!!! and generated many many different voltages.
In the post WWII surplus era, when TV came into popularity, these old transmitters were unlovingly referred to as "TVI generators" (TV interference). They were poorly shielded, and the design which ran the PA (power amplifier) typically in "class c" amounted to an non-linear RF device which produced MANY spurs and harmonics
Below, Browning machine gun above the radio room. This hatch was opened to man it, and the hatch also served as "escape" when needed
Below, if I ever decide to ride on one of these girls again, I will pay more attention to this!!
I went for a flight in the radio room of one a few years ago. As an old guy that when a teen, there was still WWII surplus radio/ electronics gear available surplus, I'm quite familiar with the radio gear on those birds
Below, "tuning units" for the BC-375 series transmitter. Each unit covers a "band" of frequencies, and plugs into the front of the transmitter
Below, BC-375 transmitter. The high power high voltage for the tubes as well as smaller units for the receiver(s) were generated by "dynamotors." These were a coined name for a unit that was a DC motor with a generator wound on the same shaft. They had a set of brushes on each end. One end ran the motor, and the other took the generated voltage output. These came in many sizes AND WEIGHTS!!! and generated many many different voltages.
In the post WWII surplus era, when TV came into popularity, these old transmitters were unlovingly referred to as "TVI generators" (TV interference). They were poorly shielded, and the design which ran the PA (power amplifier) typically in "class c" amounted to an non-linear RF device which produced MANY spurs and harmonics
Below, Browning machine gun above the radio room. This hatch was opened to man it, and the hatch also served as "escape" when needed
Below, if I ever decide to ride on one of these girls again, I will pay more attention to this!!
