info on R388/URR Collins Radio?

[Snatchblock]

I resently picked up a R388/URR. I have found out they were used by the Navy and Civil Defence in the '50's and '60's. Also have a box of tubes that came with it. does any one know anything about these old Collins Recievers? any info will help. I'm not sure if it works, but the lights come on and I have talked to a local Ham that thinks he can help test and/or repair it, if it doesn't work.

[MDYoungblood]

Boy you have a "Boat Anchor" there, here is a site that has manuals for such equipment,
"The Boat Anchor Manual Archive", [Please login or register to view this link] , lots of manuals and info, good site to bookmark.

3's

Greg

[Bombero]

General coverage receiver used by the US Defense Department from 1952 until the early 1960's.

I found a little info: This is the military version 51J receiver that featured major changes to the original 51J receiver design. The antenna input impedance changed from fixed 300 Z ohms to low-Z 50 ohms adjustable by eliminating the primary winding on the antenna coils and adding an antenna trimmer capacitor with front panel control. The dial bezel was changed to a black bakelite piece and "51J RECEIVER" not used anymore on the receivers, the megacycle dial drum no longer had the green highlighted amateur bands (this may have been taken off during the 51J-2 production,) the carrier level meter was now a non-illuminated, sealed unit made by Burlington Company (replacement meters made by Marion Electric and other companies are sometimes found installed,) audio outputs on the front panel allowed for phone or speaker connections (pre-1953,) grab handles were now installed on the front panel, a skirted-knob used for megacycle change, an 0A2 voltage regulator tube was installed, a PTO buffer output tube was installed (brought total tube count to 18,) the entire bottom of receiver chassis was now protected with a slide-in aluminum bottom cover, many of the aluminum parts now had an irradite finish (gold color,) the side panels are made of steel and finished with gold color irradite, the schematic was usually applied to the inside of the top cover, most (all?) receivers were MFP coated, remote standby now required +12vdc to be applied to a relay via real terminals for "break in" operation. An SO-239 connector on rear chassis, "IF OUTPUT" was provided for driving RTTY TUs and other data devices. 1953 and later receivers have a "Break-in" on-off switch added to the front panel in the same location as the SPEAKER jack which was removed. Diode Load and AVC pin jacks are added to the rear chassis on last of production. The R-388 was supplied to Army Signal Corps, USN, USCG at various times from 1950 up into the early 1960s.

There are 2 other versions...R-388A/URR and R-388B/URR - US Navy version of 51J-4 - it is unknown if this model was actually produced (or tagged as such) even though it's listed in the Navy books. Same with the R-388B. These receivers may actually have the 51J-4 designation on the ID tag.

[Please login or register to view this link]

Nice looking radio and I hope you and your Ham buddy can get it up and going.

Good Luck

Bombero

[Snatchblock]

Thanks for the fast reply guys. If I can verify it's operational I may flip it to offset the cost of some new ham gear, not sure if I will or what its worth. Haven't had much time to search for info on the net. The serial # is 109.