BC-611 radio (SCR536) comes to life after 50 years
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- čas přidán 15. 11. 2012
- The BC-611 (SCR536) might very well be the most famous WWII radio ever made. It was the first usable man-portable radio, developed by the Galvin Company (later Motorola). The design was way ahead of its time. Tens of thousands were made and the BC-611 saw extensive active duty during D-day at Omaha Beach and beyond. The particular model in this video is a very late model made in license by L.G.T. St. Cloud in France, made for the French Military. It was produced as war reserve stock and as such, was never issued.
After more than 50 years, it springs to life in this video as if it were produced yesterday. Do you think that new ham radio for which you just shelled out more than 3 grand still will work after 50 years? Don't count on it - Memory retention problems, metal migration in the semiconductors and failing LCDs will have brought it down WAY before that. But the BC-611 will STILL work! - Věda a technologie
For all the people who have asked me about the battery: The 100V battery shown is long gone now (I made this video 8 years ago), but I am working on an inverter power supply for the BC-611 that can run off a single 18650 Lithium Ion cell. The inverter will be able to power the BC-611 for 8 hours on such a rechargeable battery; it will generate both the 1.5V (regulated regardless of 18650 battery charge condition) as well as the 100V plate voltage. There is more than enough room inside the BC-611 radio, so it will be possible to place multiple of these 18650 batteries in parallel: 2 will give you 16 hours of operation, and there is room inside the radio for 3 parallel 18650 batteries if needed. We got a prototype working already, it works perfect. Once ready, I will make another video of course. We will sell these power supplies through our website www.pekorf.com/RadioHomePage.html . Stay tuned.
Fantastic video! I'm a former EE and ham operator, and I've never had the pleasure of examining one of these! Where did you get this specimen?
Had several of these, I found a photo flash device that gave me the required 105 volts for the high voltage to operate the tubes
Hello, there might be something wrong with your website. I tried to buy two 100v supplies on your website but it always tells that my email address is wrong. Could you tell how I can by supply from you?
I know this radio very well from radio magazines in the 1990's! Beautiful, thanks for the video. Clear to see that they used in WW II extremely good materials and solid circuits.
They were used by the French in the indochina wars and america in Korea as
Well
Copy 123, We got multiple hostile approaching from sector South South East code 3 high over 😥
As a little boy, just post WW II I had a small sized reproduction of this radio. It didn't do anything but the "Send" switch clicked when you pressed it. I used it when we played soldier. I may have been my first inspiration to become a ham a few years later when I was 13.
Amazing it works after 50 years. It means all capacitors survived the test of time. BTW because the frequency is at 3885 KHz it can be received by vintage radio cassette with 4 band radio (FM/MW/SW1/SW2) which was very common in 1980s.
Thank you very much for this amazing demonstration of radio technology!
Beautiful! Thanks!
Wow, proper handheld, amazing it survived!
Alrighty then !
Yes there are two batteries . The army decided that in the design specifications .
So one battery is for receive , and the other is for transmit . I’m surprised a rechargeable battery is used in this vid , because rechargeable batteries weren’t thought of yet . And to power vacuum tubes requires a lot of power .
This is a tremendous video . Thanks .
lovely radio :)
thanks for the video bc611 73 from france
Sean, if you are looking for the manual, the complete manual (in very high quality) can be downloaded from Uncle Sam, from the historic archives. I don't think CZcams allows users to place direc URL links, but if you google the term: TM 11-235 SCR-536 it is the first one that comes up.
How the radio works in detail would take way too much space here to explain but if you study the diagrams it wil become clear; a picture says more than a 1000 words. Hope this helps.
A good question - Main reason was to probably keep them compatible with military shortwave radios like the BC-375/BC312 (VRC-1) and the tank radio WS-19. But all succeeding military portable radios worked on VHF frequencies (30-70MHz band), this BC-611 was succeeded by the PRC-6 walkie talkie (the "banana") right after the war. It works in the 50MHz band.
Definitely nice... I had one of the BC-611's years ago... it was from 1945 and it was crystallized for 3885, too. Mine would also overload on strong received signals, like it did not have much of an AGC circuit... but, it was still awesome ... I took apart 10 Duracell 9 volt batteries and separated all those sub-AAA sized cells and insulated them from each other and hooked them all in series and taped them all together in a pack that would fit inside the set... a couple of alkaline flashlight batteries fit in the filament battery holder... worked great. :-)
The funny part is, it is not so much the receiver AGC that is the problem, it is the audio stages that completely overload at strong signals I have found! Had this radio had a volume control, the overload problem would not have been there. But I guess that would have violated the intended simplicity for the user. What the designers really should have done is to extend the AGC to control the audio stage as well.....
The antenna length is about 3 feet. I have tested the range to be in the 6 mile range when using it with a base station having a large antenna as the other station. It doesn't matter much if that is in a build-up environment or in the open field because the frequency is so low. If you use it between two of these radios range is much less, up to two mile at best.
very cool
Amazing
Nice!
Tanks ...
Very nice video, its amazing after all those years and it still works. A modern day set wont work after 50 years.
Mike Lee. 50 years ago? Didn't the US Army stop using these bulky things after the Korean War?
I have a "modern" cb radio from 1971 that still works just fine. Not ww2 but still there is no reason modern sets wouldn't work after 50y
In the video he says it was made in France in 1959, which seems a bit strange
It warmed up fast!
That's because so called "direct heated filament" tubes are used - they warm up much faster than indirectly heated tubes.
Interesting time 1959 for France- that tells me these were not
Only made in France but servers in the indochina wars-vietnam- before we, the yanks, sent
Advisors in 60- 63 if I’m correct- fascinating machine
The fact that those capacitors survived after 50 years is outstanding. I winced a bit when you turned it on because the latter would be a sharp crack followed by no audio and a terrible and particularly acrid smell unmistakably foul to the nose of any technician.
That B battery though is just wild. What did the original battery look like?
KN4GEI
The battery is (was) a BA38. It was made by several manufacturers; Eveready (US), Pile Wonder (France) and Saft (Germany) come to mind. I used to have the Wonder battery (came with the French BC-611), but that was 45 years ago and the battery is long gone - I should have made a photo of it then. But here you can see an image of the Eveready battery that I found on the web: jeep-radio-ww2.blogsite.org/ozm-piles.JPG
I have a pair of these,both French as well.
We tried them out in the country and were surprised that we still had communication 3.5 km apart.
Yes,you are right,no volume control.
73 de VE5 HFD
Nice video... From Indonesia
That is first recognizable ancestor of cell phone. Really interesting piece of technology.
Apparently, that is what Motorola also wanted to stress in their vintage advertisements. See here: www.memedroid.com/memes/detail/1421970
Nice video, of course back when these were used they didn't have anywhere near as much interference from other electronics
Iss'é história!♥️
cool radio
Nice, thanks! I have a pair of WWII BC611s in excellent condition...have often thought about trying to get them up and running. Any idea what they are worth? Thx...
Very cool! No volume control? With an antenna that long that could've only worked down the block. LOL! Thanks for vid!
Similar to my first cellular phone in the mid 1980's. I still have it and it still works perfectly but they won't let you use them because they don't incorporate a GPS in them. I powered it up though and it still connects to the local tower :)
+foskten10 , I doubt that - Phones from the mid-1980s used AMPS as the cellular standard, which has been switched off from cell towers since 2007. See en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advanced_Mobile_Phone_System
I have a portable AMPS base station here, when I gave the time I will make a CZcams video of it, so that you can see the classic Motorola DynaTAC 8000X phone in action again (I have those too). Cheers.
Then you really must like THIS photo! images7.memedroid.com/images/UPLOADED183/55d412d22bffb.jpeg
Excelente demonstração amigo... Bons ventos a vc e família.
I've read that the BC-611's volume control is accomplished by shortening the antenna rod. It would be interesting to know if your radio had receive audio as good as it's transmit audio if you shortened the antenna. I can't find the tube line-up online and I don't have the manual, but the radio does use five tubes one configuration for Rx & reversed for Tx. The "All American Five" radio uses five tubes but has no AGC.
Eighty meter waves follow the terrain - you don't need line of sight.
Sean
The distortion in the audio is caused from the 611 being overdriven from the test transmitter being so close.. A signal generator would have been a better choice for a test signal.. 73's de WB6PVC
The company that made these is LGT, it stands for "Laboratoire General de Telecommunications". They were based at Rue de Garches 4, Saint-Cloud 92 in France. There is now an apartment building there.... www.google.com/maps/place/4+Rue+de+Garches,+92210+Saint-Cloud,+France/@48.8436711,2.2063355,3a,75y,357.66h,83.37t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1smvBGcFN114gu6qvwMBNYfQ!2e0!6s%2F%2Fgeo0.ggpht.com%2Fcbk%3Fpanoid%3DmvBGcFN114gu6qvwMBNYfQ%26output%3Dthumbnail%26cb_client%3Dmaps_sv.tactile.gps%26thumb%3D2%26w%3D203%26h%3D100%26yaw%3D33.939888%26pitch%3D0%26thumbfov%3D100!7i13312!8i6656!4m5!3m4!1s0x47e67b41321a0d11:0x31182d4ad93f66a9!8m2!3d48.8436481!4d2.2062619!6m1!1e1?hl=en
They made a lot of American WWII military radios in license, for NATO and domestic use right after the war. They also made commercial communication equipment and broadcast transmitters. The company was acquired by Thomson-CSF at one point, which is now Thales, a large defense contractor headquartered in France.
Cool,
Sean, regarding the antenna: Desensitizing the radio by touching the antenna with your finger during receive (thus not physically shortening it) helps to make very strong signals more intelligible. this because the BC-611 appears to have a poor working AGC by design. But for transmit, you should not shorten or touch the antenna in any way, as this will create a severe VSWR mismatch for the transmitter PA with potential damage to the PA tube as a result.
Great. this is why 3885 kc was and still is the main AM freq for 75 meters. I didn't realize these things had such good transmit modulation. I think you will find that the difference in capacity between a 40's zinc 1.5 volt battery and a modern alkaline 1.5 volt batter is more on the order of 5 times more... at the least!. a few hundred Ma. drain would flatten one of those old batteries in an hour. Today they will support an 1 AMP load longer than that ! 73 W6WUH
Nice video. Just think.... all of that size and weight to transmit a whopping 360mW (just over 1/3 of a watt)!! About the same power output of kids "toy" walkie-talkies that use 9v transistor batteries. Thanks for sharing!! ......... Roger (W9RHS)
Thanks for the nice words. About the RF power: Yes, it is hard to believe how well this radio operates with this 360mW. And what goes into the air is actually much less than that. Keep in mind that the amount of power actually radiated into the air is only a fraction of this 360mW, because the antenna is very short compared to the wave length, and there is no proper ground (just the hands of the operator). As a result, the small BC-611 whip antenna efficiency will be abysmal (I estimate 5% at best). In BC-611 range tests we have made Q5 contacts over 12 miles though, where the base station was using a 24 ft tuned vertical. This was during the day with very little interference on 80 meter. At night you can forget about making any contacts though, too much skywave interference om 80, nobody will hear the weak signal. Cheers.
@@LifeIsTooShortForQRP It was also made to use standard battery radio tubes- two 3S4s, one 1T4, one 1R5 and one 1S5. The tubes are actually "hot-rodded" slightly as in receiver use they are typically run at 65-75 volts B+ rather than 110v.
Any possibility of finding out where to obtain the B+ rechargeable battery?
please tell us where to buy your cool b battery.
Where can I get these batteries or just batteries for my two BC 611s?
How much something like that would cost?
My dad used these when he was in the airborne.
Daddy fought in the war! pt.memedroid.com/memes/detail/1421970
Hallo, whre did you find the high voltage battery ? Thanks .
Where can I buy it?
That annoying noise when not receiving any signal could be eliminated if you turn off your florescent lights. The radio is using AM mode which was standard in those days, and florescent light bulbs are notorious for generating AM noise. Many modern light dimmers will generate a distinct AM buzzing noise when set about half way on.
Most radio today use FM mode which is NOT susceptible to electrical static noise.
Even when I switch off the main breaker (meaning the whole house is powerless) there is tremendous noise here on 80 meter. I'm pretty sure it is radiated from the above-ground power lines that run through the streets. With all these electronic choppers being used nowadays, the 160 80 and 40m bands are basically useless for city dwellers. And the latest pest is already knocking on our doors: Neighbors with solar panels, connected to big lead-acid storage batteries by means of a switching power controller. These things turn 24V DC (with high amperage) into 117V AC . the interference from these pieces of trash is so bad (most come from directly China without FCC approval) that even the 20m band is useless. Not a pretty picture for the future of ham radio.
Старше меня на 9 дней.
9 days older than me.
Whats the companies name LTSF-QRP? I have been designing my own battery, but if someone already has and its good quality, I'd just buy it.
Fuck can't power any of my old commercial radios anymore.
Seames to me that the Rx has to be tuned, is of qrg
Why didn't they use 10 meters?
👍🙉
Did i hear correct that the "B" battery is 110volts?
+MON383 Yeah but low capacity (mAh) there's all sorts of industrial batteries with higher voltages, I use a 512 volt for an old camera.
MON383 "B" battery is 90v to 100
Very nice.... But buy a tripod !! : D
Can you change the frequency in that talkie ?
Yes, you can. But it is not simple, unfortunately. Two new crystals are needed to re-channel the radio, one for the receiver and one for the transmitter. Also two (pluggable) coil assemblies need to be replaced. There is a crystal set available to re-channel the BC-611, the needed coils are also part of that set. For a photo of the set see here: www.ima-usa.com/products/original-u-s-wwii-army-signal-corps-box-bx-49-dated-1943
After replacement of the channel elements, the radio needs to be re-aligned. That is explained in the TM (technical manual). Additional test equipment is needed for that. So the whole procedure is possible, although cumbersome. All the details can be found in the BC-611 TM, you can read it here: ia802700.us.archive.org/7/items/Tm11-235/Tm11-235.pdf
@@LifeIsTooShortForQRP what are crystals
@@vismayballal7011 A radio crystal is a resonator with very stable frequency characteristics. See here: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crystal_oscillator
@@LifeIsTooShortForQRP thanks dude
Wow it still works. were did he find the 110 battery. Good job
I think he had it made professionally. 90 x 1.2v (the nominal voltage of a charged NiMH cell) would work. From the volume it may use AAAA cells or even smaller.
There's no squelch?
Had to keep the circuit as simple as possible because of power drain. Also, squelch would create the risk of not hearing very weak signals.
Great demo, thanks! I have two of these I am going to sell, BC-611-D. Do you know what a fair value is?
It highly depends on their condition. A heavily used one but otherwise complete and undamaged should get you $300 at least. A really nice one can fetch up to $800 or even more. A NOS one (New Old Stock) will go for $1000 and beyond easily. A NOS one still in original packaging material can go way north of $2000, especially if it has a WWII date code. So like I said, it really depends on the condition. Hope this helps.
@@LifeIsTooShortForQRP Great, thank you for the guidance. I appreciated it.
An Allied Super weapon, the Germans wished they had this thing.
NCR
Yes life is too short for QRP!
Those little Yaesu FT-817's don't really sound great on AM. It's a fantastic transceiver but if you're into AM on the hams bands or CB, you'll discover the FT-817 doesn't sound very good on AM compared to other larger amateur transceivers that use proper AM bandwidth. Most smaller modern-day ham radios don't sound too great on AM. They kick ass on other modes but AM is usually a challenge. One exception is the Kenwood TS-480. For a smaller style radio the 480 kicks ass on AM but other models like the Yaesu FT-100(D). Icom IC-706, 7000, 7100, etc, they sound like CRAP on AM...
I just bought an FT-450D, they are only $600 now from HRO. I figured it is a nice second all-mode radio for that price. I am actually completely amazed by how well it works for that kind of money. And the thing that baffles me the most - the FT450D is absolutely SUPERB on AM, both for the receiver as well as the transmitter! On TX, it has perfect AM modulation without any clipping (traditionally a problem with low-level modulation) and the modulation quality is just awesome. And for RX, you can select 3 If DSP filters: 10KHz for AM broadcast, 6kHz for voice communications and 4 kHz when there is lots of interference on adjacent frequencies. If you like AM (like me), a purchase I can recommend!
IT does if you go into service mode and set carrier to 1W in AM
HuH the wrong WAR
Ahhh a brick
there is no (cow level) MADE IN CHINA hehehehe
Copy 123, We got multiple hostile approaching from sector South South East code 3 high over 😥
Nice!
The distortion in the audio is caused from the 611 being overdriven from the test transmitter being so close.. A signal generator would have been a better choice for a test signal.. 73's de WB6PVC