The SCR-284 was a

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

era combination

transmitter In electronics and telecommunications, a radio transmitter or just transmitter (often abbreviated as XMTR or TX in technical documents) is an electronic device which produces radio waves with an antenna (radio), antenna with the purpose of sig ...

and receiver used in vehicles or fixed ground stations. SCR-284

History

The

Crosley Corporation Powel Crosley Jr. (September 18, 1886 – March 28, 1961) was an American inventor, industrialist, and entrepreneur. He was also a pioneer in radio broadcasting and owner of the Cincinnati Reds major league baseball team. In addition, Crosley's ...

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ; colloquially nicknamed Cincy) is a city in Hamilton County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Settled in 1788, the city is located on the northern side of the confluence of the Licking River (Kentucky), Licking and Ohio Ri ...

, Ohio manufactured the

Signal Corps A signal corps is a military branch, responsible for military communications (''signals''). Many countries maintain a signal corps, which is typically subordinate to a country's army. Military communication usually consists of radio, telephone, ...

Set, Complete, Radio, 284 (SCR-284) that consists of the Basic Component 654 (BC-654) and associated support equipment. The SCR-284 was introduced in

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...

during

Operation Torch Operation Torch (8–16 November 1942) was an Allies of World War II, Allied invasion of French North Africa during the Second World War. Torch was a compromise operation that met the British objective of securing victory in North Africa whil ...

and was the first radio set used for communications from the beach to the U.S. Fleet to coordinate naval gunfire and beach radio networks.
The American GI in Europe in World War II: The March to D-Day
'. Stackpole Books; 22 September 2009. . p. 51–. The set was used by

Merrill's Marauders Merrill’s Marauders (named after Frank Merrill) or Unit ''Galahad'', officially named the 5307th Composite Unit (Provisional), was a United States Army long range penetration special operations jungle warfare unit, which fought in the South-E ...

while operating in the

China-Burma-India Theater China Burma India Theater (CBI) was the United States military designation during World War II for the China and Southeast Asian or India–Burma (IBT) theaters. Operational command of Allied forces (including U.S. forces) in the CBI was ...

and missions behind Japanese lines in Burma to communicate with air transport and other military aircraft, although some radiomen complained that it was "very inefficient" compared to other radio sets and "very hard to generate power".Gavin Mortimer.
Merrill's Marauders: The Untold Story of Unit Galahad and the Toughest Special Forces Mission of World War II
'. MBI Publishing Company; 15 November 2013. . p. 32–.DIANE Publishing Company.
Merrill's Marauders: February to May, 1944
'. DIANE Publishing; 1 January 1990. . p. 29–. The SCR-284 saw use in the

Guadalcanal Campaign The Guadalcanal campaign, also known as the Battle of Guadalcanal and codenamed Operation Watchtower by the United States, was an Allies of World War II, Allied offensive against forces of the Empire of Japan in the Solomon Islands during th ...

for portable operation with a hand crank generator. Transport over rough roads by Jeep tended to damage it, so it was disassembled and carried by several men.Samuel Milner.
United States Army In WWII – The Pacific – Guadalcanal: The First Offensive: [Illustrated Edition]
'. Verdun Press; 15 August 2014. . p. 381–. The SCR-284 was also used in the New Georgia Campaign, but was so heavy and prone to humidity damage it was sometimes left behind.John R. Walker.
Bracketing the Enemy: Forward Observers in World War II
'. University of Oklahoma Press; 8 August 2013. . p. 209–. More than 50,000 SCR-284s were produced and delivered in support of

Operation Overlord Operation Overlord was the codename for the Battle of Normandy, the Allies of World War II, Allied operation that launched the successful liberation of German-occupied Western Front (World War II), Western Europe during World War II. The ope ...

, the

D-Day The Normandy landings were the landing operations and associated airborne operations on 6 June 1944 of the Allied invasion of Normandy in Operation Overlord during the Second World War. Codenamed Operation Neptune and often referred to as ...

invasion of Normandy. The complete SCR-284 transmitter, receiver, power unit and accessories weighed more than 100 pounds, but could be divided into sections for transport. The 45 pound BC-654 transmitter was notably difficult for radiomen to carry during combat, and has been described as "roughly the weight, size and shape of a modern window air conditioner".John C. McManus.
The Dead and Those about to Die: D-Day – The Big Red One at Omaha Beach
'. Penguin Publishing Group; 5 May 2015. . p. 135–. 63972 units were eventually produced in total. After the war, many BC-654s were sold as surplus for $15 each. Today, many are restored and operated by

vintage amateur radio 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 spe ...

enthusiasts.

Configurations

*Field Radio Set – World War II era. Battery powered receiver, hand crank generator powered transmitter. *Vehicular Radio Set – World War II era. 6/12 V dynamotor power,

vibrator supply A vibrator is an electromechanical device that takes a DC electrical supply and converts it into pulses that can be fed into a transformer. It is similar in purpose (although greatly different in operation) to the solid-state power inverter. B ...

. *Command Radio Set –

Korean War The Korean War (25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953) was an armed conflict on the Korean Peninsula fought between North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea; DPRK) and South Korea (Republic of Korea; ROK) and their allies. North Korea was s ...

era. two-cycle 3600

RPM Revolutions per minute (abbreviated rpm, RPM, rev/min, r/min, or r⋅min−1) is a unit of rotational speed (or rotational frequency) for rotating machines. One revolution per minute is equivalent to hertz. Standards ISO 80000-3:2019 def ...

, 1

horsepower Horsepower (hp) is a unit of measurement of power, or the rate at which work is done, usually in reference to the output of engines or motors. There are many different standards and types of horsepower. Two common definitions used today are t ...

gas generator power.

Technical description

*Technical Manual TM 11-275, final edition dated 14 January 1944 with Supplements dated 11 February 1944 and 5 April 1945. *

Frequency Frequency is the number of occurrences of a repeating event per unit of time. Frequency is an important parameter used in science and engineering to specify the rate of oscillatory and vibratory phenomena, such as mechanical vibrations, audio ...

Range: continuous, 3800 to 5800

kHz The hertz (symbol: Hz) is the unit of frequency in the International System of Units (SI), often described as being equivalent to one event (or cycle) per second. The hertz is an SI derived unit whose formal expression in terms of SI base uni ...

*Modes: AM voice, CW (Morse code), MCW *Receiver Type: Single conversion

superheterodyne receiver A superheterodyne receiver, often shortened to superhet, is a type of radio receiver that uses frequency mixing to convert a received signal to a fixed intermediate frequency (IF) which can be more conveniently processed than the original car ...

* IF Frequency: 455 kHz *Dimensions: 18" × 14" × 9" (BC-654 only) *Weight: 44.75 lb (20.3 kg) (BC-654 only)

Performance specifications

*Transmitter output **AM: 17

watt The watt (symbol: W) is the unit of Power (physics), power or radiant flux in the International System of Units (SI), equal to 1 joule per second or 1 kg⋅m2⋅s−3. It is used to quantification (science), quantify the rate of Work ...

s **CW: 24 watts *Receiver Sensitivity: TBS

In popular culture

*In the TV show

The Munsters ''The Munsters'' is an American sitcom about the home life of a family of benign monsters that aired from 1964 to 1966 on CBS. The series stars Fred Gwynne as Herman Munster (Frankenstein's monster),Episodes referring to the fact that Herman is ...

, Grandpa Munster was depicted using a BC-654 as part of his

amateur radio Amateur radio, also known as ham radio, is the use of the radio frequency radio spectrum, spectrum for purposes of non-commercial exchange of messages, wireless experimentation, self-training, private recreation, radiosport, contesting, and emer ...

station.

References

External links

SCR-284 Restoration and Detail

General references

*TM-11-275 – Technical Manual And Operating Instructions for the SCR-284-A Radio Set (BC-654-A Radio Receiver And Transmitter) {{DEFAULTSORT:Scr-284 Amateur radio transceivers Military radio systems of the United States World War II American electronics Military electronics of the United States History of Cincinnati Military equipment introduced from 1940 to 1944