BC-611 Radio Transmitter-Receiver - National Cryptologic Museum - DSC07810

The SCR-536 was a hand-held

radio Radio is the technology of signaling and communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 30 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmit ...

transceiver used by the US Army Signal Corps in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. It is popularly referred to as a walkie talkie, although it was originally designated a "handie talkie".

History

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. By July 1941, it was in mass production. In November 1942, the SCR-536 received coverage in the

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

magazine

QST ''QST'' is a magazine for amateur radio enthusiasts, published by the American Radio Relay League (ARRL). It is a membership journal that is included with membership in the ARRL. The publisher claims that circulation of ''QST'' in the United St ...

. 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 Omaha Beach was one of five beach landing sectors designated for the amphibious assault component of operation Overlord during the Second World War. On June 6, 1944, the Allies invaded German-occupied France with the Normandy landings. "Omaha" r ...

Normandy Normandy (; french: link=no, Normandie ; nrf, Normaundie, Nouormandie ; from Old French , plural of ''Normant'', originally from the word for "northman" in several Scandinavian languages) is a geographical and cultural region in Northwestern ...

in June 1944 (and in

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

Sicily (man) it, Siciliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Ethnicity , demographics1_footnotes = , demographi ...

and

North Africa North Africa, or Northern Africa is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region, and it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of Mauritania in ...

before that). Every rifle company of the

U.S. 29th Infantry division The 29th Infantry Division (29th ID), also known as the "Blue and Gray Division", is an infantry division of the United States Army based in Fort Belvoir, Virginia. It is currently a formation of the U.S. Army National Guard and contains units ...

had six; one for each of the three rifle platoons, two for the weapons platoon, and one for the company CO. The

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

s were deeply impressed by the SCR-536 and the

SCR-300 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". History In 1940, Motorola (then the Galvin Manufacturing Company) received a ...

after capturing several units in

Sicily (man) it, Siciliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Ethnicity , demographics1_footnotes = , demographi ...

. By war’s end, 130,000 of the units had been manufactured by

Motorola Motorola, Inc. () was an American Multinational corporation, multinational telecommunications company based in Schaumburg, Illinois, United States. After having lost $4.3 billion from 2007 to 2009, the company split into two independent p ...

. 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.

Specifications

The SCR-536 incorporated five

vacuum tube A vacuum tube, electron tube, valve (British usage), or tube (North America), is a device that controls electric current flow in a high vacuum between electrodes to which an electric voltage, potential difference has been applied. The type kn ...

s in a waterproof case. There was no external power switch on the SCR-536. The operator pulled out or pushed in the

antenna Antenna ( antennas or antennae) may refer to: Science and engineering * Antenna (radio), also known as an aerial, a transducer designed to transmit or receive electromagnetic (e.g., TV or radio) waves * Antennae Galaxies, the name of two collid ...

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. Battery life was about one day of normal use. The SCR-536 weighed 5

pound Pound or Pounds may refer to: Units * Pound (currency), a unit of currency * Pound sterling, the official currency of the United Kingdom * Pound (mass), a unit of mass * Pound (force), a unit of force * Rail pound, in rail profile Symbols * Po ...

s (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 The hertz (symbol: Hz) is the unit of frequency in the International System of Units (SI), equivalent to one event (or cycle) per second. The hertz is an SI derived unit whose expression in terms of SI base units is s−1, meaning that one he ...

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. Under the Army Nomenclature System, the BC-611 transceiver was the core component of the SCR-536

Signal Corps Radio 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." ...

set. The Signal Corps technical manual number was TM 11-235.

Components

* BX-48 box for spare crystals and tubes (5 sets) * BX-49 box for spare crystals and tubes (24 sets) * BG-162 bag for batteries (BA-37, BA-38) * CH-146 chest for equipment * CH-233 chest for spare tubes, crystals, (400 items) * CS-144 parachute case * CS-156 canvas case * CH-312 case for IE-37 tuning unit

References

External links

{{commonscat
War Department Manual, ''Radio Sets SCR-536-A, -B, -C, -D, -E-, and -F'', Mai 1945
* https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pn2xOEuvax4 Amateur radio transmitters Military radio systems of the United States World War II American electronics Military electronics of the United States Models of radios

History

Specifications

Components

See also

References

External links