The SCR-284 was a

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 ...

era combination

transmitter In electronics and telecommunications, a radio transmitter or just transmitter is an electronic device which produces radio waves with an antenna (radio), antenna. The transmitter itself generates a radio frequency alternating current, which i ...

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' ...

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

manufactured the

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 SCR-284 that consisted of the 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 in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

during

Operation Torch Operation Torch (8 November 1942 – Run for Tunis, 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 secu ...

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 Southe ...

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 officia ...

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 American forces, was a military campaign fought between 7 August 1942 and 9 February 1943 on and around the island of Guadalcanal in 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 The New Georgia campaign was a series of land and naval battles of the Pacific campaign of World War II between Allied forces and the Empire of Japan. It was part of Operation Cartwheel, the Allied strategy in the South Pacific to isolate the ...

, 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 invasion of German-occupied Western Front (World War II), Western Europe during World War II. The operat ...

, the

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

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. Bef ...

. *Command Radio Set -

Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...

era. two-cycle 3600

RPM Revolutions per minute (abbreviated rpm, RPM, rev/min, r/min, or with the notation min−1) is a unit of rotational speed or rotational frequency for rotating machines. Standards ISO 80000-3:2019 defines a unit of rotation as the dimensionl ...

, 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 the ...

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. It is also occasionally referred to as ''temporal frequency'' for clarity, and is distinct from ''angular frequency''. Frequency is measured in hertz (Hz) which is eq ...

Range: continuous, 3800 to 5800

kHz 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 on ...

*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 carr ...

* 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 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 quantify the rate of energy transfer. The watt is named after James Wa ...

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

In popular culture

*In the TV show

The Munsters ''The Munsters'' is an American sitcom depicting the home life of a family of benign monsters. The series starred Fred Gwynne as Frankenstein's monsterEpisodes referring to the fact that Herman is Frankenstein's monster include #55, "Just Anoth ...

, 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 spectrum for purposes of non-commercial exchange of messages, wireless experimentation, self-training, private recreation, radiosport, contesting, and emergency communic ...

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