I picked up the receiver pictured below, a Collins R-627(XN-1)/URC-8, at the Morganton hamfest on 4/17/04.
It appears that it's a fairly unusual rig; here's what I've been able to find out about it so far. First, a thousand thanks to Ken Bodensteiner @ Rockwell/Collins who came up with some advertising brochures for the URC-8. Turns out it was intended as a replacement for the TCS! You can view the brochures by clicking here: URC8 Brochure [PDF File]
URC-8 consists of
| Mil Name | Collins Part # | Description |
|---|---|---|
| R-627 | 522-9273-004 | Receiver, 2-30 Mc, 4 bands, AM/CW only, 2 mech filters, 107 lbs |
| T-474 | 522-0583-006 | T-474 Transmitter, 2-30 Mc, 42W, 102 lbs |
| PP-1190 | 522-0584-006 | PP-1190 Power supply, 137 lbs |
Thanks to Jim Jones (W0NKN) @ Rockwell/Collins for the Collins P/N's! URC-8 is listed on various military equipment lists, which generally say that the receiver requires PP-1190. This is clearly not the case, as the receiver has an internal power supply (see pix below). The PP-1190 must, therefore, power the T-474. There's also an auxiliary DC Converter (187 lbs) that allowed running the set off a variety of DC and AC supply voltages.
The manuals are NAVSHIPS 91118, 92831, 92927 (1957). Robert Downs (THANKS!) supplied the following additional info:
| Old Number | New Number | Description |
|---|---|---|
| NS 92927 | 0280-LP-417-2000 | RADIO SET AN/URC-8(XN-2), IB JAN 1957 |
| NS 91118 | 0967-017-9010 | RADIO SET AN/URC-8(XN-1) |
| NS 92831 | RADIO SET AN/URC-8(XN-1), IB 20 JUL 1956 |
Anyone know the cross-reference for the 92381 document?
My friend and Elmer Nick England found a reference to the URC-8 in a list of Naval radio equipment and forwarded the 4-page listing to me. Here are the four pages: Directory of Communication Equipment, NAVSHIPS 94200 Listing for URC-8, PDF
If you can help locate a copy of any/all of these, or if you have ANY
information about this receiver or the URC-8 equipment group, please send me mail at
Closeups of Nomeclature tags; you can't read the Serial number in the photo, but it's "4"! :
Rear view:
Left side view:
Right side view:
Bottom view:
The PTO is a Collins 70H-10, which tunes from 2.58 - 4.58 Mc. The front panel contains a switch to select the PTO ("MO"), or one of four internal crystals, which in this receiver are at 2.58, 3.58, 4.33, 4.58 Mc. PTO tubes are a pair of 5749's. Below's a closeup of the PTO nestled in the bottom of the rx.
The receiver uses modular construction somewhat like that employed in the R-390A. There's an RF, IF/AF, and power supply module, secured into the mainframe with the famous green screws.
Top right view, showing IF/AF module at bottom of photo:
Top left view, showing RF module at bottom of photo:
I pulled the IF/AF and Power supply modules quite easily. Below are images of the partially emptied mainframe, with the PTO showing below the power supply module location. Also shown are the modules removed.
And, finally, here's the insides of the IF/AF modules. This thing uses a pair of 6005's (6AQ5's) in P/P with 600-ohm output. Should produce pretty nice audio!
