Navy Marine TCS Set in Action 2009

This video was taken at a Military Radio Collectors Association mini-meet at former Signal Corps Fort Monmouth E Evans Signal Lab in Belmar, NJ, now the InfoAge science and history museum. N3FRQ, K4CHE, and K2WI gathered to activate a number of sets and demonstrate them to visitors to InfoAge and the New Jersey Antique Radio Club Radio Technology Museum.

I wish I could afford to put this set in a Jeep.

Before the days demonstrations I checked in with a group of buddies on 3.5Mc CW.

The TCS set is running off the car battery with its dynamotor power supply. Note that there is no sidetone, full break-in and the keying relay follows the bug at almost 30 WPM.

K2WI: W1AAX DE K2WI GM HW ES RICH KEN BT YES I AM RUNNING THE TCS FM THE CAR ON BATTERY ES WITH A WIRE ADDED ON TO CAR WHIP TO MAKE AN INV L BT ON TO ANDY W1AWDE W1AWB DE K2WI K

W1AWB: GM HARRY......

Second clip shows operation from drivers seat. The TCS remote can be seen on the dashboard. A Navy Flameproof key type 26003 is mounted on the console. My reply is delayed by need to unplug microphone and plug in key to remote.

K1JD: ... DE K1JD GM RM
W1AAX: SN GA RF
K2WI: R DE K2WI NOW ON FLAMEPROOF KEY ON CONSOLE 73 JD GA RICH WA1SKQ DE K2WI K
WA1SKQ: R ...

Category:

Science & Technology

Tags:

• Navy
• radio
• WWII
• TCS
• transmitter
• receiver
• ham
• amateur
• CW

[hypergolic]

Did the radio have sidetone? Sounds like probably a "no".

[k2wi]

You are right, no sidetone. I can't think of a Navy transmitter of the era that did. The screen voltage to the receiver tubes is cut off by the keying relay.

[mnpd007]

Back in the early 70's there was an Army/Navy surplus store on Ridge Rd. in Cheyenne, WY which sold the halves of the TCS set for $5 apiece. A buddy and I bought a bunch of them, especially the receivers, and built 120 VAC power supplies for them on upside-down bread pans. Everyone one of them worked as soon as powered up, except I recall that one receiver's BFO was inoperative. I kept one receiver for years, and can't recall what I did with it.... sold or traded I suppose.

[BC610E]

Hi All,

There's now a TCS forum on Yahoo.

You'll have to do a search as YouTube don't seem to like me posting links!

Cheers

BC610E

[BC610E]

Excellent! Really impressed with seeing a bug key in action with no sidetone; I can do that on a pump handle but NOT on a bug!. Have a TCS-9 transmitter and a pair of receivers here (TCS-12 and 13) and operational. What antenna were you using? See you have about 1.5 amps of RF, so guessing a whip or short wire?

73

G3VKM

[royalbrainwave]

very irritating that relay clacking sound

[fourfortyroadrunner]

In about '63 when I got interested, our local amateur club in Sandpoint ID had a complete working TCS-12 pair, along with the dynamotor set. Normally it worked from an AC supply at the club station One of our "hot" young ops just loved to hook his newly acquired bug to the thing and probably out--key the relays. I had one for awhile with an outboard modulator--which allowed both PAs to be modulated. Normally, only one was modulated with orginal internal modulator.

[Froggy19510]

My first contact as a licensed ham was on a TCS set. Call was WN7YUC in 1974. I didn't use a bug though! My CW was very slow and shaky then. I still love CW and the old military radios. Thanks for posting this.

[mw0idx]

Nice demonstration. I have a 1943 TCS-10 rx which I hope to get up and running one day.

73

Roger MW0IDX