The BC-342 was a World War II U.S. Army Signal Corps high frequency radio receiver. It was used primarily as part of field installations such as the SCR-188A, but could be used with mobile sets such as the 2 1⁄2-ton mounted SCR-399. First designed at Fort Monmouth, New Jersey by the U.S. Army Signal Corps, it was built by various manufacturers including RCA. Many of the later units that are encountered today were manufactured by the Farnsworth Television and Radio Corporation of Fort Wayne, Indiana. Variants include the low frequency coverage BC-344 receiver, and the battery or dynamotor powered BC-312 receiver.[1][2]

Specifications

The BC-342 could be operated from fixed and mobile positions.

  • Power – An internal RA-20 AC rectifier power supply unit is fitted providing 250 volts DC and 12 volts AC for the receiver tube filaments (three pairs of the 6 volt tubes are wired in series and three in series / parallel).
  • Manual Reference: TM 11-850[3]
  • Components: RA-20 Power Supply
  • Weight: 58 lbs.
  • Frequency Range: 1.5-18 MHz
  • Power Input: 110 VAC 60 Hz
  • Part of: SCR-197, SCR-237, SCR-277, SCR-299, SCR-399, MRC-1

10 vacuum tubes[4] included:

  • RF amplifiers – 6K7 (2)
  • Mixer – 6L7
  • Local oscillator – 6C5
  • IF amplifiers – 6K7 (2)
  • CW oscillator (BFO) – 6C5
  • Detector/1st AF – 6R7
  • Audio output – 6F6
  • Rectifier – 5W4

The BC-342 was similar to the BC-348. Heavy chassis design was employed to minimize drift and oscillator instability due to temperature changes and vibration.[5][6]

BC-312

The BC-312 was similar to the BC-342 but was designed to be directly powered by DC battery supply or dynamotor.[7]

  • Power input: 12/24 volts DC power requirements. 6 volt tubes (Valves) connected in series with filament strings.
  • Frequency Range: 1.5 to 18 MHz
  • 12A6 audio output tube in series with a resistor.
  • Dynamotor B+ supply.[1]

BC-344

The BC-344 was similar to the BC-342 but was designed to cover low frequency bands.[8]

  • Power input: 110 VAC 60 Hz
  • Frequency range: 150 kHz to 1.5 MHz

See also

References

  1. ^ "Signal Corps BC-342N receiver". BoatAnchor Pix. Archived 2008-08-01 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2025-12-24.
  2. ^ TM 11-850. "Technical Manual, Radio Receivers BC-312, BC-312X, BC-342, BC-314, and BC-344". military.trcvr.ru. US War Department, February 1945. Archived from the original on 31 July 2021. Retrieved 31 July 2021.
  3. ^ "850". RadioNerds. Retrieved 2025-12-24.
  4. ^ D'Antuono, Louis L. "Rebuilding the BC-342 Receiver". Antique Radio Classified. Retrieved 2025-12-24.
  5. ^ "Directory of BC items BC 1–399". United States Army Signal Center. Archived 2002-12-26 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2025-12-24.
  6. ^ "Radio Receiver, BC-342". New Military List Database. Archived 2010-07-06 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2025-12-24.
  7. ^ "Receiver BC-312". Radiomuseum.org. The Radio Museum. Retrieved 31 July 2021.
  8. ^ "Receiver BC-344". Radiomuseum.org. Radio Museum. Retrieved 2 August 2021.