If remember reading an article in a WW2 era Radio and Hobbies about a captured Japanese comms receiver.

The writer had examined the radio in detail and was in shock about the ingenuity of the design, the high standard of construction and the excellent performance of the radio. Something like "If the Japs can do this we have something to worry about"! Common wisdom at the time was the "Japs" could only make inferior copies of things.

One of the design aspects that interested me at the time was the radio used only what appeared to be 6F7 triode-pentodes in all positions. I guess this would have helped with spare parts inventory, reduced the valve count and made the radio more compact.

Anyone know anything about this radio? Maybe even have one?

Also, when I was in high school in the 1960s, a friend had a very compact WW2 Japanese transceiver that used only a single battery twin triode (it looked like a 19, it had a 6 pin UX base). His dad, who was in Signals, had picked the radio up in PNG during WW2, it had apparently been embedded in mud but when I saw it, it looked clean and intact - the valve was still under vacuum.

Thinking about it now and remembering the coil design, it was probably a VHF super-regen, intended for short range "walkie-talkie" applications. We tried to get it running but the two potted transformers(?) appeared to be O/C on all windings. Pity. Again, a beautifully made device.

Anyone ever seen one of these?

I had and old Japenese receiver a while back that used 3 x 6D6's, beautifully made with 3 dials on the front which made it look like some 1920's set, even had military anchor stamps on valve with Japenese writing ! ( these were a cloning oddity and curiosity on their own )
No one was quite sure about it as it looked 20's but had 6D6's ?
I probably had photos, but they would be gone.
It ended up going back to Japenese museum, to go with the sister transmitter. I guess it was the best place for it to go as they
couldn't find one either.
I got it from some one in WA, and where they got it from I don't know.

Good luck with search

Ray

I found the R&H article in my archives!

It's an old scan and a JPG but it's readable.

Radio and Hobbies Article

I see not a lot on this post for some time. However, there is quite a bit of old Military stuff around, to the point that our local radio club, was via an acquaintance heavily involved in historical military vehicles asked if we could put on a display of some of it as many had radio equipment in their vehicles & we still have people familiar with it, or have some ex Military Radio stuff.

This was at Dookie,Victoria and will be held again in 2019. As I have pointed out, the allied equipment, was made all over the place, with little thought to repair or interchangeability from what I see. The American stuff was pretty much, throw away & get another one.

That Japanese radio, looks more like it was made on German lines, only the Japs used the same valves we used & that likely gave them another source of supply: Us. As I have noted before:The German radio was normally built "modular" to one design, irrespective of which factory made the module. That actually meant that it was easier & quicker to get going under battle conditions and you could rat the same working stage out of another set from a different factory & it would work in yours. Someone behind the lines with equipment could sort out the faulty module.

I have a program that just might improve the readability of that scan.

Marc