Last summer several of the Torsk volunteers began the tedious task of overhauling / restoring the Radio Room aboard Torsk. When we began, we had the following equipment: TCS-10 HF transmitter/receiver, RBS HF receiver, R-390/URR HF receiver, AN/URR-13 UHF receiver, AN/SRR-11 HF receiver, TED-9 UHF transmitter and its power amplifier. Through donation sand purchases, we soon had a URC-32 HF transceiver, AN/SRR-13A HF receiver, AN/WRR-3 LF receiver, CV-591A SSB converter, and AN/ARC-27 UHf transceiver.
Over the years, radio had fallen into some serious disrepair. The coax connectors had been pulled from the ends of many antenna cables, several of the audio cables had been cut or removed, some transmitter control cables were missing and all the teletype equipment had been removed.
We began the restoration by tracing cables and throughly documenting the cables and interconnections. This is a huge, but absolutely necessary process. In the process, we installed new connectors on the RF cables and cleaned up the audio swtichboard, which had many broken wires and a rats nest of cabling. We swapped out the AN/SRR-11, which was not on the original ship's equipment list for the mid 1960s, for the AN/SRR-13A, which was on the equipment list . (We were lucky enough to have the COSAL for the Torsk dated 1964. We also went up on the sail and repaired one AT-497 whip antenna and installed a second one that had been removed some time in Tork's past. (We acquired the replacement AT-497 from the Trout.)
The SRR-13A was our first piece of equipment brought on line. After we finished the repair of the RF cables, and the repair/restoration of the audio switchboard, we checked/replaced tubes in the AM-215 audio amp, and tested the the SRR-13A circuit. What a joy to hear something in Radio work.
Next we repaired the TCS. We removed, cleaned, and painted the transmitter-receiver case which was rusted in spots. We also had to rewire the TCS power supply into the ship's radio communications 120 VAC power distribution system. We checked tubes and replaced the bad ones. Then we fired it up and found it didn't work. We tested the voltages in each stage and discovered many bad readings. Looking for commonality, we discovered that the power interlock relay was the most likely cause of the problem, so after inspection, we found the relay had a bent contact, whcih when repaired, allowed the transmitter/receiver to begin working.
We have also installed and restored a recorder in radio, the audio amp in the Conning Tower, the transmitter remote control box in the Conning Tower, and the TCS control adapter in Radio. We are currently troubleshooting a problem with the R-390. So far the problem has been isolated to the RF gain control circuit in the RF and IF stages.
So, my biggest pieces of advice are:
1.) Research... after you have determined the era you want to restore to, find out using photographs, documentation, tech manuals, COSAL, personal recollections, what equipment was located in Radio, what antennas the ship had, and how the equipment was configured. In other words, what was connected to what.
2.) Obtain tech manuals for all the equipment you have or plan to have in your Radio Rooms. Can't do much troubleshooting without them. Manuals can be found on the internet. Some are free, some are for sale. Ebay has been a big source for us. We were also lucky enough to have many of the original manuals on board when the boat was decommissioned.
3.) If you don't already have detailed wiring diagrams aboard, MAKE THEM! Document all the RF cabling, control cabling, and audio signal cabling. Document the power sources for the equipment and the lighting and power receptacles in Radio. KNOW WHERE THE POWER COMES FROM so you can de-energize things when necessary (and replace blown fuses when it happens... and it will happen!) Try to determine from tech manual and other documentation what cabling, if any, is missing. By the way, you may have to do some work on the electrical dstribution system before you can really get started. We had to restore the FB-122 120 VAC Communications power distribution.
4.) Be patient! This is a huge undertaking. Your radio room will not be operational overnight. We've been working on Torsk's for about 6 months and we still have a long way to go.
5.) The obvious: clean, prep, and paint so that the room looks as good as you hope it will work. This is also a huge job, but the room will look better and it will be bertter preserved when you are done.
6.) Contact ham radio clubs and search E-bay for missing equipment, tech manuals, patch cables, headsets, microphones, etc. This is where the huge costs come in. If you can contact sub vets and get then to donate some equipment. We lucked out and got the URC-32, the AN/WRR-3, the AN/SRR-11 and the AN/ARC-27 donated. However, we had to purchase the CV-591A, the AN/SRR-13A, two teletype patch panels (one black and one red) and of course hundreds of vacuum tubes. Thanks to our close proximity to Philadelphia and The James River Reserve Fleet, much of our cabling, patch panels, power, signal, and RF connectors and equipment shock mounts have been free (other that the cost of travel).
Good luck, and let me know if I can answer any specific questions. There are radio exercises held amongst the museum boats several times a year. We have participated in many, unfortunately using non-historic equipment. Next time, we hope to be using nothing but the historic equipment that we are working so hard to restore.
