BC-221 Frequency Meter

[David Dunlop]

Seems to be a number of these around in working condition with all their calibration charts etc., so thought a separate thread for it might be useful.

I nearly walked away from the one in my collection of vintage test gear at a flea market many years ago. It was sitting all day behind a chaps table unopened and with a broken A/C cord on top. along with a set of headphones. The decal on the front identified it as a test set of some sort, which I was not looking for at all, but as the day wore on I finally stopped and asked about it. When the vendor brought it forward and opened the cover, I was delighted to pounce on the $5.00 price.

The original plug end of the A/C cord was a two prong bakelite item that had been shattered so I swapped it out with a modern 3-prong cord. The original 3-blade Amphenol socket was retained to mate with the set.

It is a Philco Corporation product built for the U.S. Army in 1942, identified as 'Frequency Meter BC-221-AA', Serial Number 895. The headphones are a C.F. Cannon Corporation product called "The Chief', which show up quite regularly on eBay these days. The decal on the front identifies it as a Test Set "TS-164/AR"

David

[Mike K]

I bought mine many moons ago, it's a Zenith .

Apart from many different uses , you can determine what freq. a SW station is transmitting on , these units were and are still are a nice bit of kit , and mass produced . This example has the Australian army power unit inside , either mains or a DC supply