AR88D - and similar RCA products.

[Skywave]

Although I have asked the following Qs. on another well-known Vintage Radio Forum, there are a few members here who since I do not believe are members of that Forum, may not have seen it. For those who have - you may look away now! :D

"AR88D"; "AR88LF" and earlier, similar radios: does anyone know the significance of the prefix "AR"; the suffix "D"; of the 'bit in the middle': "88". (The "LF" in AR88LF is well-known; even obvious, to those who have used or owned one - so we can discount that suffix).
I have already received a number of suggestions (some I respectfully discount). The letter-match between "RCA" and "AR" has not escaped me; "AR" - "American Radio", perhaps?

Your thoughts will be appreciated; thank you.

Al. / Skywave.

[Shaman]

[attachment=434] The 'D' as actually the table model in a cabinet. Plain Jane AR88 signified rack-mount. 'A' meant army and 'C' meant civilian, never saw anything anywhere to back that up. I always thought the A meant Amateur since that was where the receivers were intended to go before war broke out.....yet another possable explanation.......Alan.

[Skywave]

"A" - as in "AR88" - for "Amateur": Amateur Radio. No, I don't think so. The AR88 (and all its predecessors) was manufactured by RCA - an American company. In the USA, Radio Amateurs are called 'Hams'. On that basis, therefore, it would have become "HR88".

As for "that's where the receivers were intended to go before WW II broke out", that is not my understanding. I have always been led to believe that the AR88 was originally designed for fixed point-to-point commercial comms. links: at the time, a far bigger market than Amateur ('Ham') Radio.

But I hear your comments on the suffixes: thank you - I didn't know all of that. But I've never heard of an AR88A (Army) nor an AR88C (Civilian). So, was there an AR88N - "N" as in 'Navy'?

Al.

[Shaman]

Hi Al, this link, below may shed a little light on letter allocation for the AR88, see what you think....Alan.


http://www.radioblvd.com/ar88.htm

[Skywave]

Alan (Shaman): you ask "what do I think" of that Site?
Reply: I'm (almost) lost for words! (Yes - it really is that impressive!).

A more comprehensive article on any comms. receiver I have never seen. I'm yet to read it all the way through - there's just so much to digest! A masterpiece of research & documentation covering just about everything that anyone ever wanted to know about this famous receiver.

Trouble is, though, it's transformed my wetted-appetite for one of these superb radios to that of raving hunger! ;-)

Al. / March 28. //