Zenith 520A/URR
The 520A/URR was built soley for the US Signals Corps.
in 1956. This is a 'ruggedised' version of the R520/URR. The most obvious
cosmetic differences are the facia change and the Olive Drab material
(OD No7) covering the case.
There are various production numbers being promulgated, anywhere between 2,500 and 4,000. That makes it quite a rare set.
The manual TM11-877 states;
"...it is a portable superhetrodyne radio reciever designed for troop information. It is contained in a luggage-type carrying case. The reciever will operate either on loudspeaker contained within the unit or a low-impedance headset connected externally.
Radio reciever R-520/A/URR is designed to recieve a-m (amplitude-modulated) signals covering frequency ranges from 550 kc (kilocycles) to 1600 kc, 2 mc (megacycles) to 4 mc, 4 mc to 8 mc, 9.4 mc to 9.8 mc, 14.9 mc to 15.5 mc, and 17.5 mc to 18.1 mc. The reciever will operate from dry batteries or from an external a-c (alternating-current) or d-c (direct-current) source."
and the story goes.........that quite a few Zenith 520As' went ashore with Cuban nationalists during the Bay of Pigs fiasco. I assume this was a 'cheap' option for military communications, albeit one way. Evidently Fidel Castro obtained a set after the battles and used it for many years afterward.
There are various production numbers being promulgated, anywhere between 2,500 and 4,000. That makes it quite a rare set.
The manual TM11-877 states;
"...it is a portable superhetrodyne radio reciever designed for troop information. It is contained in a luggage-type carrying case. The reciever will operate either on loudspeaker contained within the unit or a low-impedance headset connected externally.
Radio reciever R-520/A/URR is designed to recieve a-m (amplitude-modulated) signals covering frequency ranges from 550 kc (kilocycles) to 1600 kc, 2 mc (megacycles) to 4 mc, 4 mc to 8 mc, 9.4 mc to 9.8 mc, 14.9 mc to 15.5 mc, and 17.5 mc to 18.1 mc. The reciever will operate from dry batteries or from an external a-c (alternating-current) or d-c (direct-current) source."
and the story goes.........that quite a few Zenith 520As' went ashore with Cuban nationalists during the Bay of Pigs fiasco. I assume this was a 'cheap' option for military communications, albeit one way. Evidently Fidel Castro obtained a set after the battles and used it for many years afterward.
