BC-1000/SCR-300 fun hack for re-enactors

Radio Telephone and Telegraph Transmitting and Receiving Equipment
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BC-1000/SCR-300 fun hack for re-enactors

Post by YLG80 » Sun Sep 17, 2017 5:57 am

Here is a funny and very cheap tip to revive a WWII radio without having to fully refurbish and restore the equipment or its power supply.
Revive your old radio set, even not working, with a cheap MP3 Player and a little battery.
Cheap and easy to do.

You can already see one of my BC-1000 modified like that, playing the radio chatters without any original power supply (BA-70/Vibrator)
https://youtu.be/uxsaD_pRRbs

You will be able to listen to WWII radio chatters using the original phones/handset/loudspeaker even without the lower battery case (not good for re-enactors :twisted: ), or better with the lower casing without the BA-70 or BA-80 battery.
Re-enactors would likely prefer to put a heavy brick in the battery casing :D .

For WWII Historical Reenactment, the idea for the radio is to be able to output the recorded battle chatters via the handset or loudspeaker.
A few WWII battle chatters have been recorded during WWII and are available on the Net. (also on G503 and Youtube)

The problem with WWII radio's is that, even if they are fully working, most of the time they cannot be used by unlicensed people.
Moreover, even if, like me, you are a licensed ham radio amateur, the equipment cannot be used as it is not approved, although the BC-1000 could be modified to work in the HAM 50Mhz band.
The radio is not approved because it can transmit outside of the amateur bands, which is prohibited.
The FM modulation bandwidth is also by far too wide.

So why not use that equipment only to listen to original WWII radio chatters recorded in a very cheap MP3 player that can be hidden into the radio?
This will be exciting for people visiting your shows.
You can switch the radio ON like usual an a few seconds after (filament heating :D ) you will hear the radio chats on you headphone.

My quick and dirty project was to put a very little MP3 PLAYER BOARD in the famous BC-1000 / SCR-300.
This mod can be easily transposed to other radios like the BC-659, BC-620 and many other combat radios.(tanks, jeeps, trucks)

The idea is to connect the MP3 player audio output directly to the handset RX cell or to the LP if any.(most of the time to a magnetic cell)
For my Q&D project, the MP3 board will be switched ON using the original switch (Volume POT)

ALL MODS WILL BE REVERSIBLE SO THAT THE BC-1000 CAN BE RETURNED TO ITS ORIGINAL STATE.

./..
Last edited by YLG80 on Sun Nov 19, 2017 10:18 pm, edited 4 times in total.
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BC-1000/SCR-300 fun hack for reenactors

Post by YLG80 » Sun Sep 17, 2017 6:03 am

Here is the very cheap MP3 player (5€ or USD on eBay)
That little board will be in charge to output the WWII radio chatters in the device phones
Image2.jpg
Image2.jpg (116.4 KiB) Viewed 5872 times
Ebay advertisement
eBay-MP3-player_board.jpg
eBay-MP3-player_board.jpg (16.96 KiB) Viewed 5872 times
This is a very neat design with a USB connector, an SD card slot and, more interesting, with a a 2W audio amplifier.
There are four buttons to play "blind" with the player.

What's interesting is that the player can be powered with a GSM 3.7V Li battery cell (like the Nokia battery) or it can be powered up to 5.5V
If a Li-Ion GSM battery is used, the battery can be recharge via the USB Miniport.

That's enough to make you BC-1000 working.

--->> YOU WILL NOT NEED ANY BATTERY (BA-70) OR VIBRATOR <<<---

The little MP3 board has almost the same dimensions as the Nokia Lithium battery.
The board can be glued or taped directly on the battery.
Or you could simply powered with 3 AAA batteries or a 4.5V battery placed in a plastic holder.

The board size is : 45mm x 36mm.

From the manual:
Power Supply: There is a MicroUSB port for powering the board through a standard MicroUSB (mobile phone) cable.
There are also solder terminals for connecting a 3.7V lithium battery pack.
The battery terminals can handle up to 5.5V DC.
Power applied to the MicroUSB port can also charge the attached 3.7V lithium battery.
Please note that some USB sticks require 5V minimum and will not work with the 3.7V power supply option.
Cool, the valves filaments in the BC-1000 are powered by 4.5V DC, if you don't want to use a GSM Lithium battery.
But I will assume that you have no BA-70 battery and I will use a 4.5V battery located inside the BC-1000.

Here is a schematic of that little module from the manufacturer.
GPD2856C.zip
(63.23 KiB) Downloaded 150 times
I've ordered two modules like that, and we will go further into the project when they will be available.
I will test them with a BC-1000 / SCR300 without any BA-70 or Vibrator power supply.(similar device is the British Wireless Set WS31).

./..
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BC-1000/SCR-300 fun hack for reenactors

Post by YLG80 » Sun Sep 17, 2017 6:05 am

The little MP3 Player board.

Usually the chip marking are erased.
Here below the chips a revealed with their marking !
Image2.jpg
Image2.jpg (116.4 KiB) Viewed 5872 times
The 16 pin chip is a GPD2856C.
The 8 pin audio amplifier is a 8002A chip (2W class AB amplifier)

It's interesting to know that if a simple EEPROM 24LC02 is added, the player will automatically keep the settings in memory.(ref schematic posted here above)
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BC-1000/SCR-300 fun hack for reenactors

Post by YLG80 » Sun Sep 17, 2017 6:30 am

An here we go !

You will need :
* An MP3 player board
* A micro SDCARD to put in the player board slot. I've used a 2Gb SD card as MP3 files don't use much space (I've only saved 8 files)
* A battery (4.5V standard, or Li-Ion 3.7V GSM battery)
* Soldering iron (40-60W)
* Tin solder wire

This is where we are going to make mods in the BC-1000 schematic.
wwii_scr300_MP3_PLAYER_MOD_SCHEMATIC_PART.jpg
wwii_scr300_MP3_PLAYER_MOD_SCHEMATIC_PART.jpg (138.66 KiB) Viewed 5869 times
if you want to modify another type of WWII radio, look for the main ON/OFF switch and the PHONES or SPEAKER jack or connection.

The modification by images :
1- We want first to de-solder the two wires soldered to the main switch SW2 (switch in the VOLUME potentiometer)
BC-1000_MP3_MOD_POTENTIOMETER_1.JPG
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2- In order to preserve the radio in case of return to original state, we will insulate the 2 wires with heat-shrinkable sleeves and place the wires
near their original position.
BC-1000_MP3_MOD_INSULATION.JPG
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3- Then we place the wires near their original position.
BC-1000_MP3_MOD_INSULATED_WIRES_POSITION.JPG
BC-1000_MP3_MOD_INSULATED_WIRES_POSITION.JPG (115.44 KiB) Viewed 5869 times
./..
Last edited by YLG80 on Sun Sep 17, 2017 8:02 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: BC-1000/SCR-300 fun hack for reenactors

Post by YLG80 » Sun Sep 17, 2017 6:40 am

4- We want to solder the battery positive wires (red) to the main switch (SW2)
BC-1000_MP3_MOD_POSITIVE_RED_WIRE_SWITCH.JPG
BC-1000_MP3_MOD_POSITIVE_RED_WIRE_SWITCH.JPG (132.09 KiB) Viewed 5867 times
5- You solder on of the two red wires coming from the switch to the battery positive terminal.
6- You solder the other red wire coming from the switch to the MP3 player board BAT+ pad. Take care of not making any short with the surrounding ground.
7- You solder a black wire to the battery negative terminal and the other side to the MP3 player board BAT- pad. (see above picture-

At that step, you can already verify that the board will switch ON by turning the BC-1000 VOLUME knob.
My BC-1000-A is very old (May 1944) so that I had to switch ON and OFF many times in order for the switch to work again after so many years in an attic :roll: .

You can see on the picture that the MP3 player is already playing what is saved in the SDCARD. The red led is blinking.

./..
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Re: BC-1000/SCR-300 fun hack for reenactors

Post by YLG80 » Sun Sep 17, 2017 6:53 am

8- Now we have to find a location for the 4.5V standard battery.
You can use also use 3 AAA 1.5V batteries if you have a little plastic holder.

It will also be easier if you use a little GSM Li-Ion battery like the Nokia BL-5 battery easy to find on eBay.
Reminder : The Li-Ion battery can be recharged by connecting a USB cable to the MP3 player board mini USB connector.

IMPORTANT NOTE :
An Li-Ion battery hates heat !
When you solder the wires to the battery do it fast ! (Gold plated contacts are not so easy to solder correctly.)


Here is where I've placed the 4.5V standard battery. Only a few components needs to be slightly moved.
BC-1000_MP3_MOD_BATTERY_INSULATION.JPG
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This is a quick and dirty hack to fool proof the design :oops: , so I've only insulated the battery terminals with textile yellow tape.
./..
Last edited by YLG80 on Fri Sep 22, 2017 10:46 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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Re: BC-1000/SCR-300 fun hack for reenactors

Post by YLG80 » Sun Sep 17, 2017 6:54 am

Now we have to connect the audio output to the BC-1000 phone jacks (Phone 1 and Phone 2)
It's interesting to note that all mods are being made in about the same location.

9- De-solder the TWO wires coming from the phone jacks to the T3B audio transformer pin 8.
Leave the two wires connected together and leave the transformer pin 8 unconnected.
Insert a heat-shrinkable sleeve around the wires connected together prior to do next step.
BC-1000_MP3_MOD_LF_SIGNAL.JPG
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12- Solder a red wire( for example) from the MP3 Player jack audio output to the BC-1000 two wires coming from the jacks and connected together.
Move the h-s sleeve above the solder joint and shrink it up.
BC-1000_MP3_PLAYER_MOD_AUDIO.JPG
BC-1000_MP3_PLAYER_MOD_AUDIO.JPG (177.44 KiB) Viewed 5857 times
13 - Heat up the other transformer pin 7 and add some solder (contact wetting). No need to remove the wires.
There are many black wires (ground) connected to that terminal 7, so you gone have to heat up the terminal a lot more.
14 -Solder a black wire( for example) from the MP3 Player jack GROUND to the BC-1000 transformer terminal pin 7 (GROUND)


Connections (black and red wires) on the MP3 Player board side:
BC-1000-MP3_PLAYER_MOD_AUDIO_CONNECTIONS.jpg
BC-1000-MP3_PLAYER_MOD_AUDIO_CONNECTIONS.jpg (129.79 KiB) Viewed 5861 times
Last edited by YLG80 on Fri Sep 22, 2017 11:01 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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Re: BC-1000/SCR-300 fun hack for reenactors

Post by YLG80 » Sun Sep 17, 2017 7:41 am

And that's it !
Here is a picture of the MP3 player board and the battery located in the BC-1000 prior to put it back in the radio housing.

Prior to position the MP3 player board put two layers of tape on the backside of the PC board.
Normally that little board should find easily its way through the surrounding components.
BC-1000_MP3_PLAYER_MOD_locations.JPG
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Notes :
The MP3 player circuit board draws only 17-20ma current from the battery.
So if you don't forget to switch of the radio set while unused, the battery will last for a while.

The audio volume is rather high (normal for a wartime radio set) but if necessary you could remove the 3 wires from the potentiometer and use
it to adjust the audio level.

Certain times, the player plays a sequence of audio recordings, certain times it loops playing the same recording.
(I like the one with the artillery firing request)

Another mod could be to use the BC-1000 calibration button and connect it to the MP3 player "NEXT" or "MODE" button.

I hope you will have a lot of fun with that really cheap and easy hack.
Your working BC-1000 will be lighter than before :P !
Yves.
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Re: BC-1000/SCR-300 fun hack for reenactors

Post by YLG80 » Sun Sep 17, 2017 8:18 am

The MP3 player user guide:

This MP3 decoder board can play MP3 files from a USB flash drive or from a MicroSD flash memory card.
The player has decent sound quality and power, an on-board 2W mono amplifier, and can be directly connected to a speaker.
It also features a 3.5mm gold plated headphone jack that can connect headphones or an external audio amplifier.
GPD2856 USB and microSD Card MP3 Player
Power Supply:
There is a MicroUSB port for powering the board through a standard MicroUSB (mobile phone) cable.
There are also solder terminals for connecting a 3.7V lithium battery pack.
The battery terminals can handle up to 5.5V DC.
Power applied to the MicroUSB port can also charge the attached 3.7V lithium battery.
Note: Do not leave the charger connected during a too long period of time.
Please note that some USB sticks require 5V minimum and will not work with the 3.7V power supply option.

Flash Memory:
The player supports files stored on both a USB flash drive (tested up to 32GB) and a MicroSD flash card (tested up to 16GB).
If both are installed, the SD card plays first, but can be overridden by the "mode" button.
The tracks will load and start playing automatically upon power up.
The chip appears to be able to automatically traverse through folders off of the root to find MP3 files.

LED:
When an MP3 is playing, the red LED flashes.

Prev / V-- Button:
Short Press for previous track. Long Press for volume down.

Next / V++ Button:
Short Press for next track. Long Press for volume up.

P / P / Mode Button:
Short Press for Play/Pause: Long Press for USB/microSD toggle.

Repeat Button:
Single Track / Cycle All Tracks toggle (powers up into cycle mode). (Long Press is approximately two seconds.)

Features
• Super quality, onboard 2W mono amplifier (5V supply up to 3W) directly connected to the speaker (Recommended with 4Ω/3W speakers).
• 3.5mm gold plated headphone jack can be connected to headphones or an external amplifier board.
• With MicroUSB power supply interface, the use of mobile power supply or USB charger powered via phone lines
• May also be used with a 3.7V lithium battery, USB 5V power supply.
• Support TF card (memory card in your phone), USB disk playback mode.
• Screw speaker terminals without soldering for easy connection to speakers.
• Module is designed to facilitate modification.
• Power range: 3.7 ~ 5.5V.
• Size: 45mm x 36mm.

The only marking on the module is MH.

With a little hack an EEPROM 24LC02 could be added so that the settings will be saved between power sessions.
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Re: BC-1000/SCR-300 fun hack for re-enactors

Post by W. Winget » Tue Sep 19, 2017 5:08 am

Thank You for this post, it has potential in many radios, would like to see how you hook in the EEPROM as well, but that's not required.
V/R W Winget
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Re: BC-1000/SCR-300 fun hack for re-enactors

Post by YLG80 » Tue Sep 19, 2017 7:48 am

Hello,
Thanks for your comment.
Yes, it would be fun also to add this module in a vintage classic radio to listen to Glenn Miller :lol: or listen to some Roosevelt speeches during WWII, without having to heat up old lamps :D . But the sound will definitely not be the same "round" sound.

About the EEPROM, I'm not yet sure that it is absolutely necessary.
There is not much documentation on that little module, so I have to experiment a little bit with that beast.
At first instance it looks like it keeps track of the play mode and the current chatter in the playlist.

I believe that the only way to add the EEPROM would be to connect it as a piggy back with wire wrapping wires and then glue it on the module.
5 thin wires is not that much of a job to do..
Not very easy with SMD chips, although feasible, but it's also very easy to find classic DIL 24LC02, even in old PC's add-on boards.
Regards
Yves
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Re: BC-1000/SCR-300 fun hack for re-enactors

Post by YLG80 » Tue Oct 24, 2017 4:43 am

Additional information while I'm restoring four BC-1000

Here is a picture of an early French BC-1000.
The face plate was coming from the U.S. and over painted (by hand :o )
After scrapping with sand paper you can see the original markings.
IMG_6310s.jpg
IMG_6310s.jpg (44.92 KiB) Viewed 5580 times
Here is a picture of the ID plate.
This is likely an early model made by Thomson-Houston, likely a pilot run series.
The electronic chassis is marked BC-1000 Fr and is NOT coated with a fungicidal lacquer.
This produced a lot of problems in Indochina.
The two other French radios that I have are coated which would confirm that this radio was from a pre-series or pilot run.
(The later French devices have an ID plate with "Armée Française - Service des Transmissions" on it.)
The cover is flat with no recessed area for the TAG like with the WWII US model -A
IMG_6309s.jpg
IMG_6309s.jpg (111.01 KiB) Viewed 5580 times
Here is a picture of a Belgian Army BC-1000, likely an early model. (fully working and also made by Thomson-Houston)
Face plate also coming from the US and over printed.
The US markings have been over painted as well.
New markings are decals on top of over painted areas.
IMG_6312s.JPG
IMG_6312s.JPG (127.14 KiB) Viewed 5580 times
The ID plate (AB-BL for Belgian Army - Belgische Leger) mentions also a BC-1000 Fr chassis.
The cover is flat with no recessed area for the TAG like with the WWII US model -A
IMG_6311s.JPG
IMG_6311s.JPG (115.39 KiB) Viewed 5580 times


A pure "late" French model with original French markings. (1962)
This BC-1000 has no cover and is coupled to a PP-114 vehicle vibrator power supply. (not yet tested)
IMG_6313s.JPG
IMG_6313s.JPG (126.01 KiB) Viewed 5580 times
Last edited by YLG80 on Wed Oct 25, 2017 1:08 pm, edited 4 times in total.
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Re: BC-1000/SCR-300 fun hack for re-enactors

Post by YLG80 » Tue Oct 24, 2017 5:03 am

I almost forgot to show THE original WWII BC-1000 model-A working with the MP3 player board described in this post.
This is a complete unit found recently in an attic with the correct early models upper and lower casing.
IMG_6322s.JPG
IMG_6322s.JPG (97.73 KiB) Viewed 5578 times
The ID plate (black on white) is placed in a recessed area.
This is a model-A dated from MAY 18, 1944.
IMG_6148s.JPG
IMG_6148s.JPG (173.27 KiB) Viewed 5578 times
A little difference to note with the later BC-1000 is an extra screw near the Light & Cal push button.
That screw has disappeared in the later models.
ORIGINAL_US_RADIO_BC-1000_1944.JPG
ORIGINAL_US_RADIO_BC-1000_1944.JPG (133.9 KiB) Viewed 5469 times
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Re: BC-1000/SCR-300 fun hack for re-enactors

Post by YLG80 » Mon Jul 16, 2018 5:43 am

A modified BC-1000 with the mp3player laying at the back in my jeep.
The power vibrator part is non functional with many missing parts in the internal circuit but when you switch the BC-1000 ON, it play's the radio chatters :D
That AN/VRC-3 unit could be attached in a tank or in a truck with a dummy cable connection from the vibrator power supply to the truck.
BC-1000_with_MP3_player.JPG
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IMG_6960-WEB.JPG
IMG_6960-WEB.JPG (156.31 KiB) Viewed 5311 times
IMG_6961-WEB.JPG
IMG_6961-WEB.JPG (152.53 KiB) Viewed 5311 times
I've also added a connection from the mp3 player board loud speaker connector to the AUX Phone so that I can connect the radio to an LS-3 speaker.
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Re: BC-1000/SCR-300 fun hack for re-enactors

Post by RonnieBee » Sat Aug 08, 2020 1:35 am

Thanks from Wachtebeke ! Ron


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