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My new TBY-8 set up


blademan
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I have long had an interest in the TBY radios and its history with the USMC and Navajo Code Talkers. Yesterday I picked this radio set up from one of the technical advisers (according to him) from the movies. I should have got his name but know how to get it.

 

This set was up and running about 10 years ago. It as the CW key, headset/mic, spare tubes, AC power supply and cord, battery pack, manuals, shipping case, extra tubes, and antenna. I have another TBY and hope to get both sets working in the near future.

 

The only parts I am missing are the canvas cover, antenna tip section, and volume knob. I'm looking for one on these to display. Let me know if anyone has any leads.

 

I plan on using this set in my local Vets and Memorial day displays.

 

Thanks for looking.

 

 

post-215-0-00049300-1494197900_thumb.jpg

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stealthytyler

Beach battalions sometimes used these as well as some landing craft during amphibious assaults.

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WOW, that is a great set! Congrats

 

 

Thanks for your input. I am excited.

 

I use to be an archivist at a local military museum. They have a great picture of a radio operator on one of the islands with a TBY on his back and MAB on his chest and has both mic in his hand. He is standing next to Roosevelt son.

 

Working on getting a copy

 

Thanks

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Very nice set. I own a few TBY's but have not found the A/C power supply yet. I see that you have an early model antenna bottom section that has the built in spring. The TBY-8 antenna should have a bottom section that has no spring. The mount on the radio has the spring built into it so the spring in the antenna bottom section is not needed.

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Beach battalions sometimes used these as well as some landing craft during amphibious assaults.

 

You have to consider that the TBY radio is a Navy Department item, it would had been the standard radio system available for amphibious forces to include both beach battalions and USMC units. It was used both for ashore and ship-to-shore applications. This radio and the TBX would had been the common unit for communication to surface vessels for fire support applications, for example. Look closely at amphibious forces in photographs, if you look close enough many times you see evidence of various radio sets to include the TBY. The typical was for shore stations to communicate with the fleet in tandem with another like radio set aboard ship. They were also supplied in crash boats and PT boats, its quite a universal radio. If you dig deep in documentation its use was wide spread in all aspects of the US Navy and an important communication device.

Illustrated is a radioman aboard the USS Natoma Bay, February 1945 utilizing a TBY. This is one method to organize air strikes for ground forces.

post-56-0-55591400-1494288380.jpg

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To illustrate the antenna differences here's my TBY-2 on the left and TBY-6 on the right. The antennas are interchangeable but different in design.

 

tby.JPG

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Very interesting thank you. Im happy to have any antenna. Couldnt find one for a long time.

 

I am now on the hunt for a TBX.

 

Thanks

 

Sent from my KFFOWI using Tapatalk

 

 

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I must admit i am confused about the right antenna for this radio. The TBY8 user manual pictures and only makes reference to the antenna with the spring.

 

Sent from my KFFOWI using Tapatalk

 

 

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They may have used an old stock photo for the manual. Does your TBY have the big brown antenna base like in my picture?

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They may have used an old stock photo for the manual. Does your TBY have the big brown antenna base like in my picture?

I'll take a look.

 

Sent from my KFFOWI using Tapatalk

 

 

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They may have used an old stock photo for the manual. Does your TBY have the big brown antenna base like in my picture?

Yes both of mine have the brown antenna bases yours shows in the pictures.

 

I am probably wrong, but from my readings of the manuals and posts on this forum the spring antenna belongs on the tby-8 and non-spring on the earlier ones. That is just from what I am seeing online. I am certainly no expert and have limited knowledge on this topic.

 

Thanks again for all your help

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  • 4 weeks later...

Fired up the TBY ac power supply and checks out. Hooked up the TBY and seems to work. There was no activity on this frequency to check tx and rx but everything seems to work.

 

I tried my other TBY but dont think it works but did not go up in smoke.

 

I bought a newer 10meter radio set at garage set yesterday and hope to use it to talk to the TBYs to test operation..

 

Sent from my KFFOWI using Tapatalk

 

 

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  • 6 months later...
jbaviationart

Gentlemen,

 

I'm trying to figure out why Chester Nez, the last surviving of the original Navajo Code Talkers (now deceased) says in his book that when he and his counterpart, Francis hit the beach they almost immediately began broadcasting a message and Francis had to crank the hand generator to do it? The hand generator is clearly a component of the TBX, and he says they used a TBX in the book, however, it is very unlikely that he and Francis carried a complete TBX to shore (he said it took 45 minutes to get to shore because they landed out on the reef since they were brought in a Higgins Boat rather than a tractor and hide to fight the tide). It is far more likely that they had a TBY. Can anyone make sense of this?

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stealthytyler

Gentlemen,

 

I'm trying to figure out why Chester Nez, the last surviving of the original Navajo Code Talkers (now deceased) says in his book that when he and his counterpart, Francis hit the beach they almost immediately began broadcasting a message and Francis had to crank the hand generator to do it? The hand generator is clearly a component of the TBX, and he says they used a TBX in the book, however, it is very unlikely that he and Francis carried a complete TBX to shore (he said it took 45 minutes to get to shore because they landed out on the reef since they were brought in a Higgins Boat rather than a tractor and hide to fight the tide). It is far more likely that they had a TBY. Can anyone make sense of this?

 

It took 5 guys and some help from other sailors to carry the TBX transceiver, accessories/battery box, antenna, crank generator and gas generator. It is a very heavy unit. I have an almost complete set. The antenna itself is very very tall (over 25 feet I believe) and draws fire when on a hot beach. The Navy signalmen would generally be the first to send out messages from the get go if needed. They carried portable battery operated signal guns as well as their full size battery/generator driven signaling lights (not to mention flags). I see the TBY being used more in the PTO than the ETO. The TBX was used both in the ETO and PTO quite extensively. I must add that the BC-620 was also used on the beach by some beach battalions during Normandy and Southern France. The BC611 was used to communicate up and down the beach with other battalions. As you can see, many different types of radios were used. Sorry for the digression. As far as the mans first hand account, it is possible that his memory of time is a bit skewed. Being in combat can make short moments feel like eternity and long moments feel short. After all those years and much excitement of combat, I would not put it past him that it took much longer than he said to get his radio going. However, the TBY would be much easier to carry and deploy than the TBX, especially by 2 men. But you must remember, from what I have read, that the range of the TBY was much less than that of the TBX.

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