This is the RCA Equipment Section of
The Broadcast Archive

Maintained by:
Barry Mishkind - The Eclectic Engineer
Last Update 9/14/21

Radio Corporation of America

New York, N.Y.

RCA is, of course, no longer in the broadcast manufacturing business. It delivered its last transmitters over 30 years ago. 

RCA was formed during World War I as a company to share the patents of GE, Westinghouse, and AT&T, to further the war effort without legal issues. In the early years, GE did most of the hardware construction, Westinghouse was highly involved in the control and power circuitry, and AT&T was the source of many audio products.

As far as broadcast, all the early RCA transmitters, etc were really built by GE until RCA (now an independent company) bought the Victor Company in 1929 for $154 million.  In 1930, RCA Radiotron was started, but some GE products were still rebadged until the mid-1930s, when RCA was fully operational as a manufacturer.

Interestingly, in a kind of strange circle, RCA itself was dissolved when GE bought the company in 1985. The "RCA trademark" is currently owned by a Japanese company, for use on consumer products. There are some professional sources for parts and information, though (2021 note: These companies may no longer be available):

Commercial Radio Company
Duttonsville School Drive
Cavendish, VT 05142
(802) 226 7582		 Thales Broadcast
Southwick, MA
(413) 569-6753


Radio Equipment

Consoles:

Model ... Misc. Remarks

46A -Four pot mono console 
(From WCAU in 1933)
76-A  - Mono tube console - September 1937
76-B  - Mono tube console - 1938
6 fader mono. Designed to handle two studios, announce booth, and Control Room
76-B4 - 6 fader mono.
76-B5 - 6 fader mono.
76-C - 6 fader mono. Designed for use at stations with one studio and a Control Room
76-D - 6 fader mono. Just like the "C", except it has a second meter to set levels before airing
Introduced in 1950. It is said Sun Records used a 76-D when recording Elvis.
  78-A  Speech Input System  (Rack mount unit, Control unit, and Studio units)
  80A - early 1938
BCM-2A Auxiliary Mixer, solid state, console. (add-on to BC-7A)

BC-2B
BC-3 - 13 input, 8 fader, tube, two tone umber gray console

Lloyd Scott, Bartow, FL at his console
BC-3B
BC-3C - 13 input, 8 fader, tube, two tone umber gray console.

BC-4 - 4 pot 

Thanks to Marcel van Wijk

BC-5 - 8 input, 4 fader, tube, two tone umber gray console.
BC-6A - (MI-11638) - Dual Channel console.
BC-6B - 22 input, 9 fader, dual channel, tube, umber gray console.
BC-7A - 1962
31 input, 10 fader, dual channel, mono or stereo, transistor, blue console.
(5 of the pots were stereo ... cue speaker has RCA meatball.)
BC-7B 
31 input, 10 fader, dual channel, mono or stereo, transistor, blue console.
(logo is printed above cue speaker.)  Courtesy: Scott Cason

BC-8
8 fader, dual channel, mono

BC-9
4 fader, dual channel, mono
  BC-10A - Portable dual turntable, solid state, remote console.
  BC-14 - 4 fader, dual channel, mono or stereo (also rack mountable)
  BC-15 - 5 fader mono, dual channel or stereo

BC-17A

31 input, 10 fader, dual channel, mono AND stereo, transistor, blue console
31 input, 10 fader, dual channel, mono AND stereo, transistor, blue console.

BC-18 - 8 fader mono, dual channel or stereo

BC-19    /  BC-19A /  BC-19B

4 fader, dual channel, stereo
  BC-50 - Custom built consoles...
  BC-100 - Custom built consoles...
  BN-1 - single fader remote console.

BN-2A  3 fader Remote Mixer
  BN-4 - 4 fader remote console (essentially a Shure M-67)
BN-6B
BN-7A - 2 fader remote console, battery operated.

BN-7A - 2 fader remote console, battery operated. New version
  BN-17 - 4 fader remote console, battery operated.

OP-3

OP-4 - 1934

 

 OP-5

OP-6

OP -7
 

Other Studio Gear

  BA-2A - Tube Booster Amp
   
  BA-5 - Limiter - 195x
  BA-6 - Limiter - 195x - based on GE BA-5A?
  BA-11A - Microphone Pre-Amp
 

BA-21A - Microphone Pre-Amp
  86A - Limiter - 194x
  86B - Limiter
  96A - Limiter -  1936

 

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