[Milsurplus] BC-342 / 344 vs BC-348 and the GRR-5 too!

[Ray Fantini]

Cannot make intelligent speculation on production numbers but being the BC-342/312 and its evil twin sister the 314 had to be produced in equal or higher numbers being it was the stock receiver with a number of vehicular mounted sets and field use sets for ground communications for a long time.
I can say for a fact that in the past several years I have had many people express interest and want to buy BC-348 receivers and no one want BC-342/312 receivers.  I can get $100 to $200 for a clean front panel working BC-348 receiver and would have to work to get $100 for the 342 if at all.

Attached is a picture of a bunch of BC-348 receivers going acrost the bench.

Ray F/KA3EKH





From: milsurplus-bounces at mailman.qth.net <milsurplus-bounces at mailman.qth.net> On Behalf Of Hubert Miller
Sent: Tuesday, October 21, 2025 5:05 PM
To: Milsurplus at mailman.qth.net
Cc: ARC5 <arc5 at mailman.qth.net>
Subject: Re: [Milsurplus] BC-342 / 344 vs BC-348 and the GRR-5 too!


I had no idea the 348 was produced in such numbers. That explains why you ALWAYS see them on Ebay. ( I remember around 1981 in Seattle, at 'Amateur Radio Supply', a NIB unused BC-348 for $125. That was too rich for me then, but - - somebody bought it. )

If supply vs demand simply applies, the 342/ 344 should have been priced higher. It was not. So there are other factors. The front panel on the 348 is alu, so it's a lot easier to add controls, meter and so on. Some opinions are, it looks better too.

I seem to recall speaking with someone at G&G NYC long ago. The person said they were reimporting them from France and restoring HFO wiring from dual diversity to independent use. I think France used them into the 1960s. I spoke with G&G must have been, 1973. I ordered one 348 and one 342, but nothing, zero transpired and many months later i got a letter asking if i still wanted to place the order, which i did not. Perhaps this was the, or a, period when the owner was out ill.

About this time i got an ARR-15, which was an overlaul and came in a large cardboard barrel. It had been a MARS giveaway. Unfortunately, i semi hacked it. I was pretty ignorant. Still am, i guess, but about different areas now, like eschatology.

I had one of the France BC-342. Was noteworthy because a front panel marking altho English, was misspelled "DIAL LINGHT".  I recall seeing surplus 342 but not 348 offered in French radio magazines from early 1970s.

The latest 348 manual i have is TM 11-6920, 1955, and it's just the J, N, P manual reprinted.

The 342 was certainly used in Korea War and i'm sure i have a photo or 2.

I did not set out at all to gather 348s but i have the BC-224-A and also an R-849 which is K.W. and has the squelch box on top for K.W. radio jeep use with ART-13.

I prefer the early no - LF band models. The LF band is useless to me and i like the slightly better bandspread.

Steve Bartkowski many years ago told me he saw a 348 where the LF band had been rewound to tune our AM broadcast band. I don't understand how that could be, without some screeching mess happening.
-Hue Miller





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