My father purchased this receiver for me in 1963 when I got my first ticket. At the time, it was only three years old and I used it actively until 1993. Unlike some of the good bargins we find at fleamarkets, this used receiver cost my dad $Cdn 260 at the time; it was quite a chunk of money for someone making a $1.25 per hour. For many years, I stored the original shipping box complete with its Railway Express Agency stickers. In 1990, storage space became very scarce as a result of building a basement bedroom. That original box was thrown out, something which I now regret doing.

Originally, this HQ145 was not fitted with the crystal calibrator option. When I ordered one in 1965, I remember month after month of delays and Hammarlund kept telling my local dealer that production schedules for the Vietnam war were interfering with civilian orders. After all these years, this unit is still in pristine condition.

This unmodified, working receiver, is an ex-Royal Canadian Air Force unit which was overhauled by the Canadian Marconi Company in 1967. Still evident on the front panel, is the green RCAF modification sticker. To its left is an external, home brew power supply/speaker cabinet which was a work in progress when the photo was taken.  Later, the enclosure was painted black to match the receiver finish. It sure would have been nice to know where the BC-348 spent the last years of its active life.

First built by Marconi in 1942, the thirteen tube CSR5 general coverage superheterodyne receiver was capable of receiving CW or AM signals in the 80 Khz to 30 MHz bands, less the MF broadast band. The CSR5 receiver served as a workhorse receiver in the Royal Canadian Navy for nearly as quarter century.