Mounting Radios

[refit1701]

Remember that only a few military radios transmit in legal Amateur Radio frequencies and you need a license. Easy to get but necessary. The RT-68 happens to be usable in the 6 meter band. These are wide band radios, not the narrow modern type that are available commercially today.

[w30bob]

Hi John,

Thanks for the reminder. I have no intention of actually using my radios, although I'd like them to be in working condition in case I needed to sell them.

Not to sound like an arse, but I've always wondered about warnings such as yours......so if I fire it up and start babbling away..........will a group of FCC Nazis dressed in black commando outfits in big black SUVs surround my house and arrest me? Just want to know so I can give the neighbors a heads-up in case I mistakingly leave the radio turned on or my girlfriend's kid starts playing with it.

Hmmmmm...........I wouldn't mind seeing his arse hauled away by the men in black.......that gives me a good idea.........

later,
bob

[refit1701]

Hams will tell you that the FCC is not very vigilant with their enforcement of the regulations. There is a lot of crap on the ham bands that is caused by......idiot hams who are just jerks. The Amateur Radio bands are what the government calls "self policing", where we do our best to keep things on an even keel and operate with "band plans" and allocations created by the community itself.

Transmitting without a license on the Amateur bands is one thing, but transmitting in restricted areas of the frequencies used by the military and law enforcement can be met with real nastiness. In this day and age where we find the government more interested in persecuting Americans within our own country rather than true bad guys outside of it, I would not want to get noticed by them.

My note was just a general reminder for all to be careful. Ham Radio is fun and participating in it from the back of your M-Series truck with true military radios at a show while kids watch is amazing.

[52 M-42]

Hi D,

You have a A/N VRC-18 radio system (what looks like a very nice one). You should be able to find all the manuals for the component parts. If you have trouble locating them, or need some help with websites, just PM me and I'll send you some information.

52 M-42

[52 M-42]

There are are actually weekly amateur radio (HAM) nets using military equipment. There is a yahoo group (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/armyradios) that is dedicated to these radios and their use on the HAM bands.

I believe that it is best if you have at least a general class license to really get the benefit of using these radios.I am a General Class HAM (KF7FTC) and I got my license just to be able to use these radios.

Mine are in the process of being made functional and installed in my truck (the restoration of these radios is just like the restoration of these trucks - a BIG project, at least for me). I would like to able to use them at meets, shows and out in the woods with other people who have similar radios.

A major part of why I'm willing to take my truck to shows is to see the excitement on the faces of some of the kids when they get to climb around these vehicles. A lot of car shows are all "DON'T TOUCH", but not my truck; it is there to enjoy and inform; after all, they were built for combat, not some white glove prestigious display.

And, yes my truck goes out in the woods and gets dirty. It's a fun toy and if you can't play with your toys in the dirt (or snow in Carter's case), I think you're missing a lot of the fun. The radios are part of the fun - another accessory, just like Barbie Dolls .

Get your license (it's not hard - I did it), follow the rules, like refit says, and enjoy the radios along with the trucks.

52 M-42

[w30bob]

Ok...........I'm not TOUCHING the Barbie Doll comment!!

bob

[52 M-42]

I have a daughter. She is grown now, but back in the day, there was ALWAYS another new "accessory" we just had to get for the Barbie Dolls....

Thus my comment.

Now she calls my truck Dorian Gray (after the short story by Oscar Wilde) because the older, fatter, balder and uglier I get the better and better the truck looks.

[DCook]

Gentlemen,
You have just shared a lot of knowledge - THANKS!
The last thing I would want to do is create ANY kind of problem for the MV enthusiast who have brought their radios back to life. The issues in the posts above, are exactly what I was hoping for.
I have been like a sponge watching posts in this site, but have not wanted to waste anyone's time with meaningless posts. I feel I have an excellent start on a 1st class restoration. I have the engine out now to correct block problems. as a result it will be a couple of months before I'll be powering up anything on it. This gives me some time for self education on the radio issue. I guess it is fair to say I am a purist restoration enthusiast, even though this is my first M37. I would like it to be 100% perfect, and functional in all respects.
As far as I know I am the only MVPA member in the Four Corners area. That makes you guys my MV Club - Thanks for the help!

[w30bob]

Hey D,

Great to have you onboard! No such thing as a meaningless post........I believe that no matter what we discuss someone will learn something from it. So don't be shy....post away! I've asked tons of dumb newbie questions on here.....and they didn't kick me out.......so you're safe!!

By the way.....52 is a wealth of knowledge regarding mil radios....and he seems more than willing to share.

regards,
bob

[Monkey Man]

Military radios are a lot of fun and good to work on, after all, they are built to be used in harsh conditions, readily repaired with relative ease and if you're worried about transmitting in the wrong bands then get up to speed, get your ham ticket and know what you are doing with the radios, as a side note, you can disable the transmitter simply by switching the supply rail to the transmit stage off or even more simply, lock the mic out (beware of the MOX switch if equipped though).
Radio's and their uses are governed by regulation and although military radios are not ticked off as amateur gear their use hails back to wartime amateurs and the subsequent sale of transmitter and receiver gear that was surplus and it was ready to modify and get on air, this satisfied the "build" aspect of a radio. Modern transceivers come under the same annexe and to hold an amateur radio licence is a position of trust and thus you are required to keep your gear within specification and not cause interference accidentally or God forbid, Deliberately!!
Even receivers are regulated to a small extent now, you cannot monitor the cell bands legally unless you are a government authorised individual with a specific permitted reason and monitoring encrypted feeds is also a No-No.
It was simple back in the old days, grab any basic radio and with a few mods, Viola, you have the Police, ambulance and Fire channels on tap, along comes trunking, no problems, the voice is still analog or basic digital, buy a scanner to suit and you're all good to go.
Now the audio in some parts of Australia is being encrypted the act of decrypting secure communications is in itself an illegal act (and if you're going to that much trouble to listen, are you doing it for the wrong reasons??)
But back to military radios, buy them, repair them, use them correctly and enjoy them, like your trucks, they are a good bit of gear just waiting to be put back into good use

MM - AKA Tony Eagling Vk7YBG

[Cal_Gary]

Mr. Cook,
I'm not too awful far away (Salt Lake City area), but you're right-not much HMV activity around. Only 25 MVPA members in the entire state of Utah....

Oh, doesn't anybody besides me run a pack radio in the M? Easy to install/remove-I have a PRC77 in mine. Just wondering.
Gary

[52 M-42]

The pack radios are a lot more in demand (thus more expensive - at least where I am), and they don't have the range. That said, I'd like to have a couple of working PRC-8, -9. & -10's and a PRC-25 and/or -25T. People seem to want a lot of money for those in working condition, though.

I got all my Old Family radios back in the day from Fair Radio. I think the shipping was more than the radios Also, my truck is an older one, so I think the older radios go better with the truck. I would however, probably be tempted to trade all my stuff for the complete VRC-12 system (442, 246 & 524), but that is not likely to happen.

The Old Family Radio Systems are HF systems. In the GRC-3, -5, &-7 systems, you also have a RT set on the end of the mounting rack which gives you the shorter range communications like a pack radio; so it is sort of the best of both worlds.