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dodge m37 and other mseries with radios

Posted: Wed Apr 27, 2011 2:02 pm
by nutsfor59
hi,does anyone out there know where you can get #14 single conductor stranded tinned copper phone wire so you can use/hook-up the remote field phone ??? i'd like to get it on a spool preferably,thanks

Re: dodge m37 and other mseries with radios

Posted: Wed Apr 27, 2011 2:03 pm
by nutsfor59
hi again,forgot to mention that i'm running a grc-7 radio outfit

Re: dodge m37 and other mseries with radios

Posted: Thu Apr 28, 2011 11:28 am
by k8icu
Try epay? Military phone wire is acturally steel wire for strength. Try Fair Radio Sales in Lima, OH

Re: dodge m37 and other mseries with radios

Posted: Thu Apr 28, 2011 6:39 pm
by Cav Trooper
It's call WD-1 and it is 2 galvanized steel wires or was with 4 tinned copper strands and twisted pair. Pretty tough stuff. Used to run it in 1 mile spool off the back of an M37 for the survey teams to FDC center in the field artillary down at Ft. Hood, Tx. We trotted along behind the truck which had an A frame mounted in the back with the wire spool, we would pull some slack and tie the wire off on a bush along the trail/road especially as the trail made a bend. I went to tie it off once and ran into a big rattlesnake in the shade under the bush. It didn't take me long to jump up on the tailgate and ride out the rest of the wire laying job, we just left it in the middle of the trail. Lots of big rattlers and some copperheads down there, not a place to just wander around in the bush. Worked out of Commo section of HHB/73rd Arty in '67. The small spool was called an RL-8 and had a type of cradle with a hand crank, you could carry it in one hand and play out the wire. Don't recall the amount of wire it held right now. You do see the small reels on ebay from time to time. I was going to buy some since I had run across a couple of TA312 field phones but never wanted to pay the price for the reel and wire. Sold the phones.

Re: dodge m37 and other mseries with radios

Posted: Thu Apr 28, 2011 6:52 pm
by Cav Trooper
Memory is going, the small spool was DR-8A with an RL-39 carrier with the hand crank and straps to strap it on your back if needed. 1/4 mile of wire.