WWII-era US Military MF/HF QRP rigs (OT)

[Mike Morrow-3]

Sandy wrote:

> I think the "Pogo stick" was the SCR-511?  Anybody remember?

Yes, Sandy.  The Army BC-745 "pogo-stick" is part of the SCR-511.
The famous Army BC-611 "handy-talky" you mention is part of the
SCR-536.

The Navy also had low power battery-powered portable MF/HF sets
in the form of the MAB and DAV chest-pack sets.

All of these operate at about one-third watt output into a short whip
antenna.  They are crystal-controlled (receiver and transmitter),
operating from about 2 or 3 MHz to 6 MHz.  They had 5 to 7 vacuum
tubes, and utilized superheterodyne receivers and plate-moodulated
transmitters.  The Army sets had a receiver RF amp, but short
antennas.  The Navy sets had no RF amp, but longer antennas.

I doubt there was ever much DX with these sets.  I recently fired up my
BC-611-F on 3885 kHz and heard a surprising number of AM stations at
night.

What would the ERP be for .35 watts on 3885 kHz going into a 48-inch
whip, handheld?   :-)

Mike / KK5F
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[AC7AC]

CONTENTS DELETED

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[Nick Kennedy]

Yeah, I was licensed in early 62 -- the bottom of the cycle.  I'd visit
older hams with incredible collections of DX QSLs on display.  They'd
say, "That was from back in '57 -- you could just put a piece of pipe on
a coke bottle on ten meters and work the whole world."

The first big peak that seemed comparable came about 17 years later (1979).

73--Nick, WA5BDU


Ron D'Eau Claire wrote:

>
> Amazing? Did everyone catch **when** that was? In the late 50's... at the
> peak of the most humungous sunspot cycle seen since Guglielmo Marconi was in
> diapers.
>
> You guys can have your DXCC, WAS and whatever certificates. I just want to
> see another sunspot cycle like that!
>
> Ron AC7AC
>
>  

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[rfenabled]

Ron,
Yep, you get first prize for that story.
Pretty darn amazing!!!!
I enjoyed that......now for some real propagation....Hmmmmmmm
Gary
VK4WT

Sent via BlackBerry® from Telstra

-----Original Message-----
From: "Ron D'Eau Claire" <[hidden email]>

Date: Fri, 6 Mar 2009 20:06:47
To: <[hidden email]>
Subject: Re: [Elecraft] WWII-era US Military MF/HF QRP rigs (OT)


As a communications sergeant in the 40th Armored Division of the California
National Guard in the late 1950's we were still using WWII vintage AN/PRC-6
hand helds. They were used by the infantry on foot traveling with the tanks
(yes, they traveled together. It's easy for one person on foot to "kill a
tank" when in towns or wooded areas when they can't swing the turret. Just
climb up with a sachel bomb and then walk away. That's why in the war films
you see infantry walking alongside the armored vehicles. The PRC-6 was how
the infantry communicated with the soldiers inside.)

Anyway, getting back to merely off-topic, the PRC-6 operated A.M. crystal
controlled in the Amateur 6-meter band which was shared with the military
then. The PRC-6 used the sub-miniature "pencil" tubes (because the tubes
were about the diameter of an ordinary lead pencil) and made perhaps 100
milliwatts output with fresh batteries. That was FB for the very short range
communications they needed. One day on duty in Southern California I was
holding a PRC-6 waiting to do a radio check with another guy in a vehicle
when I heard a W0 in Colorado start calling CQ right on my frequency. So I
answered him using my Ham call. He came right back. I don't recall the
signal reports but we chatted for a while until the armored vehicle came up
on frequency.

The PRC-6's antenna was a 1/4 wave "ribbon" whip sort of like a metal tape
measure but the only ground was me holding the thing. We were talking over a
range of about 700 miles, me running 100 MW A.M. (which is about equal to 15
milliwatts SSB).

Amazing? Did everyone catch **when** that was? In the late 50's... at the
peak of the most humungous sunspot cycle seen since Guglielmo Marconi was in
diapers.

You guys can have your DXCC, WAS and whatever certificates. I just want to
see another sunspot cycle like that!

Ron AC7AC


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