End Fed Half Wave Wire Antennas
Updated: 12/21/2022 – A work in progress. End Fed Half Wave wire antennas must be great. Everyone is selling them! Meh. The antenna engineer’s axiom: You can have high efficiency […]
PRC-174 HF Manpack Radio Set
UPDATE: 2/25/2023 I recently obtained a veteran RT-936/PRC-174 HF manpack radio from a fellow Ham (Thanks!). These were made by Tadiran from a design clearly originating from Hughes Aircraft, makers […]
Mil Radio Ops at FOB COVID 2020
July 2020: The following is a brief After Action Report on Military Radio training operations at Forward Operating Base COVID, July 2020. Scheduling difficulties required delaying from the June 2020 […]
TRC-77A HF CW Transceiver
UPDATED 9/3/2022 A friend recently gave me an RT-654A/TRC-77. Also known as the TRC-77A. The RT-654(*) is the basic component of the “AN/TRC-77” set. A Deep Dive – probably more […]
Fast Patrol Torpedo Boats / PTF-17
PTF-17, PTF’s in general and Coastal River Division 21 Ops: Updated – 9/5/2022 A Work in Progress. First, a little background: Why PTF’s? The Green Water Navy. Despite what several […]
The PRC-47 HF SSB/CW/RATT Transceiver
Updated 1/21/2023 Some notes regarding the Collins AN/PRC-47. This radio was designed by Collins and produced by them but they also subcontracted with Bendix to produce additional sets. All Collins […]
AN/GRC-109 “Special Forces” Radio Set
UPDATED 10/10/2022: My favorite “Black Radio”. The AN/GRC-109, AKA the “GRC-109” and “ANGRY 109”. Probably the ultimate “SHTF Radio” for trained (or trainable) personnel.Some research, observations and adventures below; probably […]
The RS-6 Radio Set
UPDATED 9/22/22 Another favorite Black Radio is the RS-6 set. (RS-6 = Radio Station number 6 per Central Intelligence Agency nomenclature.) “This radio set (below) and battery was hidden in […]
PRC-25 Radio Set
UPDATED 1/22/2022 The AN/PRC-25 (AKA “Prick-25”) had a relatively short but very successful history before it was soon replaced by the incrementally-improved but nearly identical AN/PRC-77. In 1967 General Creighton […]
AN/GRC-9 Radio Set
Updated 2/15/2022: US Marines of a Tactical Air Control Party with the First Marine Division in combat at the Chosin Reservoir operating an AN/GRC-9 transmitter-receiver. Hand cranked generator, cold weather, […]