[ARC5] Ham use of ex-mil gear.

[Kenneth G. Gordon]

Hmmm...well...I certainly used ex-military gear, rather heavily, in 
my ham stations starting in 1956 when I was 12 or 13. Hardly 
ever used an "ARC-5" though. Couldn't afford any.

My first good receiver (after an AR-3 in which the BFO didn't 
work, to a very derelict S-41G found in a neighbor's basement, to 
an "upgrade" to a borrowed S-38D) was a BC-348 which my Mom 
bought for me from a friend for something like $50. He then 
loaned me a BC band "ARC-5" to use as a "Q-5er" with the BC-
348. (It has a 915 kc IF).

I traded that for an RAL-7 because it covered 15 meters, and the 
BC-348 didn't. I then proceeded to use the RAL-7 for the next 10 
or 12 years as my main (and only) station receiver.

Oh...it was completely stock, by the way.

After joining Army, then AF, MARS, I used a BC-779 (modified 
with a product detector), various TTY gear, an RBB and an RBC, 
then an RCH, and finally, the Army sent me a brand-new T-350-
XM, and then the AF sent me a non-working BC-610E, which I 
eventually modified into a Class B linear with a 304TL in it for 
SSB on AFMARS to handle patches into Vietnam and SEA. That 
combo ran about 2600 watts output on 14510 Khz or something 
like that. By then I had aquired a second-hand, hacked, SB-100, 
which I upgraded and used as the driver for the BC-610-E.

So, I am one ham who used and modified mil gear. If I hadn't, I 
would never have been able to continue in my electronics career, 
or learn the things I did, or do anything to help our troops in SEA.

I was too poor. In fact, I still cannot afford that multi-kilobuck 
solid-state crap which passes for radios these days. $10K for a 
damned radio?!?!? No way!!!

Oh....I am 69 now, and still using ex-mil gear. I love the stuff.

Ken Gordon W7EKB