[Milsurplus] blind sow finds an R-808

Wed, 18 Sep 2002 16:57:06 -0400

It's actually a Marine Corps radio and it goes more or less by Army
nomenclature, but the manuals are issued by BuShips...
I have an AN/GRC-13 transceiver which is the Marine Corps functional
equivalent of the AN/GRC-9.  I guess it came to replace the TBX(*)
transceivers, it is the same size but the tube lineup is similar to that of
the GRC-9, and it's crystal controlled, 10 channels.
BTW does anyone have a manual for the GRC-13?
( Robert, I'll get back to you privately on the BC-348 dial dim pots).

73, Meir WF2U
Landrum, SC

 -----Original Message-----
From: 	[email protected]
[mailto:[email protected]]  On Behalf Of aGEnuine ham
Sent:	Wednesday, September 18, 2002 4:05 PM
To:	[email protected]
Subject:	Re: [Milsurplus] blind sow finds an R-808

OK, group:

So I try to pay attention, and all I get is confused.  I was entertained
by Eric's R-808 story, and informed by Robert's reply, but it raised a
couple of questions, to wit:

What's the Navy doing with a /GRC?  My encounters have been with AN/Sxx
on ships, and AN/Fxx at fixed sites.  And some underwater stuff, but
let's not go there.  It finally dawned on me, Marines.  Aha!

Next, I was baffeled by the hierarchy of nomenclature.  R-808/GRC-14, I
get, but why does a top nomenclature AN/GRC-14 become part of a
AN/MRC-55, and since my decoder ring has disappeared, what is M anyway?
I thought V was vehicular and S shipboard, so what's different about M?
And since G is supposed to be immobile anyway, does M mean motionless?

Then, since neither G nor M are shipboard, how does the manual end up
being a NAVSHIPS publication?  Seems to me mil standardization ain't so
standard.

I'm reading "The Invention That Changed the World" by Budiansky about the
concept and development of RADAR.  Not too deep technically, but it is
very informative about the difficulties getting the upper military brass
to accept new ideas, concepts, hardware, anything, back in the 30s.
Explains a lot about some of the 'why was development so slow?' questions
which appear here from time to time.   Old Admiral King was something
else.  He would probably have been happy with 3 masted schooners.   Newer
hardware need not apply.

73,
George
W5VPQ

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