[Milsurplus] New Insight into RAT and RAV

[Hue Miller]

It has long puzzled me why the Navy would want an aircraft transmitter tuning the region above about
21 Mc/s. Can you imagine the problems with stability ( VFO and PA ) with a GO type transmitter,
let alone the unpredictable propagation of the upper HF range. Of course, the Navy did try things
and then backtrack: the early DU df loops tuned to 8 Mc/s, and the Navy also paid for a crystal
controlled HF rig, the GRC-13, but as far as i can tell, decided to go with the GRC-9 for shore
party
use instead.
In defense of the RU receiver, i was badmouthing it to a former operator and he said he thought it
was
a pretty good little receiver. But he used in with the GO-9, which was purely a cw operation. In cw
use the RU is just a direct conversion receiver, and unless the band is really crowded, d/c
receivers
can work dx fine. I can see that it might have an advantage in the Marine Corps armor too- in AM
mode - with the wide AM selectivity, it's practically impossible to knock it out of tune!
Hue Miller