[Milsurplus] Chinese 6M- packset, the 884

[Meir-WF2U]

Mike et al,

I beg to differ with you regarding the R-105M and family (R-105M, R-108M and
R-109M, covering respectively 36-46.1 MHz, 28 - 36.5 MHz, and 25.5 - 28.5
MHz). These replaced the earlier R-10*D series (early 50's) by the end of
the 50's, to become obsolete by the mid-60's. 
The Chinese took a different path and started to develop their own radios by
the late 50's - early 60's.
The R-10*M series was replaced by the mid-60's in the Soviet Union/Warsaw
pact by the R-107, (solid-state power supply and tube radio hybrid) covering
20 - 52 MHz in 2 bands, 20 - 36 and 36 - 52 MHz, in 25 KHz channel spacing,
output power typically 1 W. Frequency display is an etched glass disk, rear
illuminated and viewed through a magnifying eyepiece.
In the early 70's the R-107 was replaced by the R-107T, all solid state and
with digital frequency display, same power and frequency coverage as the
R-107.
Starting in the early 80's an entirely new generation of equipment came into
being, with modern IC technology which  replaced these models, that's why
R-107T's are also frequently found as surplus in Europe. 

To sum it up, in the 70's which these Chinese sets are from, The R105 series
sets were obsolete for a long time and the R-107T was in use in the
Eastern-Block countries.
IMHO the T-107T is far superior to the CHICOM 884...
BTW I had so much Russian HF stuff to carry home from the big
Friedrichshafen hamfest in Germany in 2000, that I didn't buy a nice R-107T
set complete with all the accessories, for $100...

73, Meir WF2U
Landrum, SC

-----Original Message-----
From: milsurplus-bounces at mailman.qth.net
[mailto:milsurplus-bounces at mailman.qth.net] On Behalf Of Mike Morrow
Sent: Tuesday, January 08, 2008 8:00 PM
To: milsurplus at mailman.qth.net
Subject: Re: [Milsurplus] Chinese 6M- packset, the 884

>here's a web ref.  http://membres.lycos.fr/carm1940/photoalbum2.html
>Web site sez it's 45-50mhz


.......Apparently, most of the Type 884 sets were made in the mid-1970s.
The first two digits of the rather long serial number indicate the year of
manufacture.  I have one set made in 1973, another in 1974.  The set is very
late- or post-Vietnam War era, but I don't know of any reports of its use in
Vietnam.

These are all-solid-state sets, so they are lighter than and superior to the
R-105M (P-105M) set that was commonly used in most Eastern-Block countries
at the time.  But it doesn't come close to being anything similar in
capability to the AN/PRC-77.

Mike / KK5F

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