[Milsurplus] Holiday Puzzle

[David Stinson]

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "John Vendely" <jvendely at cfl.rr.com>
Subject: Re: [Milsurplus] Holiday Puzzle


> ... The SCR-536 was noted as being 
> particularly troublesome,....

I remember a vet being quoted: 

  "They were good for talking 
    from the bottom of a hill to the top of one."

Indeed; I've found that the alignment on a BC-611 
is so touchy, I'm surprised they could be kept working.
The antenna tuning is especially tricky, and lengthening/
shortening the antenna by as little as 1/2 inch can make a marked
difference in performance.  If you ever just want to set one on
a table and listen to it, shorten the antenna 1/4 at a time and you 
will "peak up" the front end, compensating for the loss of  your 
body as part of the ground system.
I guess the critical tuning is not such a problem 
if you're doing what was intended: talking squad-to-platoon 
over 100 yards or so, but you can bet 
they were pressed into service way beyond
what was written in "the books."

D.S.