[Milsurplus] SPF

[Hue Miller]

The Forest Service low band equipment was ALL xtal controlled xmt. The state forest service

low band radios can't be considered a possible substitute for the SCR-178 on account of low

power and for all the portable gear, AM mode only, so the range is short. Yes - I too have heard

first hand reports of 150 miles on an SPF, but with it's 2.5 watts input AM that is the exception,

not a reliable range that a military scout party could rely on. Not to mention that the FS equipment

never included any kind of antenna masts - it was up to your ingenuity to find "something" to tie

the end of the wire antenna to. Also no handcrank generator - you only had a choice of B batteries,

standard or extra big.

BTW, the variety of FS type equipment I have seen or heard of convinces me there will never be

any kind of comprehensive FS equipment listing. Just too many "project" type local built things,

or things that were never standard nomenclatured.

I took a look at a state of Oregon type S the other day, and man, this is basic radio: it is something

right out of Frank Jones's 1935  book on "5 Meter Radiotelephone" sets. If I recall from reading

the instructions, they even warn that in the course of a communications the stations will follow

each other down the band, as this early superregen transceiver had no compensation for frequency

change between transmit and receive.  -Hue Miller