[Milsurplus] 1960s Military Aircraft Radio

[Edward Greeley]

Mike Morrow wrote:
> 
> With respect to military gear from the 1950s and later, I agree that the
> quality, advancement, and innovation are impressive.  I think that was shown
> early by the AN/GRC-3 "Korean War" gear, including the AN/PRC-6, 8, 9, and 10.
> For the era these set were designed, all were world-class leading-edge
> technology.  But these same sets...the best of their type ever made at that
> point...have usually been considered dogs by most military radio collectors.
> Go figure.
> 
I'm still trying to figure that one out. Back in 1988, either just 
before or just after after I retired from my Air Force civil service 
career, I bought a six-wheel box van truck load of that stuff for pretty 
cheap from the DRMO at Griffiss AFB, NY where I worked. Mostly GRC-3 
through -8 components plus a few other items of similar vintage. The 
stuff came from various Natl Guard units around the northeast that were 
serviced by the Griffiss DRMO. It was mostly operational, ranging from 
fairly beaten up looking to items that had just been received from depot 
overhaul and (apparently) never used.

So I thought: "Oh man! I can make a few bucks by selling most of this 
stuff." Oh man! Did I take a beating on that junk. Couldn't even GIVE 
much of it away in those days. Hams didn't seem to appreciate the late 
'40s to early '50s technology no matter how well it was designed and 
built. They were pretty well into the Jap-crap rice boxes even then.

I had a lot of fun playing with the stuff though, until I got tired of 
it. Wound up scrapping a lot of the pieces for the aluminum cases, 
chassis, etc, and zillions of battery filament tubes - that nobody wants 
either.

Long story short: I still have about three dozen various pieces of the 
stuff here that will probably wind up in the local landfill before long. 
I'll be 79 in a very few months...

Ed Greeley