[Milsurplus] VRC mount...plus URL citation info

[Mike Morrow]

Jay wrote:

> I am a happy camper as I just received two of these and the RT-70/AM-65
> VRC-7's fit this mount.

The fellow who wrote the auction description has done an outstanding
job of accurately describing this item, which is a generic rail mount
MT-791/U, not the MT-300/GR mount for the AN/VRC-7 or AN/UIC-1.  He
even correctly cites some of the equipment for which the MT-791/U was
intended.  Very good auction description!

> The ones I got from Fair Radio were badly weather worn or stored
> in a water barrell!

The MT-300/GR was (is?) desirable for those military vehicle folks who
want a period radio like the AN/VRC-7, without going hard-core with
something like a 250-pound AN/GRC-7.  Some of these guys do a real good
job preserving these "Korean War" sets, which are unfortunately usually
ignored by many of us military radio collectors.  These radios were
world-class state-of-the-art sets when developed, and were in US service
everywhere in the 1950s and early 1960s Cold War.  They deserve better
regard.  I like my AN/VRC-7 and my AN/GRC-7, plus I have all the radios
and mounts to create any of the 22 different sets in this series, except
the AN/VRQ-1, -2, or -3, the AN/PRC-16, and the MX-898/GR configuration. 

The MT-300/GR I got from Fair Radio ten years ago had, like yours,
seen better days.  But it was completely mechanically and electrically
serviceable, though expensive at about $100 (IIRC) after shipping.
In contrast, the large and complex MT-297/GR mount from Fair Radio back
then was only $30, plus shipping...still less than the simple MT-300/GR.

Col. Bill Perry (William Perry Company) had several MT-300/GRs at various
hamfests in 2011...unused new-old-stock in the original unopened boxes
for $35.  I could not resist buying one, but I think mine was the only
one he sold at Huntsville AL that day.  It was a great bargain, even
from Bill who tends to price everything he sells at bargain-basement
prices.

> The junction boxes on the beat mounts are in good enough shape to use
> on the new mounts and the mounting holes are there. These are NOS in
> mil packing.

That's good as long as the under-mount junction box and appropriate
cables and connectors can be transplanted from something else.  A stock
MT-791/U has very little value for use with the "Korean War" FM sets.

> 350577539663 on ebay
>
> For those that complain, ebay has separated the item number from the
> description. Just go to ebay and paste the number in the search bar.
> You don't even need to log in.

A click-able link is very helpful to any user, but especially so for
those using some sort of smartphone.  Cutting and pasting even short
pieces is aggravating on any smartphone.  There are several quick and
simple ways to specify a short ebay click-able link.  For this example,
simply edit the full item URL down to this:

  http://www.ebay.com/itm/350577539663

Even shorter is:

  http://cgi.ebay.com/350577539663

These both work fine, though the second example can not be obtained by
simple deleting the garbage in the typical long ebay item page URL.

FWIW, people can help others follow a URL citation in their texts if:

1.  No non-URL characters are attached to the URL, like < and > here
     <http://cgi.ebay.com/350577539663>
    HTML usually inserts these < > characters.
2.  The URL line begins at least one space away from the left margin, like
 http://cgi.ebay.com/350577539663
    not
http://cgi.ebay.com/350577539663

One's result may be a little different depending on which browser is used,
or if that great e-mail list abomination, HTML, is used. :-)
    
Mike / KK5F