[Milsurplus] AN/PRC-104 Saga

[Pasquale Lombardi]

Posted for a friend who is not subscribed.

Thank you,

Pat

As some of you know I've been using an AN/PRC-104A HF back-pack transceiver
for 3 or 4 years now. I really like this radio, and it performs very well.
For instance, I ran the Moose & Squirrel 60-meter Net from the MTA meet in
North Jersey the other Saturday, feeding a simple half-wave end-fed wire at
about 10 feet, I easily worked stations from Dover, DE to northern NH. These
were the follow on to the Vietnam era PRC-74, and are quintessential
long-range-reconnaissance-patrol radios with a proud history.
Now, you may have heard me mutter that radios like this are just a heartbeat
away from being a wheel chock. Unlike the earlier radios, like the PRC-47
and PRC-74, they are serviceable only by swapping out major components.
Hughes was building spacecraft at the time they designed this radio. The
circuit cards are multi-layer boards using custom hermetically-sealed
surface-mount hybrid integrated circuits. I have a fair amount of experience
working on solid-state radios, and own the appropriate test equipment, but
these modules are beyond my capabilities.

I actually own there of these sets. Two of them work, and I haven't delved
into the third, as I have only one good A1A3 synthesizer module among them. 
Here's my revised inventory:
3 each RT-1209/URC Receiver-Transmitter - all work, but only 1 good A1A3
synth among them.
2 each AM-6874/PRC-104 Amplifier, Radio Frequency - working
1 each AM-6874/PRC-104 Amplifier, Radio Frequency - Good PA, bad tuner
So, there's a good RT less the A1A3 module and a half-working
amplifier-coupler up for trade.

A the simplest level, I'm looking for an A1A3 board.


It's pretty clear to me that PRC-104's are being cannibalized to keep the
remaining sets running. What I'd like to do is identify who's sitting on
what, and see if we can help each other.

What do you have?
Al