[MRCA] BC-342 and end of displays

Tue Oct 10 01:43:51 EDT 2017

     I've been in the vintage military vehicle hobby for 30 years, and can tell you 90% of the couple of hundred or so MB and GPW Jeeps I've seen didn't have any radio mounted.  Of the 10% that I've seen with the radio, most were BC-620 radios that can't operate on the voice section of the 10 meter band without major modification ( easier to convert to CB frequencies), and none of which actually worked.  I've seen 3 jeeps that had BC-1306 radio sets installed, and they worked, but they took up most of the back of the jeep.  I've actually seen more Korean/ Vietnam Era military vehicles with radios installed than I have in  WW2 vintage vehicles.   I've also known quite a few vehicle guys who have actually removed non-working radios from vehicles because the owners saw no sense in hauling around something that took up room and did nothing else.  The push to get the radios in the WW2 vehicles actually working seems to be just beginning to catch hold now in my experience, what with the internet allowing owners to both find radios they can use, and repair shops to get them fixed.  But  a lot of bad information has made the rounds in the vintage vehicle community about the difficulty in getting a HAM licence, the cost of getting the licence, and the actual availability of radio sets that owners can find that don't cost more than their vehicles, are appropriate for their vehicles, that don't take up all the carrying space in their vehicles and they can use without replacing all the insides of the radio with modern electronics. 

     The emphasis now should be to move these vehicle owners "Away form the Darkside" ( unlicensed operation).  We've all met people who have simply ignored licensing requirements and operate the radios among their local group of owners.  They know that the chances of getting caught are very slim - these guys may operate for a few hours on part of a weekend, and then shut down and may not operate again for a couple of months, and then not in the same area.  A "fox hunt" is not so apt to find these guys, because who knows when they will operate, on what frequency they will operate, or approximately where they will operate, and by the time anybody is ready to start looking for these guys, they've already shut down and gone back home.

Mark
WW2RDO

In a message dated 10/9/2017 3:36:18 AM Eastern Standard Time, mrca at mailman.qth.net writes:

Well, I've been in this "business" for more than half a century.  And I'll stick by my VE day comment.  Also, all of the US military HF receivers have a BFO.

 Robert Downs - Houston
 wa5cab dot com (Web Store)
 MVPA 9480

 n a message dated 10/09/2017 02:24:43 AM Central Daylight Time, mkdorney at aol.com writes: 
Most vintage jeep owners aren't operating day and night, and are more into shows and parades and the like than they are about radio operations. The biggest reason behind using the BC-659, set nationally to particulate frequencies would allow owners to interact with more another on vintage sets withing their organization ( with a proper licence, of course).  Besides most HAM operators are using SSB, so these vintage radio operators wouldn't be picking up all that much anyway. Plus you have to remember that a radio in the vintage vehicle hobby is an accessory and not the main feature.  Vehicle owners gain bragging rights through the total authenticity of the vehicle, not so much by having any particular accessory that was not manufactured as a normal part of their vehicle.  Also, radios of any type are not nearly that common an item seen on vintage vehicles as you think.   Most vehicle owners would rather either go without any special accessories, or they opt for a phony machine gun or other toy.

 Mark
 WW2RDO

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