[MRCA] BC-342 and end of displays

Tue Oct 10 09:09:32 EDT 2017

BC-620 sets were selling for stupid big money at Gilbert this year. Saw one for $700 and it was unknown if it was working or not.  Most of the old WW2 AM HF stuff sells way under that. Also most BC-1000 and BC-620 sets I have seen don’t work. It’s always an accomplishment whenever I see one working at the Cold War Net at Dayton. Think a lot of that old first generation FM equipment has not aged well but the old AM HF stuff keeps right on going.
Post war and Korean stuff works with no issues PRC-10, AN/RT-68 and the RT-70 sets appear to be incapable of failure except maybe the vibrators but in my experience working BC-1000 backpacks and BC-620 sets are not that common, at least of what I have seen in the field.
This last weekend Mr. Smith and I both dragged our mutts out to a local air show. They had a military display section that we were all located in along with about six other vehicles from WW2 to the M151 and one M-38 owner there had a PRC-10 in the back of his 38 that he had but did not know anything about it. Just for fun we decided to try it out so Breck took the battery pack, handset and antenna from his restored PRC-10 and attached them to this unknown radio that conceivably has not been powered up in years, maybe decades and the radio came to life, it passed calibration and was able to function without issue on 51.0 and net with the other radios that were there. Good example of the quality of components and construction for something that old and not restored to spring right back to life.
Another point about all that Korean War vintage wide band tube equipment is it sells for way less than the WW2 stuff or the Vietnam stuff. Think you can buy RT-68, RT-70 and R-108 sets for a fraction of what you would pay for a VRC-12 or a non-working BC-620/SCR-510

Ray F/KA3EKH

From: mrca-bounces at mailman.qth.net [mailto:mrca-bounces at mailman.qth.net] On Behalf Of WW2RDO via MRCA
Sent: Tuesday, October 10, 2017 1:44 AM
To: mrca at mailman.qth.net
Subject: Re: [MRCA] BC-342 and end of displays

     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<mailto: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<mailto: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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