[MRCA] PRC-74 ... Now CAP

[jeepp]

CAP has "matured" in many ways, as you may have gleaned from earlier posts.  But, yes, AM was dropped in the 60's in favor of SSB.  With virtually no surplus available for issue by DOD and the AF, Wings, squadrons, and individuals bought and paid for Heath HW-18 SSB kits.  They were the mainstay for quite a while.  CAP was moved from FCC jurisdiction over to DOD sometime in the late 70's as I recall.  At the time, we had 6 channels in the 2, 4, and 7 MHz range.  The FCC rules specified tx frequency and tx spectral purity, not much more.  But, now CAP has many channels from 2 thru 25 MHz.  With time, and Congress mandating the NTIA create a book of standards for all Government and military RF emitters, radio, RADAR, whatever.  The specs were/are tight and if all are taken as a religeous exercise, problems arise.  Agencies could and did get relief, if applied for and did not materially affect the spectrum.. read: freq tolerance, stability, harmonics... like that.  DOD tactical assets were exempt.  CAP chose not to request or consider and relief, whatsoever.  MARS, etc. was more reasonable.  CAP's decision, for better or worse, removed arguably 75% of the available assets at the time.  This loss then was used to justfy large procurements of DOD-funded HF and VHF equipment.  These replacements are operationally marginal.  Most current amateur gear beats the pants of this equipment. Along the way, personal stations, otherwise entirely usable, were non grata along with their owner-operators, many of whom were hams.  I was there through it all but chose to hang around until recently.  Many units can't change a plug on a coax, anymore.de K3HVG


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-------- Original message --------
From: Robert Nickels <ranickel at comcast.net> 
Date: 3/25/18  18:24  (GMT-05:00) 
To: mrca at mailman.qth.net 
Subject: Re: [MRCA] PRC-74 ... Now CAP 

On 3/25/2018 3:22 PM, Mike Morrow wrote:
> I was active in CAP, Arkansas Wing (1968-1972).  My main interest was communications because the flying part was too expensive.

I became aware of CAP a couple of years earlier than that, as a rival in 
high school was involved in CAP and I'd just got my ham license, and 
we'd each insist their particular hobby was superior ;-)  My interest 
was mostly on the communications side as well.

This was in Nebraska where World Radio Labs in Council Bluffs IA was the 
only ham store withing driving distance for most of the state and thus 
where most hams bought and traded their gear.    I remember this kid had 
a WRL Globe CB in his car for the 26.620 Mhz CAP frequency with the 8 
foot whip and all, which I was highly envious of (both the radio and the 
fact that he had his own car!) but the thing I remember clearly is their 
base station at the airport.   It was the first and only time I'd seen a 
WRL Meteor SB-175 transmitter until I found one of my own 30+ years 
later. Even though it was one of the two commercial double sideband 
transmitters  ever sold,  the CAP nets were in the AM mode at that time 
and that's how the transmitter was used, screen modulated with a crystal 
for 4585 KHz.   I can't remember what their receiver was, but I 
memorized the frequency and would listen to the nightly state net 
operations from home.

If there were standards or approved equipment lists for radio equipment, 
it's hard to believe an obscure rig like the WRL Meteor would be on 
it!   I suspect there weren't and wings were allowed to buy and use 
whatever they wanted, which in my area meant they did their radio 
shopping in Council Bluffs just like most of the hams did.

I know the hobby magazines and online sources still show lists of HF 
frequencies for various regions - are they still in operation?   If so 
are they still just using single frequencies or have they gone to ALE?   
It would be fun to listen in again if there's anything to listen to.

73, Bob W9RAN

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