It seems retrans on the British radios is a
simpler process. There is no requirement for specialized
connector cables. The wireline connection on the side is
used. D10 wire (aka is wd1) is used to connect the
radios. Min Distance is not mentioned in the manual
however this requires the use of the surf unit on the
radio. Surf is the “selective unit radio frequency”.
It’s basically an input filter. This allows the radio to
operate in close proximity to other radios on the same
bands. It is possible to operate with his little as 2 MHz
separation And requires both units to have properly tune
surf which can be done in the field.
The radios can even be separated in a retransmit station
as far as 3 km via wireline so it’s possible that radios
from two Forward operating bases that are connected via
wireline can be used in a re-transmit operation. But the
co-locating abilities of the 351 is superior to the PRC 77
in its simplicity.
Several years ago I want to say around 2014-ish maybe
earlier we set up a re-trans station in the picnic Grove
up from the fire company and were able to re-broadcast
back to Gilbert. That day we were actually using both PRC
351 and we even did a cross band re-trans using the PRC
344 on 2:20 AM
I have gained a healthy appreciation for the design and
simplicity of the British radios
73
Walt
> On Sep 29, 2021, at 22:49, Gene Smar via MRCA <
[email protected]>
wrote:
>
> Thanks, Gary.
>
> It would be fun to try this ourselves but we'd need
to find a way to transmit within the 6M amateur band
exclusively.� TM 11-5820-667-12 for the PRC-77, p 6-1,
states that Cable Assembly, Special Purpose, Electrical
CX-4656/GRC is needed to interconnect the two -77s.� It
also states that the two freqs must be at least 3 Mc
apart.� We'd have to check for interference between our
selected freqs by checking the freq compatibility table
also in the TM above.� Lots of spurs possible with
synthesized radios, I guess.
>
> I read somewhere, and include this bit of info in my
PPT presentation on squad radios, that this relay
arrangement was used in Vietnam to enhance comms between
troops on the battlefields and artillery batteries miles
away.� The relay, I had read, was inside a fixed-wing
aircraft orbiting at some low altitude between the
battlefield and the artillery.� Can anyone confirm this
from his own experience?
>
>
> 73 de
> Gene Smar� AD3F
>