I have been campaigning around with the M151A1 and its load of radios for several years now. It’s been a blast doing shows like MRCA Gilbert, Hagerstown MVPA show and the Delaware Goes to War event. But the M151 has its limitations. I am considering migrating to a M1009 CUCV . The biggest advantage to the CUCV is that it can be street driven and not have to be transported everywhere by trailer.

Imagin if I worked at it, I could get plates for the M151 but the thought of driving it great distances to and from events and on modern highways is not at all appealing. Although there may be questions about operating a CUCV at highway speeds for prolonged distances.

The real question is what about radios? The Mutt is equipped with a AN/GRC-106, VRC-12 (RT-524) and a URC-110 to provide HF SSB along with high and low VHF. More than adequate for voice, RTTY and NCS at events but have been thinking of a couple of different ideas for the CUCV.

The first idea was to install a GRC-215 suite, that would have provided full HF including USB/LSB opps at 100 watts. Have options to pick up some of the components and had the key part in the GRC-215 backpack set but somehow, I had let the radio get away from me and now do not appear to be able to replace it. Bad move on my part because a Regency Net vehicle would have been a fun project.

The second option is to install a Harris Falcon (5020, amplifier and ATU), maybe a SINCGARS set although they tend to get pricy and go with that? The biggest problem with that is that I only have one compleat 5020 set up and use that all the time in the shop.

The third option is another GRC-106 and VRC-12 set up. The advantage of that would be that I have lots of resources and experience on that stuff. Maybe stuff a Motorola Micor in there for 52? The CUCV has both 12- and 24-volt systems.

Curious to see what others think and may have had experience with. The 106 supports USB/RTTY all day long with all sorts of antennas where the Falcon stuff would do both USB and LSB but the LSB thing is not as big a deal out in the field as you would think. Do a lot of Ham opps on twenty and seventeen meters and have no real desire to talk with the crowd on forty or eighty. To this day I will not modify or operate a PRC-47 on LSB just because there are so many good cheap Ham rigs out there that if you want to do that just use them. If you cannot understand that then somehow feel you are missing the whole point.

Just in the process of writing this am more inclined to do the GRC-106, would have been fun to do a Regency Net vehicle but need to come up with another GRC-215 backpack.