MILITARY COLLECTOR GROUP POST, FEB.16/98 INDEX: OFF THE SHELF PRICK's; PART III, PRC-73>91 by Dennis Starks INVITATION FOR COMMERCIAL DEALERS; GPS,& TRIMBLE TRIMPACK; MEMBERS WRITE; HUMOR; ********************************************** OFF THE SHELF PRICK's; PART III, PRC-73>91 by Dennis Starks We've now progressed into the age of all solid state radios, and with this is born some design innovations that will be seen in all hand helds today. Yes, true hand held "walkie talkies", not hand carried, or lunch box radios. The years represented here are ruffly 1967 through 1972, though the radios themselves would live on in service for some years to come. You should notice a trend of the military to use the lower powered variant of a particular model radio, even though a more powerful commercial version was available. This only makes since, as believe me, a 5 watt radio does not work any better over a one or two mile path, given the same terrain, than does a 2 watt radio. Yet the battery life/operation time, are greatly increased with the later. This holds true, even to this day were the recent PRC-127 was available in a 5 watt version, the military used a 2 watt model, even for tactical purposes. Did you ever wonder, that during the over 20 year life span of the PRC-77, and with that, greatly advanced technology, that it's output power was never increased? There were other reasons that the military adopted a low power doctrine, but this is not our topic of discussion today. Along with a preference for lower power, the military also would opt for the higher capacity batteries, again showing a desire for extended operational time. Also, though a particular model radio could have boasted a number of optional "Bells & Whistles", the military will always take the Plain Jane version, and you can bet it was not in an attempt to save money! Lastly, and sometimes confusing, very few of these radios will be found with a government data tag, especially the later model ones. Not because they've been removed either. While on the other hand, the radios retirement from service in complete civilian dress was/is very common. PRC-73; Hand held VHF, FM transceiver. Built by Repco for the US Navy with a unit cost of $753.00. The PRC-73 & others, was to be replace by the PRC-94V1. Ops 132-174mc, with 1.5 watts RF output. Requires 25vdc. NSN 5820-00-989-4705, no further information. Ref.#28 I have no idea what this thing was. But the operating voltage, combined with the manufacturer is very strange. As it was to be replaced by the PRC-94, it's vintage could have been anywhere between 1965 and about 1972, I'd lean toward 1967. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PRC-91;Handheld VHF, FM transceiver. Resembles small narrow BC-611. Haze gray in color, & is constructed of high impact plastic. Known US Navy use. No further information. Ref.#27 As will be seen shortly, there were several variants of the PRC-91 and that their basic design lived on in their successor, the PRC-94. But this radio was completely different. I acquired an example of one of these while serving in the Med aboard USS John F, Kennedy(CV-67), by purely innocent means! It had been cast off by the ET's for some reason, anyway, they gave it to me. It was completely different than other PRC-91's or 94's in physical design, internally and externally. Externally it was only about 1.5 inches thick, 3 inches wide, and 11 inches long. It had a separated mic, and earphone sticking out the narrow edge similar to a BC-611. And was made of a haze gray, high impact, ribbed plastic. Internally, it was designed using a single board, and discrete solid state devices. The later Motorola would use two boards sandwiched together, while the Repco was all modular. Anyway while returning the States for separation from the Navy in 1980, I was accosted by Customs in Palma Spain whereupon they relieved me of it. Along with my Honer harmonica's I'd had sense high school, and a bunch of my other booty, err trinkets. I've not seen or heard of one sense that time, nor has it shown up in any publications. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ PRC-91A/RT-291A; Handheld VHF, FM transceiver. Adoption of a commercial Repco model series 10-8(810-009-010) for general purpose non-tactical communications. It was this radio that while in service with the US Navy, alerted the world to the splashdown of Apollo 13. The PRC-91A is completely different physically than the PRC-91, & is only functionally equivalent to the RT-918, having similar size & operational parameters. Very similar to the PRC-94, most accessories & modules are interchangeable. Ops 132-150.8mc, on one(optionally two) xtal control frequencies,with an RF power output of 2 watts(optionally 4 watts). Requires 12-15v provided by a variety of optional battery combinations that could be slid onto the bottom of the RT unit. As issued, the radio has a combination battery box/charger that uses a nicad battery similar to that of a Motorola HT-200. Size 5 1/2"H x 3 1/4"W x 1 3/4"T(less battery box), 10 1/2"tall(with battery) Accessories include, telescoping 1/4 wave antenna, CY-6502 leather carry case. The PRC-91A as with other equipment of this type & vintage,were to be replaced by the PRC-94V1. Original US Navy cost $1060.00. NSN 5820-922-2858, circa 1968. Ref.#23,#28 This was the first radio in military inventory to utilized the now familiar hand held, or "walkie talkie" ergonomic stile common today, or the first one with a PRC designation anyway. It was also innovative in several other areas as will be seen. Like tactical radios of then and now, it used sealed plug in modules as did it's predecessor the PRC-58. This method greatly simplified both service and logistics in the field, and must have been most attractive to the military as the technique would live on, unchanged in it's successor, the PRC-94. And the PRC-94 would replace ALL others in this class of radios. Also, of the early "Off the Self" radios, this one was the first to be rugged enough for use in a tactical role should the need arise. And it's very possible that it did. Another first for this radio was the method by which the battery was secured to the radio. It slid onto the bottom via rails, then locked in place. It would be another ten years before Motorola adopted such a system on their MX series. Today this method is used on all but very few UHF and VHF HT's, Ham or commercial. The only real difference between the Repco and it's Military counterpart, was it's battery. The military model used a hollow version of the standard Repco battery, that could be opened up, and a Motorola battery inserted(same battery as used on the HT-200 among others). Also a built in 110vac charger was included, with it's cord stored rapped around the lowest extreme of the radio set. This made for a very tall radio. It is very difficult to determine which of these last two PRC-91's came first. The Motorola version has a higher RT number which usually is the best indication of vintage, and as such would tend to indicate it came after the Repco. But it was in commercial production before the Repco. The Repco on the other hand has the PRC-91(A) designation which would make us think it came after the Motorola, also the fact that it uses a Motorola battery. But this battery was very common at the time, and was used on several commercial radios. I think it might go like this, the original PRC-91(BC-611 lookin thing) came first. Then the Repco, and it was affixed with the (A) suffix to differentiate it from it's predecessor. The Motorola then was adopted to augment supplies of the Repco. Though it's PRC-91 designation stayed the same, it was given the appropriately higher RT number. One thing is for sure, the Repco was far better suited for military service, and this may account for it's adoption before the Motorola even though the later had been around longer. 1969 saw the apex of the Vietnam war, and with that an increased need for equipment, we can surmise that it was then that the Motorola came on the seen. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PRC-91/RT-918; Hand held VHF, FM transceiver. Adoption of the commercial Motorola model HT-200(Z23DEN1100A) Handie Talkie. Ops 132-150mc on one(optionally two) xtal control channels. RF power output is rated at 1.4 watts. Requires 14vdc as supplied by a special internal dry or nicad battery. Accessories include ZAD6060A,ZNK6009A,ZLN6116A,ZSN6002A.To be replaced by the PRC-94V1, the original US Navy cost was $2840.00. NSN 5820-00-889-7556. Circa 1965. Ref.#28 As the description indicates, other that physical size, operational parameters, and intended purpose, there is no similarity between the PRC-91/RT-918(Motorola HT-200), and the PRC-91A/RT-291(Repco). While I have never seen the military version, one of our members has. It differs from it's commercial counterpart in that it, like the Repco, has a built in 110vac battery charger. But unlike the Repco who's power cord is rapped around the base of the radio, and permanently attached, the Motorala's is plugged into a connector at the top of the radio. Another major difference is the method their batteries are attached, the Motorola's battery is housed inside the radio's case, access being gained via a detachable trap door on the lower back of the radio, and as has already been described, the Repco's battery was external, a affixed to the bottom of the radio. The last major difference was the design of the circuit board. The Motorola has two boards sandwiched together, using discrete components. This requiring the most skilled of service technicians to maintain the set, also making it less desirable for military service. On the other hand, the Repco was all modular. The Motorola HT-200 is one of the oldest solid state HT's in existence, having interred the market around 1965. Though Motorola claims that it was the first fully solid state radio to inter the field, this is not true, there were several others first, including the GE Carry Comm series. But it was a very tuff radio, and survived in the hands of many users, including the military until the early 1980's, even though no longer in production, and being severely outclassed by it's successor the HT-220 in around 1970. The later would also see military service in both it's military and commercial forms. ********************************************** INVITATION FOR COMMERCIAL DEALERS; I've drafted the below invitation to be sent to prospective dealers. See what you think of it, if all agree and can think of no modifications that need be made. Then it will become our official document, and rules. In that event you should be able to copy/paste it to an outgoing message to be sent to any prospective reputable commercial dealers. Thanks, Dennis ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Dear Sirs, I represent an international email group of military collectors, historians, and museums, centered mainly on, but not limited to communications equipment and history. We publish a daily email magazine (Military Collector Group Post) which features articles on items of radio equipment it's use, and history in general. Along with this we have regular post listing our members wanted, and extra equipment available for sale or trade. Of these, the equipment wanted is most common. All this it done at absolutely no cost to any member. While in the past, membership to commercial dealers has been strictly limited, a recent pole has indicated that the general membership would like to amend this to allow a limited membership to reputable commercial dealers. This so that they might be able to monitor the needs of our members and supply assistance whenever in their power, and to their mutual advantage. With the above, the creation of a new column in our publication entitled, "On the Commercial Front". Here we will feature adds from commercial dealers, or in general, non-member resources. This column would be available to you as a limited member at no cost, to advertise your wears, catalog availability etc. Rules would however apply to the use of this column. First, you must be able to conduct all negotiations via email, your ability to transmit a catalog on this medium is optional, but to your advantage if possible. Second, any item advertized in this column must be available in sufficient quantities to allow participation by a reasonable number of our members. I/E no single item sales. Of course you may still sell any quantity or type of equipment to members as a result of their posted individual needs. Third, items advertised in this column must include a reasonable price, and reflect a savings peculiar to our members alone, under that which you would expect to charge the general public. I/E special member prices only. This should still prove profitable for you do to the quantities you might expect to sell, combined with no further cost like advertizing. Also single item sales to our members in response to their posted want list, as a result of your membership, will further contribute to your general profits. Fourth, the available space in this column is limited, you will be able to advertized the availabily of only a couple items at a time. For anything over this, you might advertize the avalability of your catalog. Fifth, you must advise me in the event that your quantities have become limited, or sold out. So that I may discontinue any unnecessary advertizing, thus conserving the limited space. Last, It will be absolutely forbidden to send unsolicited mail,"SPAMS", using this group, or email addresses you might receive as a result of being a member. ALL messages to the group must go through the editor. You will be able to confirm the membership of a prospective customer before extending any special price to them. Also keep in mind that the general membership of this organization is screened, and all have agreed to abide by rules before they are included in our number. There should therefore be no dead beats among us. If you would like to participate let me know, and I'll send you more information about our group. Dennis Starks; MILITARY RADIO COLLECTOR/HISTORIAN military-radio-guy@juno.com Editor, "Military Collector Group Post". An international email magazine dedicated to the preservation of history and the equipment that made it. ********************************************** GPS,& TRIMBLE TRIMPACK; Dennis: Fair is out of GPS System. Located a Trimble Trimpack GPS, SATNAV Receiver. Share some of your knowledge about them PLEASE. PasqualeNJ@AOL.com ---------------------------------------------------------------------- I don't no shit about these things, I got a Rand McNaly map. But Sheldon does. Dennis ----------------------------------------------------------------------- The old Trimble "Trimpacks" that Fair Radio had were what I would call a first generation GPS product. You can get so much more for your money now, even compared to the "surplus" price that Fair was selling these for. The TrimPack is large by today's standards, and does not have features like moving map display which have become standard for GPS receivers in the last several years. Also, the constant improvement of components has allowed all manufacturers to produce units with much lower power consumption, a big factor if you want to use it portable (i.e. not in the car). We (Garmin) have units that sell for around $150 retail that have much much more waypoint storage capability, moving map display, more sensitive receiver, and about 1/8 the volume, and rather than a big expensive NiCad pack, it runs on 4x AA batteries for about 20 hours. Also easy to plug into your computer to up/down-load information, such as waypoints and track recording information. You can see our products at www.garmin.com and I suspect our competitors all have web sites, particularly Trimble and Magellan. Without trying to sound to boastful, I'd say we are the "big 3" of GPS products for consumers (read civilians). One thing about the Trimpack, it was used by US forces in Desert Storm, which might have some merit as a collectible at some point in the future, but I'd hate to have to use one after using the current technology products. If you have other questions, I'd be glad to try to answer them. There are several guys at my office that probably know a lot about the TrimPack. Best regards, Sheldon Wheaton swheaton@sky.net ********************************************** MEMBERS WRITE; Early PRC's, Great stuff on the early (commercial) PRC stuff. I was too late in the military to see that stuff but I worked with the commercial versions in my early years of work in the fire dept. My first fire radio was a 1 watt GE packset that used 2 tubes run by a pair of 67v batteries and the receiver had 10 D-cells. It remained in my truck despite my brother's insistence that it was a portable. Ken Well, we're workin our way up to your time in service. I think you'll be surprised at some of the models that show up. I had a couple of those old GE's, they were monsters! Mine ran from "D" cell nicads, with an inverter power supply. I robbed the inverter to operate my PRC-10. The rest of the guts are layin around here somewhere. Dennis -------------------------------------------------------------------- Government Disposal, Hue Miller: did you see electronics disposed of too? Rolly Michaelis: yes, i saw it stacked up and bulldozed over the cliff too. [ "Suicide Cliff" at Saipan ]. i wanted to get some, too, but I wouldn't have been able to climb back up carrying anything heavy; anyway they were alternating loads of equipment and tools with loads of rock and dirt over the cliff. HM: so if they were stacking up Snap-On toolboxes and then pushing them over the cliff, how were you able to get any tools for yourself? RM: well the GIs there had orders to push the toolboxes over the cliff; they didn't have orders to keep anyone from taking tools out of the toolboxes. anyway, the captain would watch us as we returned to the ship, he could see if we were carrying anything big. now re your comment on current surplus disposal, how does this jibe with the USAF's bulldozers crunching up 10 Racal recent - model radio receivers, at Elmendorf AFB in 1995 ? "Your Tax Dollars At Work". Or, storing hundreds of R-390s outside over winter, so that their value is drastically reduced? hue Your story holds true for, especialy for offshore surplus. In the case of the dozer work, and outdoor storage, they then auctioned it off as I've said. A short story, I grew up about 5 miles from the Lake City Munitions Plant, and a number of my relatives worked there, including my mother. From 1969 to at least 1975, they were producing fuses for 1000 pound bombs that had been barried in the ground in South Korea in 1951. I didn't think much of this till a few years latter and I saw them for myself during "Shop Sticks" aboard an aircraft carrier. Another shortie, when the last Battle Ship was re-commissioned in 1981(Missouri ?). A similar process took place to outfit it's 16 inch guns. These too were found barried some place. I had shortly gottin out of the service and they tried to get me to come back, they having a need for Radioman that had served aboard "Big Boys" to train her facilities control operators, I told um "screw you"! They also placed adds in all the various veterans publications trying to find someone still alive to come back and show them how to operate the big guns, there wasn't anyone left in the service that did. Dennis ********************************************** HUMOR; Over the massive front doors of a church, these words were inscribed:The Gate of Heaven". Below that was a small cardboard sign which read: "Please use other entrance." Rev. Warren J. Keating, Pastor of the First Presbyterian Church of Yuma AZ, says that the best prayer he ever heard was: "Lord, please make me the kind of person my dog thinks I am." A Woman went to the Post Office to buy stamps for her Christmas cards. "What Denomination?" Asked the clerk. "Oh, good heavens! Have we come to this?" said the woman. "Well give me 50 Baptist and 50 Catholic ones." On a very cold, snowy Sunday in February, only the pastor and one farmer arrived at the village church. The pastor said, "Well, I guess we won't have a service today." The farmer replied: "Heck, if even only one cow shows up at feeding time, I feed it." During a children's sermon, Rev. Larry Eisenberg asked the children what "Amen" means. A little boy raised his hand and said: "It means - 'Tha-tha-tha-that's all folks!' " A student was asked to list the 10 Commandments in any order. His answer? "3, 6, 1, 8, 4, 5, 9, 2, 10, 7". I was at the beach with my children when my four-year-old son ran up to me, grabbed my hand, and led me to the shore, where a sea gull lay dead in the sand. "Mommy, what happened to him?" the little boy asked. "He died and went to Heaven," I replied. My son thought a moment and then said, "And God threw him back down?" Bill Keane, creator of the Family Circus cartoon strip tells of a time when he was penciling one of his cartoons and his son Jeffy said, "Daddy, how do you know what to draw?" I said, "God tells me." Jeffy said, "Then why do you keep erasing parts of it?" After the church service, a little boy told the pastor: "When I grow up, I'm going to give you some money." "Well, thank you," the pastor replied, "but why?" "Because my daddy says you're one of the poorest preachers we've ever had." My wife invited some people to dinner. At the table, she turned to our six-year-old daughter and said, "Would you like to say the blessing?" I wouldn't know what to say," she replied. "Just say what you hear Mommy say," my wife said. Our daughter bowed her head and said: "DearLord, why on earth did I invite all these people to dinner?" -------------------------------------------------------------------- HERE THEY ARE!!! The Darwin Award is awarded posthumously each year to the person who found the most creative way to accidentally kill him or herself, thus sparing our gene pool the benefits (?) of DNA of such questionable value. And the 1997 winner was: BUXTON, NC A man died on a beach when an 8-foot-deep hole he had dug into the sand caved in as he sat inside it. Beachgoers said Daniel Jones, 21, dug the hole for fun, or protection from the wind, and had been sitting in a beach chair at the bottom Thursday afternoon when it collapsed, burying him beneath 5 feet of sand. People on the beach on the Outer Banks used their hands and shovels, trying in vain to claw their way to Jones, a resident of Woodbridge, VA. It took rescue workers using heavy almost an hour to free him while about 200 people looked on. Jones was pronounced dead at a hospital." You just wouldn't believe the outpouring of concern, people digging with their hands, using pails from kids," Dare County Sheriff Bert Austin said. __________________________________ Honorable mentions include: In February, Santiago Alvarado, 24, was killed in Lompoc, CA, as he fell face-first through the ceiling of a bicycle shop he was burglarizing. Death was caused when the large flashlight he had placed in his mouth (to keep his hands free) crammed against the base of his skull as he hit the floor. ----- According to police in Dahlonega, GA, ROTC cadet Nick Berrena, 20, was stabbed to death in January by fellow cadet Jeffrey Hoffman, 23, who was trying to prove that a knife could not penetrate the flak vest Berrena was wearing. ----- Sylvester Briddell, Jr., 26, was killed in February in Selbyville, DE, as he won a bet with friends who said he would not put a revolver loaded with four bullets into his mouth and pull the trigger. ----- In February, according to police in Windsor, Ont., Daniel Kolta, 27, and Randy Taylor, 33, died in a collision, thus earning a tie in the game of chicken they were playing with their snowmobiles. ----- In October, a 49-year-old San Francisco stockbroker, who "totally zoned when he ran," according to his wife, accidentally jogged off of a 200-foot-high cliff on his daily run. ----- In September in Detroit, a 41-year-old man got stuck and drowned in two feet of water after squeezing through an 18-inch-wide sewer grate to retrieve his car keys. ----- In September, a 7-year- old boy fell off a 100-foot-high bluff near Ozark, AR, after he lost his grip swinging on a cross that marked the spot where another person had fallen to his death in 1990. ----- DARWIN AWARD WANNA-BE'S In Guthrie, OK, in October, Jason Heck tried to kill a millipede with a shot from his .22-caliber rifle, but the bullet ricocheted off a rock near the hole and hit pal Antonio Martinez in the head, fracturing his skull. ----- In Elyria, OH, in October, Martyn Eskins, attempting to clean out cobwebs in his basement, declined to use a broom in favor of a propane torch and caused a fire that burned the first and second floors of his house. ----- Paul Stiller, 47, was hospitalized in Andover Township, NJ, in September, and his wife Bonnie was also injured, by a quarter-stick of dynamite that blew up in their car. While driving around at 2 a.m., the bored couple lit the dynamite and tried to toss it out the window to see what would happen, but they apparently failed to notice that the window was closed. ----- Taking "Amateur Night" Too Far: In Betulia, Colombia, an annual festival in November includes five days of amateur bullfighting. This year, no bull was killed, but dozens of matadors were injured, including one gored in the head and one Bobbittized. Said one participant, "It's just one bull against [a town of] a thousand morons." ----- STUPID CRIMINAL TRICKS-------------------- Jeffrey J. Pyrcioch, 19, and an alleged accomplice were arrested in West Lafayette, IN, in May on theft and fraud charges. Pyrcioch allegedly cashed checks that he had written with disappearing ink, believing the checks would be blank by the time they were presented to the bank for collection. However, traces of ink remained, and police said Pyrcioch would have a better chance of getting away with it if he had not used checks pre-printed with his name and account number on them. [Washington Post, 6-2-96] ----- In August, 12 men were arrested near Szczecin in northern Poland as they were digging up a road because they had heard a rumor that it was built with a large stockpile of police-confiscated hashish. The hashish had been sold to a chemical plant to be incinerated into ash for road construction. ----- Paul Carthy, 25, pleaded guilty in Exeter, England, in September to theft subsequent to his original charge of shoplifting from a liquor store. In the second theft, he had stolen the magnetic letters off the board that was held up to his face when his mug shot was taken. ----- In September, according to police in Junction City, KA, David Bell, 30, just released from jail for car theft, walked out the door and stole another car to get home. ----- And in October, William B. Singleton, 24, just released from jail in Belton, MO, on a larceny charge, allegedly broke into a vending machine in the lobby of the police station and stole a 60-cent Strawberry Twisteroo while he waited for his ride to arrive. ********************************************** (The preceding was a product of the"Military Collector Group Post", an international email magazine dedicated to the preservation of history and the equipment that made it. Unlimited circulation of this material is authorized so long as the proper credits to the original authors, and publisher are included. For more information conserning this group contact Dennis Starks at, military-radio-guy@juno.com)