From: military-radio-guy Full-Name: Dennis R Starks To: military radio collectors#1 Fcc: Sent Date: Mon, 26 Apr 1999 07:51:26 Subject: MILITARY COLLECTOR GROUP POST, Apr.26/99 Message-ID: <19990426.075028.4191.9.military-radio-guy@juno.com> X-Status: Sent X-Mailer: Juno 1.49 MILITARY COLLECTOR GROUP POST, Apr.26/99 Index: ANNOUNCEMENTS; SPECIAL EVENT REPORTS; Joplin Mo. Little Rock Ark. DALLAS HAMCOM JUNE 11-13; MEMBERS WRITE; I-177, and Navy Antenna? BC-349-O? AN/AST-3? HUMOR; *********************************************** ANNOUNCEMENTS; *********************************************** SPECIAL EVENT REPORTS; Joplin Mo. How I Journeyed to the Joplin Hamfest and What I Learnt There By Bob Simpson N0NTC It was was black outside when I roused myself at four. I was determined to complete my daily chores and start my journey by five O'Clock. After greeting and feeding the horses and cats, and seeing to the comfort of my faithful hound, I set out. I travelled light, carrying only some money and the Notices of our Houston Hamfest to be distributed liberally at Joplin. The travelling was arduous under frowning skies and light snow at Diggins, but I was able to arrive at Joplin precisely at eight. I noticed the large red Power-Wagon of our Mutual Friend on the other side of the parking area, but saw no familiar faces at the entrance. Once inside, I fell to examining the rows of tables including the one that hawked Radio Cosmetics and Room-Fresheners. The cavernous room roared with massed conversation as I moved quickly, endeavouring to pass all the tables before making any purchases. The tables were remarkably bare of What We Collect; the only green gear extant was that being offered by our Mutual Friend, Dennis KB0SFP. I discovered that Jim Shoemaker W0NKL had passed ahead of me and swept the tables clean of Hammarlund and National receivers, including a dusty HQ-140 I would surely have obtained had I seen it first. Some trifles I did obtain include a Crosley model 53 TRF receiver, a Morrow Conelrad Monitor, and some small clutter of batteries and connectors. Among the Significant Items were the PRT-4 and PRR-9 radios in new condition that I bought from Dennis. His table was heavy with VHF power amplifiers, mobile antenna bases, and numerous other items from his civilian-radio business. An open tray of PRT-4's and PRR-9's attracted much attention and their numbers were much reduced in the course of the day. Across the aisle from Dennis was a Watkins-Johnson VHF surveillance receiver of the type popular with the CIA during the late Cold War. I held back, thinking the price would be out of my reach. More on this later. Dennis was away from his table much of the time, keeping a PRC-25 available so that prospective customers could get his attention. During the hours after lunch, I was sorely tempted by a giant yellow Spectrum-Analyzer; about twelve cubic feet of 1960's vacuum-tube technology intended to check the airborne radars of early fighter-jets. It was offered for $30, surely the Bargain of the Day for somebody with their own F-100 Super-Sabre. Another bargain I missed was a half-finished linear amplifier offered for $50, much less than the price of the four new 811A's I could see inside. Near the end of the day, Dennis and I went searching for last-minute bargains and Free Stuff. What I learnt was something most of you know already; hamfesters don't want to haul that stuff back home! We had large quantities of books pressed on us, and a large plastic computer- desk that Dennis will have to find room for. Boxes of miscellany came our way, GE FM monitor receivers, a Motorola phone-patch, a Clegg 2-meter FM transceiver with power-supply(from Dennis). At the last possible minute, I was able to get the Watkins-Johnson receiver for a much-reduced price. Waving cash is an effective haggling method. Dennis left Joplin ahead of me, but I overtook and passed him about ten miles out of town. I was later to learn that he ran out of gas at Mt. Vernon. I should have followed him a little longer, as I always carry a gas-can. This hamfest followed the growing trend; a lack of collectable military radios. It seems that many Desireable Items are already in the hands of their Final Owners, and will not again come on the market. Bob n0ntc@train.missouri.org ed) So I ran out of gas, shit happens! The damn gas gauge quit, was stranded on the interstate for 2.5 hours till I could get ahold of friends via 2mtrs in Mt Vernon. There was absolutely nothin there green in color, nor even black crinkle. In the process of the day a kid came along with a story of military equipment from an estate he had brought along for my inspection. Hark, it was in the trunk of his car! I summoned Bob, and off we went in great anticipation to the parking lot to investigate. To my great dismay twas only a couple of late 40's vintage fighter pilot helmits and audio gear. I bought the damn things anyway refusing to go home empty handed after a 130(plus) mile drive. Bob did scoop me on the Watkins Johnson surveillance receiver. It had been marked $250 and me knowing the guy who had it thought it fruitless to haggle with him. Bob got it for $100. We both got scooped by a mutually disliked Vulture from Oklahoma who carted off the only thing of possible interest, an HF/SSB version of Bobs VHF/UHF receiver. $50 took it! Dennis ----------------------------------------------------------------- Little Rock Ark. Listen up, members. Figure out how to get to a hamfest where Dennis has one of his displays. He gives you the opportunity to see some equipment that is remarkable. It's one thing to read about this stuff in a book or in email. But to see it up close, touch it, turn a knob or two - that's the real deal. Dennis does an excellent job presenting his equipment. Thanks, Dennis! I didn't spot any green radios in the flea market but Dennis obtained some interesting field phones that he will probably write about and put on display. I had an ARR-15, ARR-41, and a GRC-19 on display. Don WA5BBS "I survived the Little Rock Hamfest" Drove down the 375 miles from Nashville late late Friday, getting into town too late to actually remember. Showed up at the fest first thing in the morning though. Originally I had planned on just driving down to trade a guy a radio but ended up staying for a while. Not a bad hamfest really, but much smaller than I had imagined it to be. The good news is I got to meet The Military Radio Guy. I had imagined him to be an old fogie type, but naaah, just a cool fellow who reminded me of a slightly mad Scottsman. :-) He brought a good selection of stuff from his collection to display for the fest - more stuff than I can even remember, actually. ( I am getting CRS a little early ) Lots of nifty Racal stuff, Russian stuff, and a hell of nice assorment of spy radio gear. And no matter where he was, he was in reach, evindent by the two radios with signs instructing anyone that needed him to pick up the handset and holler "Hey Dennis!" Pretty cool. Don Reaves was there with his display collection as well as a regular table. Nice collection, with an ARR-41, R-105, GRC-19 and others too numerous to mention ( OK, CRS again... ) I kept meaning to stop by the AR Army National Guard display and look inside the commo shelter, but was in such a hurry to drive back and plug in the G133F I traded for I ended up leaving without doing so. Did end up buying a nice TA-43 field phone from Dennis, so I didn't go away from the place empty handed. Also got a chance to see Dennis' Power Wagon, and boy can I tell you that is one cool truck. It is a ambulance body, painted red, lotsa room inside. And apparently BBQ had I shown up Friday night.... Maybe next time. :-) Gotta make the trip to Cross Timbers some time soon as my tradin' stock gets built back up, cuz Dennis says he has so much stuff he doesnt even remember what he has. LOL! Oh, the G133F is a great radio, and will try to do a report on it when I get it fully refurbished. Anyone with any info I can use in the report, please send it on. Tom Norris KA4RKT Nashville http://www.telalink.net/~badger/millist/mi.html Now the "Rest of the Story"! ed) Ike and I left here about noon Thursday attempting to time our arrival(after a near 300 mile trip) just before dark(Ike lives about 160 miles from here so his travel time was even more than mine). About 5.5 hours later we arrived and commenced our camping in the parking lot. Little did we know that we were camped near an historic site. That of the trailer park where Paula Jones once lived(or so we were told). Of course, the reason for our trip was to put on a exhibit of equipment at the request of the event sponsors. This years featured items were clandestine, and captured enemy radios dating from WW-II to present. Planned to take up four tables, five where actually needed. The first several hours of Friday morning were spent alternating between setting up the exhibit, and closely watching the load-in door for any signs of green materials to pounce on. Finally some green stuff came through, walst Ike and I argued over who had seen it first, the presents of some familiar items in the bed of the same truck told me that these things belonged to Don so's most likely couldn't be had, so I let Ike win this one. Sure as shit, the supper clean T-195 and various other goodies where indeed Don's and headed for his own part of the exhibited. So we ooohed and aaahed over it for awhile, bad mouthed the government for absconding with it's meters then bid it farewell hoping that the limber table it was headed for would hold up under the immense load. The local National Guard had a couple commo vehicles there. One held some Sat Com shit, the other, a Hummer, held of all things, a VRC-12. The guy's standin in with it didn't know squat about the thing other than it was an antique. I jumped right in, turned it on, dialed up 51mc, and off it went. All while their mouths were hanging open. They said they had only used it to listen to TV stations with. I must admit, I did the same thing off the coast of Guantonimo bay. While the hamfest did boast a lot of really nice commercial equipment from the 20's and 30's, nothin of military origin would surface the rest of the day except some old Motorola Micom HF/SSB trunk mount mobiles, retired from some obscure government agency. One of these would be acquired later to satisfy some of my mounting bill with Jim Hopper over the recent MX/PX endeavor. As the doors finally opened early Saturday morning, we again began our "search and acquire" mission. But nothin showed, not green, nor Black, nor even haze gray. Only hordes of CB junk, computers, and some accessional shit of Oriental origin. There was a really nice high end SGC priced out of my range at $600(down from $700 of the year before) but it got traded for, horrors, a Yeasu, before I could raise the needed funds. Finally, some light would shine, an old guy presented me with a list of goodies he had to part with. He figured he was close to death at his age and was liquidating much of his collection. As he already had carted in a couple tables worth of 20's vintage equipment that was excessively priced, I didn't really hold much hope. But as he only lived 30 minutes away I convinced him to go get the stuff. About an hour later here he came to fetch me to the parking lot. He had some super interesting, and rare OLD items. He had figured up what he had in them and presented me with a price of $100 over that amount. I likta shit! Haggling was futile, there was no budging the old guy. I even showed him how much money I had, but to no avail. He just said "write me check for the balance", I said, "but it'll bounce". Finally he told me I could give him what I had to spare and pay him the rest later. This I couldn't resist. I took the stuff and forked over the initial $250 hoping that the few trinkets I'd brought for the flea market might net the needed balance, which later it did but by only a very narrow margin. The treasures acquired amounted to 2ea EE-1A field telegraph/telephone sets(Buzzerfones) dated 1919, 4ea US Forest Service field telephones circa approx 1910(used in WW-I) real neat lookin old things. A TA-43 that Tom Norris later took, and some who cares WW-II field remote control stuff. Thats about the total haul from Little Rock, not much, but not empty handed either. Ike got nothin of any consequence except to spend the weekend with yours truly. Ike, Don, and I spent much of Friday, and Saturday morning anxiously awaiting the arrival, and my first meeting of, Tom Norris who was suppose to be on his way. finally he showed mid Saturday morning for an only too short visit. We spent most of this time bad mouthing Motorola who Tom is intimately familiar with. Sorrily his stay was short, and he left for home with all his booty held in one arm. Not much to show for a 350 mile drive across Tennessee, but he did get to meet me. The trip to and from was uneventful, nothin broke on the old Power Wagon, but I did develop a leak in the intake manifold that reduced gas milage to about 8(down from 10) and made some of the mountain driving home a bit slow at times. The newly installed dual exhaust system drove both Ike & I nuts, the ass holes had put glass packs on it. While I might have thought them to sound good 25 years ago, I long ago outgrew those loud, cackling, obnoxious things. Ike was annoyed even when following at a distance of near half a mile. An interesting note, while on the way down, in the mist of the mountains south of Harrison Ark. Ike and I got separated by an unduly slow moving car-hauler. As the distance between us grew, and communications on 2mtrs faded, I told him to fire up his 6mtr radio and try it. I had a URC-773(Philippine/Southcom clone) wired up in the old Dodge, and Ike had recently purchased one of the close-out Cherokee(built in Korea) 6mtr HT's from AEA. Comms where great between the two and we used them the remainder of the trip down, and during the hamfest(on 51mc). The Cherokee worked nicely with the URC-773(which has selectable squelch types), and a PRC-126(which has carrier squelch on receive). But it floundered with the PRC-25 which has only the 150cps squelch and the 151.4 standard tone of the Cherokee wasn't close enough to work. Dennis Starks; Collector/Historian Midwest Military Communications Museum email: military-radio-guy@juno.com *********************************************** DALLAS HAMCOM JUNE 11-13; There will be a Boatanchors and Military Radio forum at Ham Com in Dallas this year. It will officially be from 12 until 1 pm on Saturday but I am told we can have the room as long as we want. We will start with boatanchors and conclude with military radios so those who might not have an interest in the later military stuff can leave. The FCC forum starts at 1 pm so there will be overlap if some want to attend that, potentially contentious, forum! I will post more details as they become available. If anyone plans to attend and has a particular subject that they would like to discuss please let me know by private e-mail. See you there! Lenox ------------------------------------------------------------------- Lenox Carruth Dallas, TX carruth@geo-thermal.com Collector of WW-II Communications Equipment and Memorabilia ed) I'm gonna try to be there, if I can get the old Power Wagon fit for a 500(plus) mile trip. Would like to hear from anybody else that might be able to attend. *********************************************** MEMBERS WRITE; I-177, and Navy Antenna? Hello Dennis, First I have to say how much I enjoy the Group Post. I'm learning a lot and from the right people too! I saw your listing of the I-177B. Is the update adapter the MX-949A/U ? If so, I have one and I'd be interested in your tester. Is this set actually better than the TV-7? Also, can you help me identify a telescoping antenna I have? The actual antenna collapses into a molded body most of which is shaped like a small torpedo. On the side is an area into which a compression nut, which I believe to be micarta, holds a coaxial lead. Under that may be a small trimmer screw. I want to put it on my trade list which I hope to post soon, but of course we need to know what it's good for. Please let me know any of the above at your convenience. Thx, Wes ed) The I-177 tube checker is actually more versatile than the TV-7 when combined with the update adapter. This because it will still check the older tubes that were omitted from the design of the TV-7 because of their obsolescence. These adapters do show up alone from time to time, and Fair radio has had them within the last couple years. The antenna you describe sounds like it is for the Navy MAB, and DAV back-pack(or should I say "chest -pack") WW-II transceivers. It is in great demand by those restoring these radios sense Fair Radio ran out of their vast stores of them a couple years ago. For more info on these radios see MCGP Backmail #30 "Lets Talk Navy MAB & DAV-2", & #50 "US Military Portable Radios". ----------------------------------------------------------------- BC-349-O? Hello, Dennis I just picked up a couple of BC-348-O's, one of them being serial number 21. Would you have any idea of when that unit might have been produced. Do you have a source for schematics for the "O" beast? Regards, Bob Lindgren ed) Off hand, I don't know the difference, but I'm sure there are many out there who do. Recently, a Hallicrafters built BC-348 has also surfaced. Though it was always known that at least a few where built by them, a surviving example has been most elusive. Perhaps we should impose on Dave Stinson or one of our other aircraft-crap guru's to write us up article on all the differences between the various letter series of the BC-348's. HINT! ----------------------------------------------------------------- AN/AST-3? Can you tell me annything about a AN/AST-3(A) Transsconde? It appears to be 3 each two tube, crystal contoled transmitters in a alum box used by the weather service. Jack Awbrey KF4CBR ed) I got no idea what the thing is, maybe somebody else does. *********************************************** HUMOR; Ads in Bills: Have you ever noticed that they put advertisements in with your bills now? Like bills aren't distasteful enough, they have to stuff junk mail in there with them! I get back at them. I put garbage in with my check when I mail it in- Coffee grounds, banana peels....I write, "Could you throw this away for me? Thank you." Fabric Softener: My wife uses fabric softener. I never knew what that stuff was for. Then I noticed women were coming up to me (sniff) "Married!" (walk off). That's how they mark their territory! You can take off that ring, but it's hard to get that April fresh scent out of your clothes. Cripes! My wife's from the Mid-west. Very nice people there. Very wholesome. They use words like "Cripes!" "For Cripe's sake!" Who would that be, Jesus Cripes? The son of "Gosh?" of the church of "Holy Moly"! I'm not making fun of it. You think I wanna burn in "Heck"? Morning Differences: Men and women are different in the morning. The men wake up aroused in the morning. We can't help it! We just wake up that way! And the women are thinking, "How can he want me the way I look in the morning?" It's because we can't see you! We have no blood anywhere near our optic nerve! Mysteries of Women: I'm out with my wife the other day. She says, "My feet hurt." I say, "Well, why did you wear those shoes?" She says, "I didn't know we were going to be walking!"... Hello? Keep up with evolution! We're walking now! Feel free to slither! She was wearing high heels, that's why. They are the worst invention. Aren't they, ladies? I've heard that women wear those shoes because they make your butt and your breasts stick out. Jeez. Why not just shove some shoes in your underwear, you'd be a lot more comfortable. Pregnancy: It's weird when pregnant women feel the baby kicking. They say, "Oh my god! He's kicking. Do you wanna feel it?" I always feel awkward reaching over there. Come on! It's weird to ask someone to feel your stomach. I don't do that when I have gas. "Oh my god!...give me your hand!...It won't be long now..." Grandma: My grandmother has a bumper sticker on her car that says, "Sexy Senior Citizen". You don't want to think of your grandmother that way, do you? Out entering wet shawl contests! Makes you wonder where she got that dollar she gave you for your birthday! Prisons: Did you know that it costs forty thousand dollars a year to house each prisoner? Jeez, for forty thousand bucks a piece I'll take a few prisoners into my house! I live in Los Angeles. I already have bars on the windows. I don't think we should give free room and board to criminals. I think they should have to run twelve hours a day on a treadmill and generate electricity. And if they don't want to run, they can rest in the electric chair that's hooked up to the generator. Award Shows: Can you believe how many award shows they have now? They even have awards for commercials! The Cleo Awards. A whole show full of commercials. I taped it and then I fast-forwarded through the whole thing. Phone-in Polls: You know those shows where people call in and vote on different issues? Did you ever notice there's always like 18% "I don't know"! It costs 90 cents to call up and vote...They're voting "I don't know!" "Honey, I feel very strongly about this. Give me the phone." (Into phone) "I DON'T KNOW!" (hangs up, looking proud) "Sometimes you have to stand up for what you believe you are not sure about!" This guy probably calls up phone sex girls at $4.95 a minute. (into phone) "I'm not in the mood!" Answering Machine: Did you ever hear one of those corny, positive messages on someone's answering machine? "Hi, It's a great day and I'm out enjoying it right now. I hope you are too. The thought for the day is 'Share the love!' Leave a message after the beep." "Uh, yeah...this is the VD clinic calling....Speaking of being positive, your test is back. Stop sharing the love!" >> ------------------------------------------------------------------ Confucius Say: "Man who run in front of car get tired, Man who run behind car get exhausted" "Passionate kiss like spider's web-soon lead to undoing of fly." "Virginity like bubble. One prick - all gone!" "Foolish man give wife grand piano. Wise man give wife upright organ." "Man who walk through airport turnstile sideways going to Bangkok" "Man with one chopstick go hungry." "Man who scratches ass should not bite fingernails." "Man who eat many prunes get good run for money." "Baseball is wrong. Man with four balls cannot walk!" "Panties not best thing on earth, but next to it." "War doesn't determine who's right. War determines who's left." "Wife who put husband in doghouse soon find him in cat house." "Man who sleep in cathouse by day, sleep in doghouse by night." "Man who fight with wife all day, get no piece at night!" "Man who tell one too many light bulb jokes soon burn out!" "It takes many nails to build a crib, but one screw to fill it." "Man who drive like hell, bound to get there!" "Man who sit on tack get point!" "Man who stand on toilet is high on pot!" "Man who lives in glass house should change in basement" "He who fishes in other man's well often catches crabs." "Man who farts in church sits in own pew." "Many who lay girl on hill, Not on level." "Girl who go out with detective, Must kiss Dick." "Baby conceived in backseat of car with automatic transmission, Grow up to be shiftless bastard." "Girl who cooks carrots and peas in same pot VERY unsanitary!" ------------------------------------------------------------------ "Blind Pilots" One day at a busy airport, the passengers on a commercial airliner are seated, waiting for the cockpit crew to show up so they can get under way. The pilot and co-pilot finally appear in the rear of the plane, and begin walking up to the cockpit through the center aisle. Both appear to be blind. The pilot is using a white cane, bumping into passengers right and left as he stumbles down the aisle, and the co-pilot is using a guide dog. Both have their eyes covered with huge sunglasses. At first the passengers do not react; thinking that it must be some sort of practical joke. However, after a few minutes the engines start spooling up and the airplane starts moving down the runway. The passengers look at each other with some uneasiness, whispering among themselves and looking desperately to the stewardesses for reassurance. Then the airplane starts accelerating rapidly and people begin panicking. Some passengers are praying, and as the plane gets closer and closer to the end of the runway, the voices are becoming more and more hysterical. Finally, when the airplane has less than 20 feet of runway left, there is a sudden change in the pitch of the shouts as everyone screams at once, and at the very last moment the airplane lifts off and is airborne. Up in the cockpit, the co-pilot breathes a sigh of relief and turns to the Captain, "You know, one of these days the passengers aren't going to scream and we're gonna get killed!" ------------------------------------------------------------------ We all know those cute little computer symbols called "emoticons," where :) means a smile and :( is a frown. Sometimes these are represented by :-) and :-( respectively. Well, how about some "ass cons"? Here goes: (_!_) a regular ass (__!__) a fat ass (!) a tight ass (_._) a flat ass (_^^_) a bubble ass (_*_) a sore ass (_!__) a lop-sided ass {_!_} a swishy ass (_o_) an ass that's been around (_O_) an ass that's been around even more (_x_) kiss my ass (_X_) leave my ass alone (_zzz_) a tired ass (_o^^o_) a wise ass (_E=mc2_) a smart ass (_13_) an unlucky ass (_$_) Money coming out of his ass (_?_) Dumb Ass *********************************************** (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 or this group are included. For more information conserning this group contact Dennis Starks at, military-radio-guy@juno.com) ***********************************************