Military radios that operate on 6 meter amateur band

[ODFever]

I’ve been a ham for 11 years, but am very ‘green’ when it comes to military radio knowledge. I’m looking for information on military radios that work on 6 meter that I can mount in my M1009.

I searched SS and learned that the PRC-77/AM-2060 works on 6 meter. Does the radio need any modification to operate within FCC parameters for that band? What antenna is recommended for the PRC-77 with a vehicle mount? Where can I find that radio?

Are there any other military radios (foreign or domestic) that work on the 6 meter amateur radio band? Do the radios require any modification? Do the military radios operate on SSB? What antennas work with those radios?

Thank you!

 

[123mack]

The as-3900 will not work, they are for the SINCGARS radios. The antenna system you need is the as-1729. http://www.radionerds.com/index.php/AS-1729~VRC While the PRC77/Am2060 will work, the radios most used in the CUCV as well as other vehicles is either RT-246 or RT-524. Sometimes both were mounted. They are FM, not SSB. Bandwidth is wide compared to modern ham radios, but they are leagle.

 

[tennmogger]

Since you did not specify US radio equipment only, here are some other suggestions. Great Britain has recently taken their Clansman radios out of service. There are several VHF transceiver models which cover 6 meters, but one of the nicer is the PRC-351. It covers 30 MHz to just under 80 MHz. Prices are really good (but shipping high) for such radio systems as PRC-351/352 (transceiver and 20 Watt amp) and all accessories. Note though that the audio accessories are not compatible with US/NATO radios so if you are equipped for US radios, you need to add Clansman Audio parts (headsets, handsets, etc).

The German radios are my favorite. They are older, about the same age as PRC-25 and -77. The SEM-25 and SEM-35 cover not only 6m but 10 m also (all FM wideband which is still 'legal' to use on ham bands). You get 2 usable bands from the standard radio. 10m FM is working well (when atmosphere cooperates) with the sunspot cycle peaking. 10 meter point-to-point comms don't depend on atmospheric skip, of course. The SEM radios use audio devices compatible with older series US/NATO radios. Cost is much less than the present inflated cost for PRC-25. PRC-77, Rt-524, RT-246, and other US stuff.

(The Clansman HF radios are a real bargain for their price).

BTW, the AS-3900 was not used with the earlier radios so historically is not appropriate, but will work technically. Being a non-tunable antenna the losses are higher, total signal strength lower, but they won't hurt the radios. Radios used in convoys, or other close comms, will hardly notice the difference from the AS-1729 (also not a gain antenna).

Bob WB4ETT

 

[Wile E. Coyote]

Teenmogger is correct. I think the worst match on the AS-3900 SINCGARS antenna is 2.5:1 - but the RT-524 and RT-246 will handle a match as bad as 4:1 without letting the magic smoke out. Plus, you get to ditch that mechanical tuning apparatus in the base of the older MX-6707 in the AS-1729 system which works wonderfully provided you live somewhere where it never rains. I've seen many, many bad ones that fill up with water or seize and damage the radios attached to them in various ways.

 

[papakb]

123mack, Any of the antennas designated for the 30-75 tactical FM band will work on these radios. These include the AT-1729, the AS-3900, and the one I use, the Harris SF-3512. There are several other less common antennas but these are the three most seen in our world. Of the three only the AT-1729 (MX6707) needs the frequency control cable. The others are broadband antennas that match across the spectrum without it. The GRC-125 (PRC-25 w/AM-2060), GRC-160 (PRC-77 w/AM-2060), VRC-12 (RT-246, RT-524) will work equally well with the AS-3900 and SF-3512.

ODFever, There are a whole raft of US radios that work on the 6 meter amateur band that were used by the military. Going back to the Korean war the RT-68s will work 50 Mhz, so will the PRC-10. From Viet Nam the PRC-25, PRC-68, PRC-77 are FM tactical sets along with the RT-246 and RT-524. Squad radios like the PRT-4/PRR-9 will also work but are crystal controlled rather than synthesized. After Viet Nam there are the PRC-126/128, the PRC-117 and PRC-119 SINCGARS sets. Some other sets that will work are the Southcom SC-120, SC-130s and PRC-1077s. All of this is easily researched with Google and you'll find lot's of good foreign made sets in this frequency region.

Nomenclature for these radios is another whole world of confusion you're going to have to get used to. Every time the military did a mix-n-match with radios they changed the numbers. When manpacks went into vehicles they changed the numbers and don't even try to figure out the USMC! They would take a radio and install it in a vehicle and then the whole thing became a radio set, jeep and all.

The military utilized wide band radios that aren't an exact match with the amateur narrow band specs but the 6 meter band is probably one of the least used of the amateur bands and we have used 51.0 and 51.2 for years without complaints. I do tell people that receiving isn't a problem but if you plan to transmit you should be licensed.

If you have questions this is a great place to ask. Lot's of knowledgable people willing to get you onboard.

Kurt

KG6KMJ

 

[Wile E. Coyote]

Also, as teenmogger already covered, I'll throw in another vote for the British Clansman stuff as right now it's plentiful - it's first-class kit - and it walks and talks in the desired frequency range affordably. On the U.S. side, there were some reasonably priced first-gen RT-1439 SINCGARS transceivers out there not too long ago ($600-$900) but they've all dried up at the moment. They seem to come in waves: one minute, nada - next minute, Murphy and Ebay will have multiples. (And Kurt's dead right about the 'confusing', as in the SINCGARS line, for example, the RT-1523D and RT-1523E are *completely* different transceivers.)

Places to start if you're shopping:

Pvt Jarhead's: http://www.softcom.net/users/djstutz/pvtjarheadld.html (Vietnam-era VRC-12 vehicle radios, packsets and packset PS/ amps etc. - great prices.)
Mike Murphy Surplus Sales http://www.murphyjunk.net (Mike's a stand-up individual and often has stuff nobody else does and lots of bits and pieces.)
Fair Radio Sales: http://www.fairradio.com/ (a traditional outlet for surplus radios for the collector, but sources are drying up fast so they don't have as much as they used to. Lots of bits and pieces and antennas for the older 1950s - thru - early VN radios.)

www.americanmilspec.com (ones and twos of rarer modern radio sets, brackets, antennas, power supplies, batteries, bits and pieces and accessories.)

Ebay - I regularly get very good deals I'm happy with - but others' mileage varies. Basically, I've just never seen so many phrases used to camouflage the word "broken":

"Not familiar with this sort of equipment."
"Can't test. Don't have cables."
"Owner said it worked when he last looked at...somewhere around 1536 B.C."

Sometimes they're being genuine - other times they're being P.T. Barnum - but that's the roll of the dice.

 

[ODFever]

Thank you for the great information!! I knew when I created this thread that I would receive detailed answers. Y'all are great! Hopefully I'll meet a few of you at the Georgia Rally in October!

 

[Dodge man]

Mark,

I'm pretty sure that I have the top section (1095/VRS) of the As-1729 antenna if you're interested. I THINK I also have a MX-6707 base. I'm still looking for antennas and parts for my ART-13 and ACR-27 radios so if you have anything I'd be interested in swapping. I'm also looking for a AS-390/SRC antenna and MS-44 mast sections.

http://www.valcommfg.com/products/images/cache/7137eff1b8d50c334593868284443798.jpg

BTW I have a something 3885 antenna base. It's basically the same at the base used in the AS-3900 but has a max VSWR of 2.5 instead of 3.5 according to the specs.

 

[ODFever]

Thanks Joe. We can discuss radios at our next event. I've been curious about which military radios can work on amateur frequencies. I'm learning a great deal from all the guys that posted here and from researching antennas and bases.