Glenn Shaw MVPA
Mark J. Blair wrote:
>
> "Ken Weiss" <kweiss@wans.net> wrote:
>
> > Can anyone out there tell me who makes the PRC-10 and PRC-77 back pac
> > radios. Who sells them? and about what they would run, price wise, for both
> > working and non-working units? Also, what kind of licenses are needed, if
> > any? What are the frequencies ranges of these radios?
>
> Like a lot of military equipment (whether they're radios, vehicles,
> rifles, etc.), many companies got contracts to build PRC-10 radios. I
> have a PRC-10 that was built by RCA with a 1951 contract date (so it
> was probably built during or shortly after 1951), and a PRC-10A that
> was built by Standard Winding Co. with a 1963 contract date. There
> were probably something like a dozen different manufacturers over the
> years, and I'd be surprised to find out that any were manufactured
> after the mid-1960s or so.
>
> I don't know who made PRC-77 sets, or when.
>
> The PRC-10 set is continuously-tunable, and covers 38.0-54.9
> MHz. There are also a couple other radios called the PRC-8 (20-27.9
> MHz) and the PRC-9 (27-38.9 MHz); these radios look identical, and are
> interchangeable except for operating in different frequency bands. The
> PRC-8's band was intended for use by armored units, the PRC-9's band
> was for artillery units, and the PRC-10's band was for infantry units.
>
> You could legally operate the PRC-10 within the 50-54 MHz amateur
> radio band (AKA the 6 meter band, because the wavelength of radio
> waves in that band is about 6 meters) if you obtained an amateur
> ("ham") radio license. If you think you might want to do that, find
> out if you have any local friends with ham radio licenses, who might
> be willing to help you out. You also might see if you have any local
> amateur radio stores nearby; they could probably tell you about any
> local classes that might help you, and would certainly have training
> books that you could use to study for the license. You would also need
> to learn what your local band plans are, so that you don't transmit on
> a frequency that would interfere with other things. The licence costs
> aobut $5 and is good for 10 years. There are several different grades
> of licenses to get, with different requirements and different
> privileges. I have a "Technician" class license, which is the easiest
> to get. The test covers some basic electronic theory, operating
> practices, rules and regulations, and safety rules ("Duh, how come I
> shouldn't climb that there 60' steel tower when it's a-thunderin,
> Cletus?"). Don't let "electronic theory" scare you away; 10-year-old
> kids and 80-year-old grandmas manage to pass the test, so you
> certainly don't need a degree in electrical engineering to pass it
> (though that sure made it a no-brainer for me! :-)
>
> Above 54.0 MHz is TV channel 2. You don't want to transmit
> there. Makes the neighbors hostile. 38-50 MHz is mosly commercial
> bands, cordless phone, emergency services, etc. Stay out of there,
> too, or you might find a marshall at your door. Oh, I should point out
> that it's illegal to eavesdrop on cordless phone conversations, so
> never, ever tune the radio between 46.5-47.0 or 49.5-50.0 MHz to
> listen to your neighbors phone calls. You've been warned.
>
> The PRC-77 covers 30.0-75.95 MHz in 50 kHz steps. I don't have one, so
> I know a lot less about it.
>
> Prices of both sets would vary widely depending upon condition, where
> you buy it, and what accessories are included (i.e., battery box,
> handset, antennas, backpack harness, canvas items, etc). A beat-up
> probably-not-working PRC-10 without any accessories might be as low as
> $10 at a ham radio swap if the seller isn't too hungry, and a complete
> working set in mint condition with all accessories might cost a few
> hundred. A PRC-77 would probably cost a LOT more, starting at a few
> hundred bucks for a beat-up radio with no accessories, and approaching
> several hundred bucks for a good one, and maybe even topping $1000 for
> a complete vehicular installation with all mountings and
> accessories. Be patient; it might take you months or years to find
> exactly what you want and all of the accessories. Or you might stumble
> on exactly what you want, the whole thing, in a big pile, with a big
> "BUY ME KEN I COST $50" sign tomorrow morning on the way to work. I've
> seen that whole spectrum in my own experience.
>
> Possible sources for these radios, their accessories, and other green
> radio gear includes the following:
>
> 1. local ham radio swap meets (generally have the lowest prices
> here, because ham radio operators are just ordinary shmos, and
> thus most of them don't have a whole lot of money to throw
> around)
> 2. gun shows (prices tend to be high, because there are lots of
> collectors at gun shows who want a piece of military radio gear,
> but who don't really know what they're worth, and there are lots
> of greedy sellers who know they can sell a beat up piece of junk
> to some dumb rich guy)
> 3. army surplus stores (prices tend to be very high, just like in
> number 2. except even the seller usually doesn't know anything
> about the radio)
> 4. Military electronics surplus vendors such as:
>
> Fair Radio Sales (in Lima, Ohio): call 419-223-2196 or email
> fairadio@alpha.wcoil.com to request a catalog; prices can be a
> bit high, because they have to pay for their wonderful catalog;
> mostly have older stuff from the 50's-60's, but sometimes they
> have some newer stuff or older WW-II stuff;
> definitely order the catalog, and be prepared to drool a lot;
> these guys have a lot of my money! For that matter, I'm expecting
> a 150 lb. power supply from them sometime this week or next...
> my UPS guy must hate me!
>
> Murphy's Surplus Warehouse (near San Diego, CA): mostly has newer
> stuff (Vietnam era through last week), call 619-444-7717 and ask
> to speak to Mike, no catalog, just know what you want and how
> much you want to spend
>
> Before you think about getting one of these sets, ask yourself this
> question: Who's going to fix it when it's broken? Keep in mind that it
> might not be working when you get it.... Electronics is my hobby (and
> my profession -- it's sure nice to be paid big bucks to do my hobby at
> work!!), so I like working on my sets, I know how to do it, and I
> didn't mind buying a whole bunch of test gear to work on my radios. If
> you don't have the knowledge, time, money or inclination to work on
> them yourself, you might get stuck with broken radios, or pay somebody
> a bunch of bucks to fix them, or pay a big premium for working
> radios. I'm not trying to discourage you, but think about it before
> you buy. A PRC-10 that you find at a swap meet might be almost 50
> years old, and it might take a lot of TLC and $$$ to make it work
> again. If you plan to do your own repair work, then be prepared to buy
> some test equipment (ham swap meets can be a good place to start for
> cheap), and look for the repair manuals for the sets. Ironically, the
> older pre-Vietnam stuff is a lot easier to work on, because the
> manuals were a lot better-written. Before the Vietnam-era stuff, the
> repair guy needed to know how the radio worked, but later manuals
> generally just tell you how to swap out whole bad modules without
> really knowing what's going on.
>
> Good luck!
>
> --
> Mark J. Blair KE6MYK
> e-mail: mblair@gruumsh.irv.ca.us
> DO NOT SEND ANY UNSOLICITED COMMERCIAL EMAIL TO THIS SITE
>
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