View Full Version : ANGRC109 + 1 each 'shitfist'
BillFishJr
07-03-2013, 04:31
i just wanted to post two links i discovered that hold a wealth on history and usage of our indomitable RS-1.
best memory is using a desk lamp bulb socket for a PS and a 1/4 wave L taped to the ceiling of a motel room 120 miles from my SFOB at Bragg.
http://www.militaryradio.com/spyradio/grc109.html
and also
http://www.n6cc.com/angrc-109-special-forces-radio-set
ditty dah dah ditty.....
i just wanted to post two links i discovered that hold a wealth on history and usage of our indomitable RS-1.
best memory is using a desk lamp bulb socket for a PS and a 1/4 wave L taped to the ceiling of a motel room 120 miles from my SFOB at Bragg.
http://www.militaryradio.com/spyradio/grc109.html
and also
http://www.n6cc.com/angrc-109-special-forces-radio-set
they're are so few of us left.
wow, great stuff. Truly a classic. Compared to todays systems, the 109's versatility is unmatched...
longrange1947
07-03-2013, 09:20
Please note the proximity of the antenna post and the tuning knob. I have had more than a few RF burns from that proximity during my few years with that radio. Even after I would bend the wire so the end was pointing away, I would some how find a way to come in contact while tuning. Anyone wlsw have that problem? :munchin :D
Badger52
07-03-2013, 09:31
Thanks for sharing! Had seen the first piece, but Tim's article at N6CC makes me wanna grab the KX3 and accoutrements and head up high somewhere. Cool stuff.
:cool:
Team Sergeant
07-03-2013, 11:21
i just wanted to post two links i discovered that hold a wealth on history and usage of our indomitable RS-1.
best memory is using a desk lamp bulb socket for a PS and a 1/4 wave L taped to the ceiling of a motel room 120 miles from my SFOB at Bragg.
http://www.militaryradio.com/spyradio/grc109.html
and also
http://www.n6cc.com/angrc-109-special-forces-radio-set
ditty dah dah ditty.....
i just wanted to post two links i discovered that hold a wealth on history and usage of our indomitable RS-1.
best memory is using a desk lamp bulb socket for a PS and a 1/4 wave L taped to the ceiling of a motel room 120 miles from my SFOB at Bragg.
http://www.militaryradio.com/spyradio/grc109.html
and also
http://www.n6cc.com/angrc-109-special-forces-radio-set
they're are so few of us left.
You guys are my hero's, I went from 18B to 18E and it was the only time I ever contemplated shooting myself..... :D
Please note the proximity of the antenna post and the tuning knob. I have had more than a few RF burns from that proximity during my few years with that radio. Even after I would bend the wire so the end was pointing away, I would some how find a way to come in contact while tuning. Anyone wlsw have that problem? :munchin :D
I only messed with the 109 in the beginning of commo school. The PRC-74 was the heat then. It would also bite ya. Towards the end they came out and showed us this nice new multi-function...PRC70...AKA BOAT ANCHOR.
It did make a good base radio though, especially on a power supply...PP-6148??
Batteries sucked, DMDG sucked...had to sleep with them....and not for the "good" reason...LOL
mark46th
07-03-2013, 18:25
Mixed emotions about the Angry 109. It would definitely make commo, I think I made commo with it around 500 miles. Maybe close to 1000 miles on one trip. It has been too long to remember exactly. When I could, I used a bug to send code when we were at a base camp but the leg key or the integral key out in the field. I thought the burst device was worthless, never made commo with it. And yes, I had RF burns regularly...
M46, correct, the 109 was only made for short/med range commo. I can't remember what the exact freq range was, or what came in the crystal set.
The PRC-74 only went up to 17.999 MHZ, so that limited range also. However, the PRC-70 went up to a whopping 30 MHZ, which opened up the "long range" HF commo.
We first used them in the DTP tng program 5th GP had in the mid 80's around the McGregor/Donna Anna/Oro Grande areas.
Next we went to Kenya and hit Bragg from there...I'd classify that as "long range"...:lifter
The 70 did have it's nuances though when it first came out...
Then here came SATCOM, with the ever so eloquent URC-101...LOL
longrange1947
07-03-2013, 19:34
Mark, at 10th, on field exercises, you only used the burst device and I never had any trouble with it. Except when I was half asleep and proceeded to erase a tape I had just loaded. :eek:
John Yancy was not amused. :)
The 109, IIRC, was originally made for the OSS and comms from Occupied Europe to Britain. Made that shot on a regular basis.
I did hate George the hand crank prick. I swear some guys tuned extra long just to see you grind that sucker out. :D
mojaveman
07-04-2013, 01:39
If I got my information right the 109 was made in two versions, one for the military and another for clandestine operators working for the CIA in Third World locations. It was designed to be operated by someone with little expertise in HF radio communiactions. It would load just about any type of antenna and was produced in a three piece modular configuration that included small components that would be easy to hide. We had one of those as well as a few PRC-74s complete with coder burster devices in the Battalion communications locker.
We used the 109 in TG, but I never took one to the field after graduation ('72). Had 'em in the team box clear up 'til I left in '78, though.
When I was Sr. Radio Op on ODA-5 in Tolz, as an amusement I set out to re-create the original matching serial numbered sets by swapping with other teams - I had one complete set and one where only one power supply didn't match - it was amusing to watch the inspector when reading off the serial numbers - all the same - receiver, transmitter, two power supplies, voltage converter and generator..
Hartley
Hi guys - I am continuing with some research on infantry field radios, specifically the RS-1 / GRC-109. Not a whole lot written about their usage on foot patrols; their use as a camp or backup camp radio is pretty well established. So a question is this: How much was the RS-1 / GRC-109 used in long range patrols and in what theaters / time frames?
Also, same question regarding the AN/TRC-77 (6 Channel HF CW portable) first appearing in the early 1960's. Comments?
Many thanks in advance; I'm trying to fill in some holes in the history and employment of these sets.
Tim N6CC
didahdidahdit
UWOA (RIP)
10-15-2014, 14:30
I hated the 109. You ask why? Not because of the radio, but because of the bench seat that held the generator for cranking. Jumping that seat was a literal pain in the ass ... as well as carting it around the UWOA. As the XO I always seemed to get the short end of the stick which meant I got the bench seat ....
.
You hated the seat? On my teams the XO got the generator - not as long, but a LOT heavier.
Hartley
UWOA (RIP)
10-15-2014, 21:00
You hated the seat? On my teams the XO got the generator - not as long, but a LOT heavier.
Hartley
I got the generator once, and didn't mind it at all, because I could fit it in my ruck. But the seat, you couldn't fit it anywhere without it banging you on the legs or the arms or ... you get the idea. And not just during the jump; hauling that piece of #$$%^ through the woods/jungle was a pain in the ass.
Just my $ .02.
In the 05B course, we were taught that lugging the seat and cranking the G were what LTs were goof for! :D
UWOA (RIP)
10-16-2014, 09:35
In the 05B course, we were taught that lugging the seat and cranking the G were what LTs were goof for! :D
Thank God for promotions!!!! Made Captain, took command of an ODA and NEVER LOOKED BACK!!! NOT!!! LOL!!!!
.
The message has been encrypted on a one time pad (thank you DIANA). The antenna has been measured and strung. The 1LT, wearing "smokey" jungle fatigues over a thin waist, has his powerful arms bared.
In a few minutes it will be crank-crank-crank until sweat soaks his OD green t-shirt, but until then he uses the antenna bag as a pillow to catch a few minutes of sleep, lulled by the steady beep-beep-beep-BEEP of WWV, BBC, or Kol Shalom.
Ah, the good old days.
wbturner
12-13-2014, 22:14
When I was with Co B, 20th SFG (A) in Jackson MS we had ANGRC 109s. They were all we had so we used them and adjusted our training to make them really useful. Every 05B had a working knowledge of CW and antenna theory so it was not a stretch to make them work for us. RF burns were like WWII M-1 thumbs. They were a curse from the beast. After a little practice, trial and error, they were a great radio set. The antennas were a product of theory, trial and error, and lots of practice. One of the traditions we developed was that the person who wrote the message cranked the generator when it was sent. Kept 'em short and concise.
I moved to Co A 20th SFG in Montgomery AL for a short while and we had a version of 109 that was small and transistorized. I can't remember it's exact nomenclature but it worked exactly the same. The Transmitter, Receiver, and "small" Power supply would exactly fit -one each in a field jacket pocket. It had all the performance without the bulk and weight. There was nothing you could do with he generator except lug it and the seat. We found some very inventive ways to get AC power. "Good Old Days?" I wouldn't change a thing!
Hi WTB - Good stuff...Thanks.
I wonder if the smaller set you were using might be the RS-6? It has the same basic capability, power output etc and is CW. The Transmitter, Receiver and Power Filter/Adapter are much smaller than the '109 components and they are each a good fit to M-65 field jacket pockets. However they were not transistorized, still miniature vacuum tubes.. They also used the GN-58/G-43 hand generators. Transistors showed up in the next generation gear (like the PRC-64, PRC-104) but not as 3 separate units. Does RS-6 ring a bell??
Thanks,Tim
wbturner
01-01-2015, 20:10
The nomenclature is lost in my memory but the description is exactly right. We didn't open one of them up to look inside because they worked really good and no one wanted to "Fix something that wasn't broken" The transistor remark was off the cuff. Lots of radio receivers were getting smaller and smaller using transistors then.
In spare moments we would hook one of these up to a 100 ft inverted "L" longwire and "Talk" to the hams on the MARS network. They were usually talking to each other vocally. We would try to "Break" using our CW. Once in a while we would get a response. One guy copied our CW and answered us in voice. That was cool!
The little guys had lots of power and worked great. This was in 1968. At 71 I really have a bad case of CRS. Thanks for the info. :D
Hi WBT - It could have been the RS-6 set you were using. Back then, MARS operators you worked would have been CW qualified. The GRC-109/RS-1 referenced at the beginning of this thread was in service for a long time and it is a contemporary of the smaller RS-6. Incidentally, two equipment cache containers were recently sold on EBay. They had been found in the attic a building in Austria and had been cached there in 1961. The cache included a complete RS-6 set as well as a comm plan, crypto encode/decode materials, one-time pads etc.
A pretty interesting "find".... There is a CIA FOIA declassified release with the contents - including radio serial numbers - of this particular cache.
I have some info in a post on the RS-6 here - it includes a photo of the Austrian equipment cache.
http://www.n6cc.com/the-rs-6-radio-set
Does that set look familiar?
Thanks for your service..!
Tim
wbturner
01-02-2015, 17:51
The RS-6 shown is definitely it. I loved the little radio set. Would love to find a set for sale or a 109. Right now I have a fair SW receiver (Doesn't have antenna lugs but can be hacked w/soldering iron if needed.) Not much CW on it. I am looking at a Zenith Trans Oceanic MOD 550. This is something that has recently come into my head as a "Nice To Have" in case of SHTF. My dad had one when he was in Korea in 1950-51.
It has been a long time since learning code but I remember more of it than I thought I would. Not only CW but the Q and S codes too. A little practice and I'll be copying 8-10 words and sending an equal number.
73's
Bill T.
OK Bill - That's the RS-6. Still very usable and reliable, they occasionally show up for sale on EBay but they are getting rather expensive these days...They have a collectors following and some are on the air with Hams.
Code: Many say it is like riding a bicycle. Once you learn it, "re-acquiring" comes fairly easily with some practice. With your receiver, you might want to listen in to Ham station W1AW in Connecticut. They transmit practice CW sessions per the freqs/times in this link:
http://www.arrl.org/code-transmissions
Have fun with it - a handy skill to have.....
Tim
Elfstone44
02-06-2015, 20:26
I was asked by Lonny Holmes...former medic with 46th Company, Plei Djarang and II-Corps Mike Force, and former President of SF Association in S.California and editor of their award winning mag "The Sentinel" to write an article on the AN/GRC-109. I was in Africa last month but the request, along with my purchase of a 109 on the internet, took me back 50 years and I wrote it in the hotel in Conakry.
I posted the article on www.militaryphotos.net here. It's a bit simplified since I was writing for an audience broader than the ham radio group and had limited column space. But the 109 deserved the attention; It is a genuine piece of American military history and deserves its place alongside the half-track mounted quad .50 (now why did that come to my mind?)
You'll note I cribbed a photo from the web-site of one of our contributors and my predecessor as 1-0 of RT Delaware at FOB-2 in 1968.
http://www.militaryphotos.net/forums/showthread.php?244310
UWOA (RIP)
02-06-2015, 22:40
The message has been encrypted on a one time pad (thank you DIANA).
Need I say, thank you ARTEMIS also ....
.
UWOA (RIP)
02-06-2015, 22:42
I was asked by Lonny Holmes...former medic with 46th Company, Plei Djarang and II-Corps Mike Force, and former President of SF Association in S.California and editor of their award winning mag "The Sentinel" to write an article on the AN/GRC-109. I was in Africa last month but the request, along with my purchase of a 109 on the internet, took me back 50 years and I wrote it in the hotel in Conakry.
I posted the article on www.militaryphotos.net here. It's a bit simplified since I was writing for an audience broader than the ham radio group and had limited column space. But the 109 deserved the attention; It is a genuine piece of American military history and deserves its place alongside the half-track mounted quad .50 (now why did that come to my mind?)
You'll note I cribbed a photo from the web-site of one of our contributors and my predecessor as 1-0 of RT Delaware at FOB-2 in 1968.
http://www.militaryphotos.net/forums/showthread.php?244310
Read the article, right on the money. Good work!
.
Hi Elfstone - Very nice article on the GRC-109. Glad you were able to dig up some pix - there are very few of the '109 being used operationally.
The GRC-109 is a rugged, reliable field radio as you described. I use mine almost daily on Ham frequencies - good fun. In the past 6 weeks I have worked Hams in 27 states, including Alaska and Hawaii (plus Aruba and France) from CA using a simple dipole antenna. The '109 can make the distance and it always works. Mine still has all its original tubes.
A minor note on the 1964 frame grab photo of MSG Peghram operating CW with the irregulars: The Signal Corps/National Archives video had misidentified his radio as the GRC-109. It is actually the GRC-9 (note the antenna), another era field radio with roughly similar capabilities. The generator is the same (G-43, Ugh!)
Have fun with your set. Don't miss "Radio Havana Cuba - Free Territory of the Americas" on 6.000 Mc just after local sundown. I wonder how many GRC-109's are still cached in Cuba.
Nice article - you captured it! Tim
Elfstone44
02-07-2015, 16:39
Yep, I realized after I sent that photo to Lonny that it was a GRC-9. The whole Pegram video when seen on the internet is pretty interesting though since it includes early operations at Plei Mrong (1964) - I Corps. It sure got hotter later up there. - there's a whiny comment on the video re "why they have to burn that poor guy's house" - that was no "house" - it was a way-station. I believe Pegram was killed in the 23 Aug 1968 NVA attack on FOB-4. As for the article, it's not comprehensive, but at least the history is out there for people who don't have a clue. My Ham call sign died 40 years ago WB4IPW....but I may bootleg it for awhile.
1968 08 23 E-3 PFC William H. Bric III ..........11B1P KIA SVN; CCN, FOB4, Quang Nam Prov., Attack on FOB4
1968 08 23 E-4 SP4 Anthony J. Santana ........11B4S KIA SVN; CCN, FOB4, Quang Nam Prov., Attack on FOB4
1968 08 23 E-5 SGT James T. Kickliter ..........05B4S KIA SVN; CCN, FOB4, Quang Nam Prov., Attack on FOB4
1968 08 23 E-5 SGT Robert J. Uyesaka .........05B4S KIA SVN; CCN, FOB4, Quang Nam Prov., Attack on FOB4
1968 08 23 E-6 SSG Howard S. Varni ...........91B4S KIA SVN; CCN, FOB4, Quang Nam Prov., Attack on FOB4
1968 08 23 E-7 SFC Tadeusz M. Kepczyk .......11C4S KIA SVN; CCN, FOB4, Quang Nam Prov., Attack on FOB4
1968 08 23 E-7 SFC Donald R. Kerns ............11B4S KIA SVN; CCN, FOB4, Quang Nam Prov., Attack on FOB4
1968 08 23 E-7 SFC Harold R. Voorheis .........76Y4S KIA SVN; CCN, FOB4, Quang Nam Prov., Attack on FOB4
1968 08 23 E-7 SFC Donald W. Welch ...........11F4S KIA SVN; CCN, FOB4, Quang Nam Prov., Attack on FOB4
1968 08 23 E-8 MSG Charles R. Norris ..........11B4S KIA SVN; CCN, FOB4, Quang Nam Prov., Attack on FOB4
1968 08 23 E-8 MSG Gilbert A. Secor ............91B4S KIA SVN; CCN, FOB4, Quang Nam Prov., Attack on FOB4
1968 08 23 E-9 SGM Richard E. Pegram, Jr.....11G5S KIA SVN; CCN, FOB4, Quang Nam Prov., Attack on FOB4
1968 08 23 E-8 MSG Rolf E. Rickmers ...........12B4S KIA SVN; CCN, FOB4, Quang Nam Prov., Attack on FOB4, Nung Reaction Company 1SG
1968 08 23 E-6 SSG Talmadge H. Alphin, Jr........... KIA SVN; CCN, FOB4, Quang Nam Prov., Attack on FOB4, Recon Company
1968 08 23 O-2 1LT Paul D. Potter ...............74419 KIA SVN; CCN, FOB4, Quang Nam Prov., Attack on FOB4, S-4
1968 08 23 E-7 SFC Albert M. Walter ............76Y4S KIA SVN; CCN, FOB4, Quang Nam Prov., Attack on FOB4, S4 NCOIC
Hi - Yes, a very interesting video, I'm glad it was preserved and posted online. I had notified them about the radio error - but so far, no joy, but still a great video.
If you want to get the license back I guess you know that knowledge of CW is no longer required. Just a fairly simple test of rules/regs, procedures, safety etc. Test questions pool (and answers) are online. It's a useful hobby these days.
A salute to MSG Pegram - he was there doing the job.
Thanks for your service....Tim
Elfstone44
02-07-2015, 19:27
Thanks Tim, actually I still have a bug and my CW skills are pretty good still...one doesn't forget how to ride a bicycle.
As for that attack on FOB-4, I missed it by two days....I passed through there on 25 Aug 68 coming from FOB-2 Kontum heading out on R&R to Bangkok. Sat on the beach and watched a cruiser come boiling up over the horizon, level off about 2 kliks from shore and bombard some target for 30 min, then put the hammer down and with a huge rooster tail head back over the horizon...great theater...from a "Japanese on Iwo Jima" prospective.
I will be testing my 109 next weekend. I have no crystals but those are $10 a piece on the web. And who knows, when this wanderlust gets out of my system, going back to Ham radio seems somehow more pure than the internet.
Not sure why I didn't post this before - this picture was given to me to show how to lay out our team radios for inspection - pretty much captures what we had at that time, though I note that the coder-burst equipment isn't shown. Two complete AN/GRC-109s with all the extra bits..
Would you like a nice trigraph for your collection? :)
Hartley
Not sure why I didn't post this before - this picture was given to me to show how to lay out our team radios for inspection - pretty much captures what we had at that time, though I note that the coder-burst equipment isn't shown. Two complete AN/GRC-109s with all the extra bits..
Would you like a nice trigraph for your collection? :)
Hartley
Great photo! Note the M-3 bag (Dental Kit) in the upper right corner ready for inspection.
Elfstone44
02-07-2015, 20:57
Best site I've found on the AN/GRC-109:
http://www.n6cc.com/angrc-109-special-forces-radio-set
I'll be posting two photos which didn't make the cut...one from 10th SFG Rocky Burris which shows several radios laid out for some sort of demo and another from the above site with the burst transmitter.
Rocky Burris:
http://i1292.photobucket.com/albums/b573/ghwva441/109-5RockyLewisstaticdisplay_zpsa52b2b6e.jpg (http://s1292.photobucket.com/user/ghwva441/media/109-5RockyLewisstaticdisplay_zpsa52b2b6e.jpg.html)
Burst transmitter:
http://i1292.photobucket.com/albums/b573/ghwva441/109burst_zps6bc3b01e.jpg (http://s1292.photobucket.com/user/ghwva441/media/109burst_zps6bc3b01e.jpg.html)
Hi - Well if you want to try the transmitter, there are a couple of places to get ham-band crystals. These guys http://www.expandedspectrumsystems.com/prod4.html have a good collection but they are wire-lead types so you must adapt them to the crystal socket (and they are cheap!) It's what I generally use. Also try AF4K.COM (no connection to either outfit). Yep - one doesn't forget CW, just have to clear some rust out occasionally...
Hartley: Nice photo, ready for inspection!...But you DO show the GRA-71 code burst kit, approximately in the center of the photo, below the receiver/transmitters. It's all there. Those gas generators are different though. Interesting.
That website www.n6cc.com is mine. It's where I've been putting my research on these sets plus recent photos of boondocks ops with mine. There is also a post on the RS-6 set if you are familiar with them too. Similar capability as the '109 but a lot smaller and lighter.
It all works!
Didahdidahdit
Elfstone44
02-08-2015, 07:12
Wow Tim...that's your site??!!! www.n6cc.com?? What a great resource and an outstanding compilation of material - history, operational tips. That is truly excellent.
UWOA (RIP)
02-08-2015, 10:55
Elfstone,
Unless I'm mistaken you have not followed the site rules and introduced yourself. You risk the wrath of the moderators if you do not comply with some simple requirements. and that would be a shame as I believe the info you placed in your profile to be true.
Just my $.02.
.
Elfstone44
02-08-2015, 13:13
Be glad to introduce myself. Can I do it here or is there a place to do it. Thought when I registered with the site in 2008? it had my bio.
Name: Gene H. Williams
-- Joined army 03 Jan 1965
-- Jun 65 - Benning Jump School then straight to Smoke Bomb Hill
-- Dec 65 - Graduated from SFTG - assigned to 3rd SFG - 05B2S
-- Jul 66 - Assigned to 5th SFG.
-- Jul 66-15 Aug 66 - Nha Trang
-- 15 Aug 66-01 Dec 66 - Commo at B-23 Ban Me Thout (many pics)
-- 01 Dec 66 - late Jul 67 - A-233 Ban Don (Trang Phuc) 05B4S
-- Aug 67-Mar 68 - 10th SFG, Bad Tolz (Lengries), FRG
-- Apr 68-Nov 68 - MACV SOG, FOB-2, Kontum - 1-0 of RT Deleware (succeeded Terry Dahling)
-- ETS - 03 Nov 1968
Subsequently joined the State Department and have spent 25 years out of the last 40 abroad; I've travelled to Afghanistan and Pakistan some 18 times since 9/11.
I'll add, biological father killed in Normandy with 508 PIR (82nd Airborne); Step-father got his ham license in 1929 (four letter/digit something like K4RT) and was the first Phd in electrical engineering ever given at Univ of Florida.
Elfstone44
02-08-2015, 19:40
The copy of the article on Military photos was a little small and difficult to read. Here is Lonny's on-line edition of the February 'The Sentinel" which can be easier read. But now that I know Tim posts here, I'm a little embarrassed and can only plead limited column space and a need to make it readable for the layman for it's banality.
http://specialforces78.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/0215-Sentinel-News.pdf
No worries! Very interesting article, good, new info! "The Jeep of Radios" - I like it!
You've been around the block - I just write about it...LOL
Tim N6CC
Elfstone44
02-15-2015, 20:01
Tim...need a 60's era speaker for my 109. I see a lot of vintage LS-454 speakers on e-bay. I think I saw one on your site as well. Good choice? By the way, what earphones are you guys wearing on your site? I can't remember what we used.
Hi - The receiver is designed to deliver 30 milliwatts (not much!) into a 4000 ohm headset. The issued headset is the H-65/U and they can be seen in Hartley's neat "inspection" photo. They are somewhat rare....The set will also work with the HS-30 or any other high impedance headset - it is otherwise pretty versatile.. The LS-454 speakers are 600 ohms and will work in a pinch if that's all you have - and it won't be very loud and somewhat distorted due to the impedance mismatch. Modern 8 ohm headsets won't work - the impedance is way too low. You can also try a Radio Shack (maybe a going out of business sale!) little amplified speaker. They work well and also allow others to listen in too. Not MilSpec, but Improvise, Adapt, Overcome....... The receivers also sound good on international shortwave broadcast stations in the evenings. Have fun!
Tim
Those HS-65 headsets set the record for "least comfortable headset -evah" - they might have been OK when they were new, but as they aged, the rubber ear cup parts got hard and they would give you an earache right away. Most olde commo guys I knew had acquired a set of high-impedance headsets of their own.
Very true - very uncomfortable. Even the newer ones made for the VRC-12 series FM sets had the same problem. The HS-30 was no prize either - although those could be worn under a steel pot helmet. Some old school high impedance sets worked great, you could slide them forward a bit and wear them for a long time. The best ones were the WWII aviation headsets with the chamois cushions - especially in cold weather! LOL
Tim
Elfstone44
02-21-2015, 22:31
Yes, I remember in Fall 1965 we all bought out own headsets...just as we bought our own bugs before heading to Vietnam. But darned if I can remember where we bought them from or what they were. I may have some old pics from that December 1965 exercise up in Pisgah....have to dig through some stuff and will post them if I can find them. In the meantime, following Tim's recommendation, a $15 Radio Shack speaker is doing the job.
Hey - check out page 20 in the new May issue of QST..:)
Hartley
I remember in 62 buying a Vibroplex Presentation bug in a store in Fayetteville. This was after graduating and before being sent to the 1st on Oki. I don't remember what kind of store it was. Not a lot of stores sell bugs, usualy ham radio stores.
If I got my information right the 109 was made in two versions, one for the military and another for clandestine operators working for the CIA in Third World locations. It was designed to be operated by someone with little expertise in HF radio communiactions. It would load just about any type of antenna and was produced in a three piece modular configuration that included small components that would be easy to hide. We had one of those as well as a few PRC-74s complete with coder burster devices in the Battalion communications locker.
http://www.cryptomuseum.com/spy/tar224/
I just wanted to post two links i discovered that hold a wealth on history and usage of our indomitable RS-1.
best memory is using a desk lamp bulb socket for a PS and a 1/4 wave L taped to the ceiling of a motel room 120 miles from my SFOB at Bragg.
http://www.militaryradio.com/spyradio/grc109.html
and also
http://www.n6cc.com/angrc-109-special-forces-radio-set
they're are so few of us left.
...I bought one about 20 years ago at a ham feast...still got it