Does anyone run the military/surplus backpack radios? Are they useful at all? If you buy surplus, there's a ton of variety in terms of the frequencies across the entire ham band spectrum.
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Backpack radios
- Thread starter Love Machine
- Start date
cockpitbob
NES Member
I know of one guy who is having fun with a PRC 320 Clansman. Here's his mil radio forum. My takeway is they are big, heavy, waterproof, indestructible, not battery efficient and green(cool). Totally fun, but not too practical.
The problem with Milspec or Surplus radios is; who fixes them when they need it. Most producers won't support individuals. Spare/replacement part availability is also a problem. I run some Datron equipment and fortunately they've supported me. Mil grade radios do the job they're designed to do very well. Mostly operate on fixed nets. Quality amateur gear can do the same and be more flexible. Especially with power options. The best vender IMHO is Murphy's Surplus. I've bought stuff from him and he always renders great service. http://www.murphyjunk.net/
PRC-127
Nothing but a UHF Bendix King, parts are easy, repair is easy, accessories are easy, programming software (if you don't want to use/have the keyboard) is easy (unlike Motorola they don't care about the software). Software for changing to ham band called hamandeggs is easy to get. A lot of them can be upgraded to have more channels/banks just with the software (others require changing the memory chip). Forestry service uses newer versions (common accessories) for firefighting so they show up used on a regular basis. They can be had with all metal cases and intrinsically safe (for explosive environments). They are NOT lightweight but they are dam near impossible to kill. I own several in UHF and VHF.
Nothing but a UHF Bendix King, parts are easy, repair is easy, accessories are easy, programming software (if you don't want to use/have the keyboard) is easy (unlike Motorola they don't care about the software). Software for changing to ham band called hamandeggs is easy to get. A lot of them can be upgraded to have more channels/banks just with the software (others require changing the memory chip). Forestry service uses newer versions (common accessories) for firefighting so they show up used on a regular basis. They can be had with all metal cases and intrinsically safe (for explosive environments). They are NOT lightweight but they are dam near impossible to kill. I own several in UHF and VHF.
flippedr6
NES Member
That is literally the exact joke in my head when I read the post 2 up from here.
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