On 19 Dec 2005 10:38:46 -0800, wrote in
. com:

From: Frank Gilliland on Dec 18, 6:54 pm
snip
Very true. Real sci-fi stuff they have these days. Won't be long and
every grunt will be equipped with a helmet-mounted sat-comm complete
with bio-telemetry and "black box" A/V recorders.

Not quite. That stuff is PR material that's been out for
years. The Army tried out the "squad radio" concept in
Vietnam during the early 1970s. Didn't work out well and
that was generally abandoned for wholesale use on the line.
I don't know WHY it didn't work out since I've never been
involved directly with it, just the manpack-to-high-power-
vehicular-amp families of "regular" (in ham ideas) radios
and some other interesting DoD stuff. :-)


One version of the "squad radio" was the PRC-68, a cool little VHF-lo
rig. The problem was the radio wasn't built very well (mic screen kept
falling off, battery boxes dented easily, antennas broke, etc), and
the batteries were expensive, didn't last very long, and weren't
compatible with any commercial equivalent.


snip
The AN/PRC-104 HF manpack transceiver (operational 1986,
will be replaced soon by an updated unit) by Hughes Ground
Systems has an automatic antenna tuner integral to the
manpack R/T. One can physically shorten the whip by
removing sections to cut down visibility and the antenna
tuner will compensate for the shorter sections. Won't be
quite as efficient as the full whip but it is less visible
on the ground. The lil 20 W PEP transmitter will shove as
much RF into the whip as it can without damaging itself.


We had the PRC-104 in the early '80s; the RT was used as the exciter
for the MRC-109/110 (400/1000W) jeep radios. Mechanical push-button
tuning from 2-30 MHz. I still want one.


snip
The latest is an RF psycho weapon using ultra-wideband
microwave stuff to scare-shock-disturb unfriendlies at a
distance. First operational test contract was awarded
a couple months ago. While it uses radio, it might not
be handled by signalmen at all, probably not by artillery
types either. Psy-war units? :-)


I heard about that a couple years ago. Not a psych weapon -- it causes
significant "discomfort" in the eyes and skin at a distance. It is/was
intended for domestic purposes (i.e, riot control -- make sure to wear
your aluminum-foil hat to the upcoming anti-war rallies).


The first NODs (Night Observation Devices) were
operational during the latter half of the 1960s and
used in Vietnam. Too many were stolen/captured with
the USSR making their own versions. Now those "Buck
Rogers" devices can be bought at sports stores as
a regular consumer electronics product. shrug


Yeah, I have a Soviet unit that takes 2 AA batteries. Hmmmm.....








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