What kind of radio were you issued downrange, and was everybody issued one?

2018-02-28T18:22:26-05:00

Response by SGT Jamarl Jones made Feb 28 at 2018 6:23 PM

2018-02-28T18:23:51-05:00

What did you get? MBITR? PRC-154A?

Response by SFC Private RallyPoint Member made Feb 28 at 2018 7:06 PM

2018-02-28T19:06:16-05:00

MBTR and then Harris Radio and no not everyone got one issued, only team leader and above.

Response by SGT Matthew S. made Feb 28 at 2018 7:48 PM

2018-02-28T19:48:56-05:00

We had the standard SINCGARS radios; both in the vehicles and one ASIP per vehicle with a battery for dismount ops. We had a HARRIS radio in one vehicle on my second deployment, but found it to be useless.

Response by CW3 Jeff Held made Feb 28 at 2018 8:10 PM

2018-02-28T20:10:00-05:00

A long string & two tin cans aka PRC77.

Response by SN Greg Wright made Feb 28 at 2018 8:10 PM

2018-02-28T20:10:54-05:00

Can't tell you that. Classified.

Response by SGT Private RallyPoint Member made Feb 28 at 2018 8:21 PM

2018-02-28T20:21:25-05:00

A TA-312 in the infantry, referred as a (Klaker), you were sent downrange 100meters or more for OP, also if you were the FO, bring more wire.
And please, while you were out there, don't let the enemy hear the Kalaking, or you're DEAD.

Response by SGT Philip Roncari made Feb 28 at 2018 9:22 PM

2018-02-28T21:22:59-05:00

PRC25 and only carried by the RTO we lowly grunts got to carry the spare batteries ,although the plastic bags they came in saved your cigarettes and mail from the constant rain.

Response by SSG Will Phillips made Mar 1 at 2018 1:41 AM

2018-03-01T01:41:31-05:00

A PRC-77. And as the Recon squad leader, at 5' 4" & 125 lbs, I had the honor of carrying it along with my 60 gunners spare belts.

Response by CAPT Kevin B. made Mar 1 at 2018 1:48 AM

2018-03-01T01:48:16-05:00

My early radios were tube fired Hammarlunds and Collins. It was whatever was left over from WW2/Korea stock. Still was using the stuff '76-79 timeframe. Used both in Antarctica at McMurdo and South Pole. Funny thing, the stuff just kept going. So many tubes and capacitors still constipating the supply system. You'd order one tube and you'd get a box of ten just to get rid of them. Had a 50 year ready supply on the ice.

Prior to that when I was ENL, the shipboard stuff tended to be hybrids, half tubes, half transistors. Radar and EW systems had a similar mix too. That's where I learned how to really dig into getting the old boat anchors running again.

Response by PVT Mark Brown made Mar 1 at 2018 8:10 AM

2018-03-01T08:10:57-05:00

It was something like 2 cans and a string. The Army called them PRC 10 and the ever so popular PRC 25 both with the directional target location 9.5-foot antenna. Very convenient item for directing VC and NVA fire. In the never-ending military wisdom some guys were issued the old Walkie Talkie (I do not recall the nomenclature.) My MOS was 31M and our job was to operate and man a hilltop VHF site with a full complement of 20 11B guys to provide site security. All the radio voice and landline commo would funnel to us and, in turn, we would shot a signal to the next hill or the appropriate command. Then we had a net and it actually worked sometimes usually in non-critical times. But we tried hard. We also had teletype capability but that never made much sense to me. It was a good MOS. When I enlisted and chose 31M for AIT it was not aware that 31M was Army code for 11B nor did I know it was at the top of the list as a critical MOS for Vietnam and Korea. Recruiter did his job.

Response by SSG Edward Tilton made Mar 1 at 2018 10:16 AM

2018-03-01T10:16:56-05:00

You're supposed to be a Sgt. you should know these things

Response by MSgt Private RallyPoint Member made Mar 1 at 2018 10:28 AM

2018-03-01T10:28:56-05:00

Unverified vet asking about military communications? Nothing suspicious about that right???

Response by SSG William Jones made Mar 1 at 2018 10:59 AM

2018-03-01T10:59:43-05:00

SINGARS during my 19Kilo days. Pretty high speed for it's time.

Response by SSG Edward Tilton made Mar 1 at 2018 11:07 AM

2018-03-01T11:07:36-05:00

People in such a hurry to show they know something they don't bother to see who they are talking to

Response by SGT Jim Arnold made Mar 1 at 2018 11:24 AM

2018-03-01T11:24:21-05:00

I listened to the VW van radio going to Frankfort does that count?

Response by SSG Private RallyPoint Member made Mar 1 at 2018 11:47 AM

2018-03-01T11:47:31-05:00

All of the radios I've used overseas have been vehicle or aircraft mounted.

Response by CPO Private RallyPoint Member made Mar 1 at 2018 12:02 PM

2018-03-01T12:02:15-05:00

Radios... you mean you all didn't use smoke signals?

Response by Sgt Wayne Wood made Mar 1 at 2018 12:33 PM

2018-03-01T12:33:31-05:00

Mostly a prc-77/25 :-)

Response by SPC David Willis made Mar 1 at 2018 3:03 PM

2018-03-01T15:03:56-05:00

PRC-E6 had to go through plenty of ID-10-Ts and damn near a box of grid squares to find out where supply stashed it but I finally found it.

Response by SSG Christopher Conklin made Mar 1 at 2018 3:12 PM

2018-03-01T15:12:39-05:00

TA-312 for a OP, PRC77.

Response by SSG Thomas Barry made Mar 1 at 2018 10:03 PM

2018-03-01T22:03:09-05:00

prick 25; and the makeme angry 50

Response by SFC Robert Walton made Mar 3 at 2018 9:03 AM

2018-03-03T09:03:18-05:00

PRC 77. NO one per Platoon.